Charts of War: The Maps and Charts That Have Informed and Illustrated War at Sea

John Blake has drawn on his extensive knowledge of some of the most impressive collections in the world, such as the UKHO in Britain, the Library of Congress in the USA, the Scheepvaart Museum in the Netherlands and the Biblioteca Maritima in Spain, together with his experience in the Royal Navy, to produce a fascinating illustrated account of the role that charts have played in planning, preventing, conducting and recording war at sea. Chapters are divided as follows. * Chapter I: The Ancient Chart; * Chapter II: The Renaissance Chart; * Chapter III: American Gold; * Chapter IV: The Ancien Regime; * Chapter V: Birth of a Nation; * Chapter VI; Charts of Global War; * Chapter VII: Brother Against Brother; * Chapter VIII: The Modern Chart of War. Each chapter opens with an overview of of the main actions and developments of the period and is followed by a plate section of charts with extended captions that explain their relevance. They not only include charts of major battles, amphibious attacks and single-ship duels, but also those that were drawn up for strategic and espionage purposes. Throughout, major themes are discussed with regard to changing tactics in naval warfare and developing techniques in chartmaking and surveying.

"HMS Belfast Pocket Manual" is published by Osprey (part of Bloomsbury Publishing) on 31st May 2018.
A familiar sight on the Thames at London Bridge, HMS Belfast is a Royal Navy light cruiser, launched in March 1938. Belfast was part of the British naval blockade against Germany and from November 1942 escorted Arctic convoys to the Soviet Union and assisted in the destruction of the German warship Scharnhorst. In June 1944 Belfast supported the Normandy landings and later was in the Korean War.
This fascinating book comprises her  building, wartime action history and life on board.

"The Sea Chart: Second Edition", with a foreword by Sir Ben Ainslie, the Olympic Gold Sailing Medallist was re-published on 10th March 2016 by Conway Maritime, part of Bloomsbury Publishing in the US by the Naval Institute Press,. For example there is the famous map that names America for the first time and the biggest cartographical blunder showing California as an island!  

His second book, "Sea Charts of the British Isles", with a foreword by Admiral of the Fleet the Lord Boyce (Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and Constable of Dover Castle), was published December 2016 it again, but in softback with an attractive new cover, by Adlard Coles, part of the Bloomsbury Group

His third book "Charts of War", published in the UK by Conway Maritime and in the US by Knickerbocker Press in 2007, looks at the role of navigational charts in maritime battle and sea warfare throughout the ages.

In 2006 John was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation.

His fourth book is entitled "The Titanic Passenger's Guide" and was published for the 100th anniversary of her tragic sinking by Conway Maritime in October 2011 in the UK; the Naval Institute Press in the US. It has totally contemporary 1912 material and describes all aspects of her design, construction, launch, operation and passenger facilities.