The essential book on Churchill's passion for innovation and the science of war --from codes to radar to bouncing bombs. indefatigable patriot, seasoned soldier, incomparable orator, and, with Franklin Delano Roosevelt, leader of men --Winston Churchill's greatness in the allies' triumphant victory in World War ii is undisputed. yet, of his many unique qualities, Churchill's enduring legacy is attributable at least in equal part to his unshakeable fascination for the science of war.Churchill's War Lab reveals how Churchill's passion for military history, his inimitable leadership style, and his dedicated support of radical ideas would lead to new technologies and tactics that would enable an allied victory. no war generated more incredible theories, technical advances, and scientific leaps. from the development of radar and the decoding brilliance of Bletchley Park to the study of the D-Day beaches and the use of bouncing bombs, Churchill's War Lab is an exciting new take on Churchill as a complex, powerful, and inventive war leader.

Leni Riefenstahl's Olympia is one of the most controversial films ever made. Capitalizing on the success of Triumph of the Will, her propaganda film for the Nazi Party, Riefenstahl secured Hitler's approval for her grandiose plans to film the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The result was a work as notorious for its politics as celebrated for its aesthetic power. Taylor Downing provides an indispensable guide to this major work of film documentary. He gives the full story of how Riefenstahl negotiated relative independence from the Nazi authorities by pitting Hitler against Goebbels, the propaganda minister, who wanted complete control. Downing also gives a filmmaker's insights into the logistical and technical problems thrown up by managing a production which employed nearly forty cameramen to shoot 400,000 metres of film. He concludes that though its political effect was to glorify Nazi achievements, the film undeniably set the standard for Olympic filmmaking for the next five decades.

The thrilling, little-known story of the partner organization to the famous code-breaking center at Bletchley ParkThis is the story of the daring reconnaissance pilots who took aerial photographs over Occupied Europe during the most dangerous days of World War II, and of the photo interpreters who invented a completely new science to analyze those pictures. They were inventive and ingenious; they pioneered the development of 3-D photography and their work provided vital intelligence throughout the war. With a whole host of larger-than-life characters at its heart, from the legendary pilot Adrian "Warby" Warburton, who went missing while on a mission, to photo interpreters Glyn Daniel, later a famous television personality, and Winston Churchill's daughter, Sarah, this history is compelling reading, and the first full account of the story of aerial photography and the intelligence gleaned from it in nearly 50 years.

A companion volume to the twenty-four-part documentary on the history of the Cold War ranges from the fall of Germany at the end of the Second World War to the fall of the Berlin Wall and dissolution of the Soviet Union. TV tie-in.

Product Description: Based on a six-part Channel 4 television series, this book outlines the events and themes of the English Civil Wars of the 1640s, offering a guide to the complex religious divisions of the period and the radical political debate that ensued...read more