Dr Brian S. John (1940) was born in Carmarthen and is the author of the historical-fiction series Angel Mountain Saga which now has accumulated sales (in all media) of over 100,000. He attended Jesus College, Oxford, where he read Geography from 1959 to 1962 and went on to obtain a D Phil for a study of the Ice Age in Wales. He worked as a field scientist in Antarctica and spent eleven years as a geography lecturer at Durham University. He has travelled widely in the Arctic, Antarctic and Scandinavia. Since 1977 he has made his living as a writer and publisher. In 1980 he founded Eco Centre Wales in Newport and is one of the leaders of the community group GM Free Cymru. He is the author of a number of articles and 90 books, including university texts, walking guides, coffee table glossies, and books of popular science. His Glaciers and Landscape (written with David Sugden), a university textbook, remained in print as a geomorphology classic for almost 30 years. He also writes on topics of local interest related to Wales: tourist guides, books of local jokes, walkers’ handbooks, and titles on local folklore and traditions. In 2012 he won the Wishing Shelf Book award for his children’s book called The Strange Affair of the Ethiopian Treasure Chest. In recognition of his contributions to polar geomorphology, a glacier in the Pensacola Mountains of Antarctica was named John Glacier. In recent years John has done radio and TV work, and has featured in the BBC2W programme called The Man from Angel Mountain and on the BBC1 One Show. He is also an inveterate blogger on Stonehenge and the Ice Age; his blog has 2500 science-based posts and 1.5 million hits from followers. Currently he is working to bring an adaptation of his 8-volume Angel Mountain Saga to the small screen.
Website – www.brianjohn.co.uk
Books
- The Fishguard and Pembroke Area, Geographical Association, 1972
- The Pembrokeshire Landscape, Five Arches Press, 1973 (with Robert Evans)
- The Rocks: Geology of Pembrokeshire, Abercastle Publications, 1973 and many reprints
- Ports and Harbours of Pembrokeshire, Abercastle Publications, 1974
- The Milford Haven Oil Industry, Greencroft Books, 1975
- Old Industries of Pembrokeshire, Greencroft Books, 1975
- Coastal Geomorphology of High Latitudes (with David Sugden), 1975, Edward Arnold
- Scenery of Dyfed, Greencroft Books, 1976
- Pembrokeshire, David and Charles, 1976
- Rural Crafts of Wales, Greencroft Books, 1976, 1977
- Glaciers and Landscape, Edward Arnold, 1976-2000 (with David Sugden) hb and pb, reprinted many times over 25 years
- Great Grandfather’s Little World, Greencroft Books, 1977
- Welsh Pictures from Victorian Times, Greencroft Books, 1977 (hb and pb)
- West Wales Climate and Weather, Greencroft Books, 1977
- The Ice Age, Collins, 1977
- Geology of Pembrokeshire, Pembs Coast National Park, 1977
- Pembrokeshire, Pan, 1978
- Wildlife in Dyfed (editor), West Wales Naturalists Trust, 1979
- Scottish Pictures from Victorian Times, Greencroft Books, 1979 (hb and pb)
- The Winters of the World (editor), David and Charles/Wiley/Jacaranda 1979
- The World of Ice, Orbis, 1979
- Il Mondo dei Ghiacci, Agostini-Novara, 1979
- Honey Harfat, a Haverfordwest Miscellany, Greencroft Books, 1979, hb and pb
- Le Monde des Glaces, Editions Atlas, 1980
- The Face of the Earth, Orbis, 1980
- Pembrokeshire Crafts and Cottage Craft Industries, Greencroft Books, 1981
- Milford Haven Waterway, Pembs Coast National Park, 1981
