Taylor Downing



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. 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Breakdown-Crisis-Shell-Shock-Somme/dp/140870661X/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1455815700&sr=1-8&keywords=taylor+downing


Breakdown is now out as an Abacus paperback.


Taylor interviewed for Centenary News:

http://www.centenarynews.com/article/shell-shock-on-the-somme---centenary-news-speaks-to-taylor-downing-author-of-breakdown


Taylor interviewed on CNN International once again by Christiane Amanpour  to discuss the 70th anniversary of VE Day:

http://cnn.it/1EUrV8N


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:

http://royalhistsoc.org

 

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.

http://www.rusi.org/westminstermedal

Video links:

Taylor on Churchill's War Lab

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5xpQ3oBhNI 

 

Other video links on the Television page

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