Defending the Rock: How Gibraltar Defeated Hitler

1. The title is a lie, and that offends me. I don't know if the fault was the publisher (Faber & Faber) or the author. Just one example: how does the Falklands War (the final chapter) relate to defeating Hitler? 2. The author takes a broad view (which is okay) but he seems more concerned with reciting the typical socialist/labor party rants about the Spanish Civil War than in discussing Gibralter. 3. The book is miserably organized. It would have benefited from the attention of a competent editor. 4. The book is so bad that after reading it I felt it didn't deserve space on my bookshelf and so I threw it in the trash.

For a start, let's get the title out of the way. This book is almost entirely not about defending the Rock; it is much more a wide-ranging account of much of WWII, and a good chunk on the Spanish 'Civil War', wherever events even tangentially touched upon Gibraltar. The subtitle of 'How Gibraltar Defeated Hitler' is barely touched upon too - there's no attempt to really illustrate just how invaluable the fortress was, or compare it to other places, or even think about how events could have transpired were the Rock to have been captured.So, what we have is a mostly readable account of WWII from a slightly unusual angle, populated with a large cast of real life characters, that retain your interest as events move from place to place. But you'll learn almost nothing about the Rock's defences during WWII (building the airfield is mentioned only in passing, for instance), almost nothing of the overall defence organisation (much more concentration on intelligence operations etc.), and it's also clear the author isn't actually very familiar with Gibraltar. The repeated references to the North face of the Rock as being called "Devil's Tower", for instance, jar throughout - particularly when the author mentions that the actual Devil's Tower - a fairly insignificant little thing - was actually demolished in 1940.There's a great book waiting to be written about Gibraltar's part in WWII, but this isn't it.

This is a magnificent book. Its detail and easy to read narrative took me on a delightful journey through a period and in a place where a couple of dozen people changed the course of world history. It is a shame Britain no longer has people of such intellect and sturdy redoubt. It’s no longer a place of much consequence to the world. Most have forgotten it exists. Defending the Rock underlines, once again, that this period really was their finest hour. They really did save us all from a new dark age.

I just finished reading this book. Superb.By casting the net wide, Nicholas makes the book much more than just about Gibraltar, but brings in Spain, Vichy, Italy, Malta, focussing on the whole Mediterranean aspect of the conflict with interesting digressions on the development of civil government in Gibraltar, the hunt for the Bismark and many others.It was hard to put down, simply one of the best books I have read this year. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Brilliant, told me a lot about Gib that I wished I had known when I worked there a few years ago

Quite a detailed history and very interesting. Nobody wants a Spaniard in the works.