"The Changing Land Between the Jordan and the Sea" is subtitled "Aerial photographs from 1917 to the present". ISBN: 965-05-0975-5

Originally published in Hebrew in 1991, this expanded, English edition was published in Israel in 1999. Badger your librarian to get it in and you will find it worth your while.

This is a cumbersome book measuring 343 X 255mm and it has an equally cumbersome title which does it less than justice. One critic called it 'An ode to asphalt,' however it is much, much more. It is a treasure trove of WWI photography. About 200 of the pictures are of 1917-1918 vintage and they are split almost evenly between aerial and terrestrial shots. Some have been drawn from the well known collections in London and in Canberra, but most are from lesser known public and private collections in Austria, Finland, Germany and Israel. Most of the relevant aerial photography is German, from squadrons 300, 302, 305 and (the Bavarian) 304.

Almost the whole of the country/campaign is covered, from Aqaba/Gaza/Beersheba in the south to Haifa/Nazareth/Tiberias in the north. The text is also full of WWI interest with many quotes from contemporary sources. A small sample of the topics covered by the non-aerial shots includes:

+ Liman von Sanders at Karmelheim (nr Haifa)
+ an 'Airwagon' propelled by aero engine and used by the Germans on the El-'Affule to Haifa railway
+ Lt-Col Margolin and Lt Jabotinsky on horseback
+ Egyptian Labour Corps unload cargoes from surf boats at Nahr Sukreir
+ Sgts Hurcomb and Sedgewick with the Mayor of Jerusalem and his flag of surrender
+ Guns and wagons of the Turkish 7th Army along the Wadi al-Far'ah road, after the British bombardment on 21st September 1918 (The author quotes from H. A. Jones' history of the RAF "the attacks degenerated into a slaughter which made many pilots sick who took part." The author adds his own comment that "Unbeknown to them, they were ushering in that twentieth- century scourge, the Blitzkrieg.")

The aerial shots also include
+ a piece of German propaganda with one of their planes superimposed over a shot of the pyramids
+ some genuine August 1917 German air reconnaissance shots of Port Said and the northern Suez Canal.

I do not know how difficult it will be to get hold of this book in the UK, however if you have an interest in the Palestine campaign of World War I then I feel sure that it will reward your efforts.

Uncertain availability. Try www.abebooks.co.uk - Find used, rare and out-of-print books worldwide.