I loved the book for several reasons. I love being able to vicariously live through these exciting events. The characters and events are historical and further color is added to provide an engrossing read.
This is a fascinating and impactive slice of history that very few people are familiar with. I became familiar with the details surrounding English Tangier via a personal family connection and this book definitely does it justice to the saga.
The surviving sources are fairly scarce and rather than focus on logistical tables and dry military log entries, the author has chosen to do a comprehensive telling of how things unfolded in story form, based on actual historical participants and historical events with some inferences to provide day to day continuity which makes for a much more enjoyable read.
I can't recommended the book highly enough. 5 out of 5 stars.

Family History Researcher, USA

As a member of the U3A military history group and being very interested in 17th Century and 18th Century military matters, I enjoyed a recent talk by John Hawkins on Tangier. This prompted me to read his book, which breaks new ground in describing the events of the little-known occupation and holding of Tangier by ships and troops of King Charles II between 1662 and 1684. It contains a wealth of military details about the troops involved, leadership, equipment, tactics and battles with their fierce Moroccan opponents. There are many maps, plans and illustrations, and lists of the principal characters involved, some of whom are fictional but provide narrative links and insights into the behaviour and experiences of the garrison and its civilian inhabitants. A good read and a useful reference.
The website associated with his book is also full of supplementary information and is a fascinating read.

Amazon Reviewer

The story of Tangier, part of Queen Catherine’s 1662 dowry, was of failed policies of successive rulers and governors. Samuel Pepys was one of the few people to make money from it; the King had other priorities and there were never enough troops to resist the Moors. John Hawkins has written an impressive book securely based on first-hand evidence and it will stand as the authoritative work for many years to come.

11th Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu

A complete contrast to John Child’s focused academic study is provided by John Hawkins’ survey of the colony from first to last. The book describes the arrival of the English and Irish garrison to take over the colony from the Portuguese, the life of the colony including its Mayor and Corporation, and the vicious fighting to maintain its integrity in the face of the assaults of the Moors. It describes the construction of the great harbour mole, designed to shelter ships from the Atlantic weather – a project that costs as much in comparative terms as the Channel Tunnel or HS2. In its later chapters, it chronicles the inability of the Crown to afford its upkeep and the destruction of much of the fortifications and the mole before the evacuation in 1684. Destruction there had to be, for else either the Barbary pirates or the Dutch would hold the place and dominate the straits of Gibraltar. Queen Catherine, whose marriage to Charles II had brought Tangier to the English Crown in the first place, was said to have been heartbroken.
What makes the book most engaging is that events are described through the voices of individuals – English, Irish, Spanish, Portuguese and Moors; soldiers, sailors, politicians, diplomats, contractors, wives and children. It is thus a very personal narrative and all the better for that as a jolly good read.
This book is strongly recommended to the general reader as well as to students of the period and the history of our Regiment. Put it on your Christmas present list.

Lt Gen Jonathon Riley DSO

Article: Political manoeuvrings in Tangier; local author digs into the history of the English involvement in the north African port

Newbury Weekly News