As an avid reader and history buff, I was shocked to find out how little I knew about the history of Gibraltar and the role it played in the prosecution or WWII. Well written, accessible and fascinating. Highly recommended nn

Good read. Learning about history and current day interpretation is interesting and entertaining reading. How we perceive the events makes for good stories.

Gibraltar is an interesting and detailed account of the siege of British-held Gibraltar by the Spanish and French from 1779-1783. The authors give plenty of historical background on Gibraltar and the events leading up to the siege, and then devote the bulk of the book to a chronological account of the siege itself. The book quotes and otherwise references a number of diaries, letters, and period accounts. Through these, the reader is able to get a good idea of what it felt like for people of that time to go through these events. The historical narrative was well done also. Most of these historical events were new to me, so I was quite interested throughout the book.

If you enjoy history, Gibraltar is worth your time. I received a digital copy of this book for free from the publisher and was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I express in this review are entirely my own.

While I enjoyed "Gibraltar", not least because I recently had the opportunity to visit the former Fortress, I am afraid that based on my reading of the prepublication galley provided by NetGalley, I must assert that I found it somewhat wanting. The Adkins' tale of courage and perseverance against long odds and the horrors of siege warfare is moving and obviously well researched. Nonetheless, it somehow failed to resonate for me. Paradoxically, the very dependence on primary sources and frequent excerpts therefrom had the tendency to put me off. On the other hand, the text did not limit itself geographically to Gibraltar and took pains to look at the map of what was going on elsewhere, especially in naval action. If you are studying this period of warfare or particularly interested in the peculiar situation of Gibraltar in the modern world, this book is worth exploring, but I would advise the casual reader to look elsewhere.

Author gives a detailed description of the 14th siege of Gibraltar. It seems that he gives unneeded emphasis on first person reports from letters and diary entries. I would have preferred he take that information and turn it into a narrative. He describes in detail the British effort to defend Gibraltar but gives minor effort to describe the Spanish side. The author does not describe why provisions and supplies were not evenly distributed but sold to the highest bidder. Also, letters and posts were seemingly going in and out of Gibraltar so why not supplies?