Jonathan Mayo author page

Jonathan Mayo biography

Jonathan Mayo is a British author, journalist and documentary producer whose books focus on major events in modern history. He joined the BBC in 1987, initially working in radio before moving into television, and later worked as a freelance producer, director and writer.

Mayo is the author of the Minute by Minute series, which reconstructs historical events chronologically through the experiences of people involved. His books include The Assassination of JFK: Minute by Minute, D-Day: Minute by Minute and Titanic: Minute by Minute. He also co-wrote Hitler’s Last Day: Minute by Minute with Emma Craigie.

Titanic: Minute by Minute was first published by Short Books in 2016. It reconstructs the final hours of the Titanic, moving through the events surrounding the ship’s sinking on 15 April 1912 and drawing together the experiences of passengers and crew. Short Books published a new paperback edition in 2023.

Mayo’s television background has included producing and directing documentaries, and his historical books similarly use a tightly chronological approach to bring together individual experiences with the wider events taking place around them.