Taylor Downing is a historian, writer and television producer. He has written several best selling books and has produced more than 200 television documentaries many of which have won Awards.
STOP
PRESS:
Taylor
provided media commentary on the
75th anniversary of D-Day for CNN
International across the commemorations in June
2019.
Taylor's book 1983 - The World at the Brink has been shortlisted for a prestigious book prize, the Pushkin Prize. See
http://www.pushkinhouse.org/2019-shortlist
Taylor's book on the little known
Cold War scare entitled
1983 - The
World at the Brink
was published in April 2018 and
came ut in paperback later in the year.
The book has generated immense interest and some great reviews. Historian Tom Holland has tweeted about 'Taylor Downing's gripping and frankly terrifying book on the US-Soviet nuclear confrontation.'
Dominic Sandbrook in The
Sunday Times wrote 'Downing has written a carefully
researched and hugely readable acount...Like the plot of some
blockbuster by Frederick Forsyth, Downing's book piles up events
with frightening speed.'
The book which has been
serialised in the Daily Mail who described it as
'rivetting' is being called 'a real-life thriller'.
Click on: 1983
Taylor's previous book Breakdown: The Crisis of Shell Shock on the Somme was picked out by The Times as a 'Must Read' book of 2016. Published by Little Brown, the book has received several superb reviews and there were features on the book in both the Telegraph and Mail in April 2016.
Breakdown is now out as an Abacus paperback.
Taylor interviewed for Centenary News:
Taylor interviewed on CNN International once again by Christiane Amanpour to discuss the 70th anniversary of VE Day:
In 2015 Taylor was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Fellows are elected because of their 'original contribution to historical scholarship'. Taylor said he was 'flattered and delighted' to become a Fellow of the RHS:
Taylor provides historical background to Christiane Amanpour for CNN International's coverage of the 70th anniversary of D-Day. Shown across Europe, Asia and Africa. See:
http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2014/06/06/amanpour-tours-churchills-bunker/?hpt=hp_bn9
The World at War is now available: The landmark documentary series The World at War remains the most influential and renowned history programme ever produced by British television. Taylor Downing's book traces how the series came about and looks at it in the context of the development of History programming on Television in Britain.
Spies in the
Sky was short listed for the prestigious Royal United
Services/Duke of Westminster Award for Military Literature. The
award was won by All Hell Let Lose by Max Hastings. Taylor
was delighted to be short listed with such a distinguished group of
historians that also included Gary Sheffield, John Gaddis and David
Stevenson.
Video links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5xpQ3oBhNI
Other video links on the Television
page
© 2013 Taylor Downing