Jeremy recently recorded an item on James Bond for German public TV documentary “Wie James Bond begann” (How James Bond began). A link to the German language version is available on YouTube:
“Wie James Bond begann. Ian Fleming & 007 im Casino Royale”
This 30 min version focuses on the historical backgrounds of the novel Casino Royale, while the full-length international version is due in Oct./Nov..
The First World War was marked by an exceptional expansion in the use and production of military cartography. But World War II took things even further, employing maps, charts, reconnaissance, and the systematic recording and processing of geographical and topographical information on an unprecedented scale. As Jeremy Black—one of the world’s leading military and cartographic historians—convincingly shows in this lavish full-color book, it is impossible to understand the events and outcomes of the Second World War without deep reference to mapping at all levels. In World War II, maps themselves became the weapons.
A History of the Second World War in 100 Maps traces how military cartography developed from simply recording and reflecting history to having a decisive impact on events of a global scale. Drawing on one hundred key maps from the unparalleled collections of the British Library and other sources—many of which have never been published in book form before–Jeremy Black takes us from the prewar mapping programs undertaken by both Germany and the United Kingdom in the mid-1930s through the conflict’s end a decade later. Black shows how the development of maps led directly to the planning of the complex and fluid maneuvers that defined the European theater in World War II: for example, aerial reconnaissance photography allowed for the charting of beach gradients and ocean depths in the runup to the D-Day landings, and the subsequent troop movements at Normandy would have been impossible without the help of situation maps and photos. In the course of the conflict, both in Europe and the Pacific, the realities of climate, terrain, and logistics—recorded on maps—overcame the Axis powers. Maps also became propaganda tools as the pages of Time outlined the directions of the campaigns and the Allies dropped maps from their aircraft.
In this thrilling and unique book, Jeremy Black blends his singular cartographic and military expertise into a captivating overview of World War II from the air, sea, and sky, making clear how fundamental maps were to every aspect of this unforgettable global conflict.
A discussion between Jeremy Black and Charles Coutinho for the New Books Network.
Published 12 March 2020. Listen to the podcast.
Obituaries are not a place to speak ill of the dead, but how are we to tell the truth honestly if we shy away from difficulties?
Published by the Nuova Antologia Militare, no. 1 (2020).
In Memoriam Dennis Showalter. Published in the Nuova Antologia Militare, no 1 (2020).
A podcast for the New Books Network
Jeremy Black’s recommendations for a murderous British genre.
Read Jeremy’s piece for The Critic website (posted 3 February 2020).
Listen to the podcast of Jeremy speaking on 1 April 2016 for the New York Military Affairs Symposium (NYMAS) on the topic of ‘The Politics of James Bond: From Fleming’s Novels to the Big Screen’.
Listen now on the NYMAS website (1 hour and 53 mins)
