Sir Max Hugh Macdonald Hastings (; born 28 December 1945) is a British

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

and

military historian Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships. Professional historians no ...

, who has worked as a foreign correspondent for the BBC, editor-in-chief of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', and editor of the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

''. He is also the author of numerous books, chiefly on war, which have won several major awards. Hastings currently writes a bimonthly column for

Bloomberg Opinion Bloomberg L.P. is a privately held financial, software, data, and media company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was co-founded by Michael Bloomberg in 1981, with Thomas Secunda, Duncan MacMillan, Charles Zegar, and a ...

Early life

Hastings' parents were Macdonald Hastings, a journalist and war correspondent and Anne Scott-James, sometime editor of ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the ...

''. He was educated at

Charterhouse Charterhouse may refer to: * Charterhouse (monastery), of the Carthusian religious order Charterhouse may also refer to: Places * The Charterhouse, Coventry, a former monastery * Charterhouse School, an English public school in Surrey Londo ...

and

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

, which he left after a year.

Career

Hastings moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, spending a year (1967–68) as a Fellow of the World Press Institute, following which he published his first book, ''America, 1968: The Fire This Time'', an account of the US in its tumultuous election year. He became a

foreign correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locat ...

and reported from more than sixty countries and eleven wars for

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

's '' Twenty-Four Hours'' current affairs programme and for the ''

'' in London. Hastings was the first journalist to enter

Port Stanley Stanley (; also known as Port Stanley) is the capital city of the Falkland Islands. It is located on the island of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2016 census, the city had a popula ...

during the 1982

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial ...

. After ten years as editor and then editor-in-chief of ''

'', he returned to the ''Evening Standard'' as editor in 1996 until his retirement in 2002. Hastings was appointed

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are ...

in the

2002 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in su ...

for services to journalism. He was elected a member of the political dining society known as The Other Club in 1993. He has presented historical documentaries for the BBC and is the author of many books, including ''Bomber Command'', which earned the Somerset Maugham Award for non-fiction in 1980. Both ''Overlord'' and ''The Battle for the Falklands'' won the ''

Yorkshire Post ''The Yorkshire Post'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds in Yorkshire, England. It primarily covers stories from Yorkshire although its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's National Newspaper". It was previously owned by ...

'' ''Book of the Year'' prize. He was named ''Journalist of the Year'' and ''Reporter of the Year'' at the 1982 British Press Awards, and ''Editor of the Year'' in 1988. In 2010 he received the

Royal United Services Institute The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI, Rusi), registered as Royal United Service Institute for Defence and Security Studies and formerly the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies, is a British defence and security think tank ...

's ''Westminster Medal'' for his "lifelong contribution to military literature", and the same year the Edgar Wallace Award from the London Press Club. In 2012, he was awarded the US$100,000 Pritzker Military Library Literature Award, a lifetime achievement award for military writing, which includes an honorarium, citation and medallion, sponsored by the Chicago-based Tawani Foundation. Hastings is a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, ele ...

, and the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

. He was President of the

Campaign to Protect Rural England CPRE, The Countryside Charity, formerly known by names such as the ''Council for the Preservation of Rural England'' and the ''Council for the Protection of Rural England'', is a charity in England with over 40,000 members and supporters. Form ...

from 2002 to 2007. In his 2007 book ''Nemesis: The Battle for Japan, 1944–45'' (known as ''Retribution'' in the United States), the chapter on

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

's role in the last year of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vas ...

was criticised by the chief of the Returned and Services League of Australia and one of the historians at the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...

, for allegedly exaggerating discontent in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), who ...

. Dan van der Vat in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' called it "even-handed", "refreshing" and "sensitive" and praised the language used. ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...

'' called it "brilliant" and praised his telling of the human side of the story. Hastings wrote a column for the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'' and often contributes articles to other publications such as ''The Guardian'', ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' and ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...

''. He also currently writes a bimonthly column for

Personal life

Hastings lives near

Hungerford Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, west of Newbury, east of Marlborough, northeast of Salisbury and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the town alongside the ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...

