Since ships first set sail in the Mediterranean, The Rock has been the
gate of Fortress Europe. In ancient times, it was known as one of the
Pillars of Hercules, and a glance at its formidable mass suggests that
it may well have been created by the gods. Sought after by every nation
with territorial ambitions in Europe, Asia, and Africa, Gibraltar was
possessed by the Arabs, the Spanish, and ultimately the British, who
captured it in the early 1700s and held onto it in a siege of more than
three years late in the eighteenth century. The fact that that was one
of more than a dozen sieges exemplifies Gibraltar's quintessential value
as a prize and the desperation of governments to fly their flag above
its forbidding ramparts. Bradford uses his matchless skill and knowledge
to take the reader through the history of this great and unique
fortress. From its geological creation to its two-thousand-year
influence on politics and war, he crafts the compelling tale of how
these few square miles played a major part in history.