Gwyn Thomas (1913-1981) was one of the most famous Welshmen of the century: novelist, short story writer, dramatist, Punch columnist, radio broadcaster, and raconteur. Those who know his autobiography, A Few Selected Exits will welcome this biography, for, as Thomas once wrote, If I have an art, obliquity is its essence, and his autobiography gives readers few details. Born in Wales' Rhondda valley, he was the youngest of twelve children and lived through the poverty of the Depression. For a brief period he read Modern Languages at Oxford, but then, unemployed, he began writing novels about his valley and its people, before becoming a teacher. Eventually he began to write full-time and then became influential and successful in broadcasting. Michael Parnell edited Thomas' Selected Short Stories.