, with his second wife, Penelope (), whom he married in 1999. Hastings has a surviving son and daughter by his first wife, Patricia Edmondson, to whom he was married from 1972 until 1994. In 2000, his 27-year-old first son, Charles, died by

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

Ningbo, China Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...

. He dedicated his book ''Nemesis: The Battle for Japan 1944–45'', which was published in 2007, to Charles's memory.

Political views

Hastings has supported both the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

and the Labour Party. He announced his support for the Conservative Party at the 2010 general election, having previously voted for the Labour Party at the

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

and

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

general elections. He said that "four terms are too many for any government" and described

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony ...

as "wholly psychologically unfit to be

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

". In August 2014, Hastings was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''

'' opposing

Scottish independence Scottish independence ( gd, Neo-eisimeileachd na h-Alba; sco, Scots unthirldom) is the idea of Scotland as a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom, and refers to the political movement that is campaigning to bring it about. ...

in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue. In June 2019, Hastings described

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as ...

, the Conservative Party leadership candidate, as "unfit for national office, because it seems he cares for no interest save his own fame and gratification ... ispremiership will almost certainly reveal a contempt for rules, precedent, order and stability ... If the price of Johnson proves to be Corbyn, blame will rest with the Conservative party, which is about to foist a tasteless joke upon the

British people British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs m ...

– who will not find it funny for long." He has continued along this line of argument throughout the Johnson premiership and he said that "the experiment in celebrity government to which the Conservative Party committed us has failed, and is seen by the world to have failed. The foremost task for a successor is to restore Britain's reputation as a serious country." In his

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and m ...

column on 14 February 2021, Hastings wrote that the United Kingdom's future was unlikely to be long-term. He advocated a

United Ireland United Ireland, also referred to as Irish reunification, is the proposition that all of Ireland should be a single sovereign state. At present, the island is divided politically; the sovereign Republic of Ireland has jurisdiction over the maj ...

but said he was against Scottish and

Welsh independence Welsh independence ( cy, Annibyniaeth i Gymru) is the political movement advocating for Wales to become a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. Wales was conquered during the 13th century by Edward I of England following the ki ...

. Hastings was widely criticised for stating in the article that the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it h ...

was of "marginal value" and that Wales could not succeed as an independent country because it was "dependent on English largesse".

Huw Edwards Huw Edwards (; born 18 August 1961) is a Welsh journalist, presenter, and newsreader. Edwards presents ''BBC News at Ten'', the corporation's flagship news broadcast. Edwards also presents BBC coverage of state events, international events, th ...

said there were several factual errors in Hastings' points, while Fergus Llewelyn Turtle responded: "For the non-English part of the UK that is ... the most integrated with England, it's pretty astonishing how many English commentators have exactly zero political clue about Wales." In March 2021, Hastings wrote that the prospect of a showdown between the United States and China over

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

was becoming increasingly likely.

Select bibliography

Books

Reportage

* ''America 1968: The Fire this Time'' (Gollancz, 1969) * ''Ulster 1969: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Northern Ireland'' (Gollancz, 1970) * ''The Battle for the Falklands'' (with

Simon Jenkins Sir Simon David Jenkins (born 10 June 1943) is a British author, a newspaper columnist and editor. He was editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1976 to 1978 and of ''The Times'' from 1990 to 1992. Jenkins chaired the National Trust from 20 ...

) (W W Norton, 1983) , (Michael Joseph, 1983)

Biography

* ''Montrose: The King's Champion'' ( Gollancz, 1977) * ''Yoni: Hero of Entebbe: Life of Yonathan Netanyahu'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1980)

Autobiography

* ''Going to the Wars'' (Macmillan, 2000) * ''Editor: A Memoir'' (Macmillan, 2002) * ''Did You Really Shoot the Television?: A Family Fable'' (London, HarperPress, 2010)

History

* ''Bomber Command'' (Michael Joseph, 1979) * ''The Battle of Britain'' (with

Len Deighton Leonard Cyril Deighton (; born 18 February 1929) is a British author. His publications have included cookery books, history and military history, but he is best known for his spy novels. After completing his national service in the Royal Air ...

