Alan Marshall was born and raised in New Zealand, growing up on a 'lifestyle' farm on the edge of Wellington. His family always had half a dozen sheep no more, no less munching away outside the house. As well as a BSc from Wolverhampton University in the UK, he holds a Master's degree from Massey University (New Zealand's best 'sheep university') and a PhD from Wollongong University in Australia. He is the author of five previous books, including an academic title, a novel, a book for Friends of the Earth Australia, and two illustrated 'pop' design books for general audiences.
""Top of your Royal Welsh reads should be 'Sheeplands, ' Alan Marshall's joyous celebration of those woolly pillars of the rural economy. As you can tell from the subtitle 'How Sheep Shaped Wales and the World, ' this is a book of epic scope, as we follow the winding track which leads back into the mists of history and the furthest corners of the globe.""-- ""Nation.Cymru""