- L’Evoluzione del Paesaggio, Agostini-Novara, 1981
- Presely Hills, Pembs Coast National Park, 1981
- The Ice Age (pirated Russian edition), 1982
- Alternative Wales, Greencroft Books (editor), 1982
- Scandinavia: a new Geography, Longman, 1984
- The Ancient Game of Cnapan, Greencroft Books, 1984
- Pembrokeshire, Greencroft Books, 1984
- The Pembrokeshire Guide, Greencroft Books, many editions 1984-1990
- Nuclear Power and Jobs, SEI, 1986
- Walking in the Presely Hills, Pembs Coast National Park, 1989
- Pembrokeshire Coast Path, HMSO /Aurum (National Trail Guide), 1990 (in print)
- Saundersfoot Walks, Pembs Coast National Park, 1991
- Pembrokeshire Folk Tales, Greencroft Books, 1991
- Broad Haven Walks, Pembs Coast National Park, 1992
- St David’s Walks, Pembs Coast National Park, 1992
- The Last Dragon, Greencroft Books, 1992
- Manorbier Walks, Pembs Coast National Park, 1993
- Strumble Head Walks, Pembs Coast National Park, 1993
- Fireside Tales from Pembrokeshire, Greencroft Books, 1993
- Dale and St Ishmael’s Walks, Pembs Coast National Park, 1994
- Pembrokeshire Humour, Greencroft Books, 1994 and 1995
- Bosherston Walks, Pembs Coast National Park, 1995
- Pembrokeshire: Past and Present, Greencroft Books, 1995
- The Best Cardi Jokes, Greencroft Books, 1995 and 1997
- Bluestone Country: the Carningli walks, Greencroft Books / CRI, 1995
- More Pembrokeshire Folk Tales, Greencroft Books, 1996
- How Glaciers Move, Norsk Bremuseum, 1996
- Fjaerland, a Norwegian Fjordside Settlement, Greencroft Books, 1996
- The Birth and Death of Glaciers, Norsk Bremuseum, 1996
- Pembrokeshire Ghost Stories, Greencroft Books, 1996
- Funny Business Down Below, Greencroft Books, 1997
- Up Among the Mountain Men, Greencroft Books, 1997
- Beneath the Mountain, Greencroft Books, 1998
- The Carningli Walks (editor), Greencroft Books, 1999 (new edition)
- Pembrokeshire 2000, Greencroft Books, 1999
- Walks in the World of Ice, Norsk Bremuseum, 1999
- The Best Pembrokeshire Jokes, Greencroft Books, 2000
- Pembrokeshire Wizards and Witches, Greencroft Books, 2001
- On Angel Mountain (fiction), Greencroft Books, 2001 (in print)
- We Reap What We Sow (editor), GM-Free Cymru, 2001, several editions
- House of Angels (fiction), Greencroft Books, 2002 (in print)
- Dark Angel (fiction), Greencroft Books, 2003 (in print)
- Rebecca and the Angels (fiction), Greencroft Books, 2004 (in print)
- Flying with Angels (fiction), Greencroft Books, 2005 (in print)
- On Angel Mountain (fiction), Corgi, 2005
- House of Angels (fiction), Corgi, 2006
- GM Crops: what you should know (editor), GM-Free Cymru, 2006, several editions
- On Angel Mountain (fiction), Magna Large Print, 2006
- Dark Angel (fiction), Corgi, 2007
- House of Angels (fiction), Magna Large Print, 2007
- Dark Angel (fiction), Magna Large Print, 2007
- Guardian Angel (fiction), Greencroft Books, 2007 (in print)
- Martha Morgan’s Little World, Greencroft Books, 2007 (in print)
- The Bluestone Enigma, Greencroft Books, 2008 (in print)
- Carningli: Land and People, Greencroft Books, 2008
- Echoes and Shadows: Tales and Traditions of Newport and Nevern, Greencroft Books, 2008
- Sacrifice (fiction), Greencroft Books, 2009 (in print)
- The Strange Affair of the Ethiopian Treasure Chest (children’s fiction), Greencroft Books, 2010 (in print)
- Conspiracy of Angels (fiction), Greencroft Books, 2012 (in print)
- Acts of God (fiction), Greencroft Books, 2014 (in print)
- The Stonehenge Bluestones, Greencroft Books, 2018 (in print)