) (

Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death in 1960. Cape and his business partner Wren Howard set up the publishing house in 1921. They established a reputation ...

, 1980) * ''Das Reich: Resistance and the March of the Second SS Panzer Division Through France, June 1944'' (Michael Joseph, 1981) , (Henry Holt & Co, 1982) * ''Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy'' (

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publi ...

, 1984) * ''Victory in Europe'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1985) (Little Brown & C, 1992) * ''The Korean War'' (Michael Joseph, 1987) , (Simon & Schuster, 1987) * ''Armageddon: The Battle for Germany 1944–45'' (

Macmillan MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to: People * McMillan (surname) * Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan * Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician * James MacMillan, Scottish composer * William Duncan MacMillan ...

, 2004) * ''Warriors: Exceptional Tales from the Battlefield'' (HarperPress K 2005) * ''Nemesis: The Battle for Japan 1944–45'' (HarperPress K October 2007) (re-titled ''Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944–45'' for US release Knopf ) * ''Finest Years: Churchill as Warlord 1940–45'' (London, HarperPress, 2009) (re-titled ''Winston's War: Churchill, 1940–1945'' for US release by Knopf, 2010, ) * '' All Hell Let Loose: The World At War 1939–1945'' (London, HarperPress, 29 September 2011) (re-titled ''Inferno: The World At War, 1939–1945'' for US release by Knopf, 1 November 2011, . 729 pp) * ''Catastrophe: Europe Goes to War 1914'' (London, Knopf Press, 24 September 2013) , 640 pp. * ''The Secret War: Spies, Codes And Guerrillas 1939–45'' (London: William Collins, 2015) * ''Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy 1945–1975'' (William Collins, 2018) * ''Chastise: The Dambusters Story 1943'' (William Collins, 2019) * ''Operation Pedestal: The Fleet that Battled to Malta 1942'' (William Collins, 2021) * ''Abyss: The Cuban Missile Crisis 1962'' (William Collins, 2022)

Countryside writing

* ''Outside Days'' (Michael Joseph, 1989) * ''Scattered Shots'' (Macmillan, 1999) * ''Country Fair'' (HarperCollins, October 2005) . 288 pp

Anthology

* ''The Oxford Book of Military Anecdotes (ed.)'' (

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

, 1985) * ''Soldiers: Great Stories of War and Peace'' (William Collins, 2021)

Journalism

Filmography

* '' Wellington Bomber'', 2010 BBC documentary * '' The Necessary War'', 2014 BBC documentary on the Centennial of the beginning of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

References

External links

* * * * *
Profile
debretts.com; accessed 2 April 2014.
Archive of Hastings' articles
''

''; accessed 2 April 2014.
Interview re "Editor: A Memoir"
guardian.co.uk; accessed 2 April 2014.
Profile
pritzkermilitary.org; accessed 2 April 2014.
Interview on ''Inferno''

Pritzker Military Museum & Library The Pritzker Military Museum & Library (formerly Pritzker Military Library) is a non-profit museum and a research library for the study of military history on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. The institution was founded in 2003, and its sp ...

, 16 November 2011; accessed 2 April 2014.
''Winston's War''

, 17 March 2010; accessed 2 April 2014.
Interview
on ''Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944–45'',

, 1 May 2008; accessed 2 April 2014
Interview
on ''Armageddon: The Battle for Germany, 1944–1945''],

, 30 November 2004; accessed 2 April 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hastings, Max Living people 1945 births People from Hungerford People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of University College, Oxford British people of the Falklands War English male journalists English military writers English newspaper editors English columnists Writers from London Fellows of King's College London Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Fellows of the Royal Historical Society The Guardian journalists English war correspondents London Evening Standard people Knights Bachelor 20th-century English writers 21st-century English writers