The Fortifications of Gibraltar 1068-1945 (Fortress) [Paperback]

Darren Fa (Author), Clive Finlayson (Author), Adam Hook (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Fortress | Publication Date: October 31, 2006

Gibraltar is not only an archetypal fortress, preserving in its dominating topography and walls, bastions and emplacements a rich testament to extended periods of human conflict, but it is also a unique record of the evolution of the sciences of fortification and associated defensive structures over a period of more than six centuries. Gibraltar has a complex and varied military history, lying as it does at the gateway to the Mediterranean and the meeting points of the continents of Europe and Africa. Its history, always shaped by its unique combination of strategic position and topography, begins in ancient times with successive occupations by Phoenicians, Carthaginians and Romans. It then passed through Arab, Castilian and Spanish hands, and has been a British possession since 1704. The Rock served as a base for Nelson's fleet in the Napoleonic Wars and, in World War II, for the Royal Navy's Task Force 'H' and as as a vital stopping place for supply convoys plying to and from the East through the Suez Canal and supporting the Allied effort in the Mediterranean Theater. An unprecedented amount of tunnelling took place on Gibraltar, making it a veritable warren that housed aircraft hangars, ammunition stores, hospitals and even a secret chamber (the Stay-Behind Cave) that was to be manned as an observation post in the event of a hostile takeover.

Editorial Reviews

Review

One of the "top picks for specialized military history." -California Bookwatch

"This volume will prove fascinating, not only for the CDSG members who recently visited Gibraltar, but for anyone interested in the history of fortifications. Finlayson and Fa, director and deputy director of the Gibraltar Museum respectively, are more than qualified to tell the long and involved story of the defense of Gibraltar, and they have illustrated it with many well-chosen paintings, maps, plans, and photos... This excellent book on a very important subject is highly recommended to anyone interested in fortifications." -Bolling Smith, Coast Defense Journal

"The authors provide a clear story of how things progressed through period drawings, photographs and superb artwork of Adam Hook. Overall, this is a superb book on what has to be one of the most interesting and fortified pieces of real estate on the planet. Highly recommended for all." -Scott Van Aken, modelingmadness.com

About the Author

Darren Fa was born in Gibraltar 1966. Darren is a member of the Fortress Study Group, The Ordnance Society and the Coast Defence Study Group. Deputy Director of the Gibraltar museum, he has also prepared numerous papers, articles and talks on Gibraltar's local and natural history, and is co-editor of Gibraltar Heritage, a bi-annual magazine.
Clive Finlayson was born in Gibraltar in 1955. Educated at Gibraltar Grammar School, he completed a BSc at the University of Liverpool, UK, and went on to obtain a DPhil from the University of Oxford. A former managing director of the Gibraltar Tourism Agency, in 1991 Clive became Director of the Gibraltar Museum. The author lives in Gibraltar.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (October 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846030161
• ISBN-13: 978-1846030161
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.2 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,026,459 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Mystery Uncovered, February 26, 2007

By 

J. Kaufmann (San Antonio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fortifications of Gibraltar 1068-1945 (Fortress) (Paperback)

This book will answer most of anyones qustions on the development of Fortress Gibraltar from medieval times through the modern era. There is not other book that will provide such detail and great illustrations in less than 60 pages although a few more expensive books exist, but even the best of those are no longer on the market. With this, the campaing book on Gibraltar is also highly recommended since they complement each other.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Fortifications of Gibraltar 1068 - 1945, November 5, 2008

By 

John B. Ringer (Towanda, IL) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Fortifications of Gibraltar 1068-1945 (Fortress) (Paperback)

I first saw this book while on a cruise which included a stop at Gibraltar. I thought the fortifications, especially the tunnels, were fascinating, and the book (in a somewhat larger format) gave a clear and interesting overview of the "rock". Once home, I decided to buy the book and study it in more detail. It is an excellent overview, with good illustrations, and it does exactly what it purports to do. Good reading for history and war buffs.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good overview, July 20, 2010

By 

lordhoot "lordhoot" (Anchorage, Alaska USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fortifications of Gibraltar 1068-1945 (Fortress) (Paperback)

Fortifications of Gibraltar was a evolution of development that took nearly a thousand years to complete. Starting off with a Muslim fort and ending with a British fortress, the story told in this book proves to be interesting and informative. Both authors were born and probably rise in Gibraltar and the book reflects their intimate knowledge of the subject at hand. The book comes well illustrated with drawing, plans and photos of the fortress superstructures as they developed over continual period of time. The book also go into the history of Gibraltar and it is not rare feat that this is one of the highly contested locations in European military history.

If there is a weak point to this book, it is not as well written as it should be. The two authors tried to jam much information as possible in this short book but by doing so, it loses some clarity to what they are trying to inform the readers. A good example is on page 44 when they are talking about the dry-docks and the book uses the acronym "HWOST" without explaining to the readers this means "High Water of Ordinary Spring Tide", an average between high and low tides. Now I knew what it meant but I can tell you one thing, most general readers got no clue.

It should be noted that this book is a perfect companion to Osprey Campaign book #172, Gibraltar 1779-83 by Rene Chartrand. Although a well written book, this book was criticized for not covering the British fortifications of Gibraltar in any sort of details. Maybe Osprey told Rene Chartrand that he didn't have to cover the fortifications since there will be a book on it coming out later.

But overall, this book come recommended because it tell a great history of this near fable fortress that has been part of the great European struggles of the past several hundred years of history. And it does help travelers gain certain insights of history behind the mute walls, tunnels and bastiona that once held the key to naval mastery of this region.