Sir Max Hugh Macdonald Hastings (; born 28 December 1945) is a British
journalist
A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism.
Roles
Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
and military historian, 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 British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'', and editor of the ''
Evening Standard
The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...
''. He is also the author of thirty books, most significantly histories, which have won several major awards. Hastings currently writes a bimonthly column for ''
Bloomberg Opinion
Bloomberg L.P. is an American 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 Ze ...
'' and contributes to ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' and ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday 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 N ...
''.
Early life
Hastings' parents were
Macdonald Hastings, a journalist and
correspondent, and
Anne Scott-James, sometime editor of ''
Harper's Bazaar
''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...
''.
He was educated at
Charterhouse and
University College, Oxford
University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...
, which he left after a year.
Career
Hastings moved to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, 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 and reported from more than sixty countries and eleven wars for
BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...
's ''
Twenty-Four Hours'' current affairs programme and for the ''
Evening Standard
The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...
'' in London.
Hastings was the first person accompanying the British Task Force to enter
Port Stanley on the last day of the 1982
Falklands War
The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
. After ten years as editor and then editor-in-chief of ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'', he returned to the ''Evening Standard'' as editor in 1996 and remained there until his retirement in 2002.
[ Hastings was appointed a ]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 Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...
in the 2002 Birthday Honours 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'' ''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) is a defence and security think tank with its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1831 by the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley ...
'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 title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
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 800 Fellows, elect ...
, and the Royal Historical Society
The Royal Historical Society (RHS), 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 H ...
. He was President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England
Campaign or The Campaign may refer to:
Types of campaigns
* Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beet
A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and that is grown commercially for sugar produ ...
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 country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
's role in the last year of the Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...
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 (AWM) is a national war memorial, war museum, museum and archive dedicated to all Australians who died as a result of war, including peacekeeping duties. The AWM is located in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory, C ...
, for allegedly exaggerating discontent in the Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is 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 ...
. Dan van der Vat in ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' called it "even-handed", "refreshing" and "sensitive" and praised the language used. ''The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...
'' 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 newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...
'' between 2002 and 2008 and often contributes articles to other publications such as ''The Guardian'', and ''The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday 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 N ...
''. He also currently writes a bimonthly column for Bloomberg Opinion
Bloomberg L.P. is an American 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 Ze ...
.
Personal life
Hastings lives near Hungerford, Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
, 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.
Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
in Ningbo, China. He dedicated his book ''Nemesis: The Battle for Japan 1944–45'', which was published in 2007, to Charles's memory.
Political views
Hastings has at different times voted for all three major British political parties. He announced his support for the Conservative Party at the 2010 general election, having previously voted for the Labour Party at the 1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
and 2001
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
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 politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
as "wholly psychologically unfit to be Prime Minister
A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
".
In August 2014, Hastings was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' opposing Scottish independence
Scottish independence (; ) is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. The term Scottish independence refers to the political movement that is campaignin ...
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 and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
, 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
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North since 1983. Now an independent, Corbyn had been a member of the Labour Party from 1965 until his expulsion in 202 ...
, 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, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, w ...
– who will not find it funny for long." He 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 a ...
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 or a ''New Ireland'', is the proposition that all of Ireland should be a single sovereign state. At present, the island is divided politically: the sovereign state of Ireland (legally ...
but said he was against Scottish and Welsh independence. Hastings was widely criticised for stating in the article that the Welsh language
Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...
was of "marginal value" and that Wales could not succeed as an independent country because it was "dependent on English largesse". Huw Edwards 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. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
was becoming increasingly likely.
Select bibliography
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) (Michael Joseph, 1983) , (Norton, 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) (Jonathan Cape
Jonathan Cape is a British publishing firm headquartered in London and founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death.
Cape and his business partner Wren Howard (1893–1968) set up the publishing house in ...
, 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 LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...
, 1984)
* ''Victory in Europe: D-Day to VE-Day'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1985) (Little Brown & C, 1992)
* ''The Korean War'' (Michael Joseph, 1987) , (Simon & Schuster, 1987)
* ''Armageddon: The Battle for Germany 1944–45'' ( 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
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers ...
)
* ''Finest Years: Churchill as Warlord 1940–45'' (London, HarperPress, 2009) (re-titled ''Winston's War: Churchill, 1940–1945'' for US release by Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers ...
, 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
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers ...
, 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)
* ''Operation Biting: The 1942 Parachute Assault to Capture Hitler's Radar'' (William Collins, 2024)
* ''Sword: D-Day Trial by Battle'' (William Collins, 2025)
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 publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.
See also
* Clan Macdonald of Sleat
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
Profile
debretts.com; accessed 2 April 2014.
Archive of Hastings' articles
''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''; 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 research library for the study of military history located in a state-of-the art facility in Kenosha, WI. The institution was founded in 2003, ...
, 16 November 2011; accessed 2 April 2014.
''Winston's War''
Pritzker Military Museum & Library
The Pritzker Military Museum & Library (formerly Pritzker Military Library) is a non-profit museum and research library for the study of military history located in a state-of-the art facility in Kenosha, WI. The institution was founded in 2003, ...
, 17 March 2010; accessed 2 April 2014.
Interview
on ''Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944–45'', Pritzker Military Museum & Library
The Pritzker Military Museum & Library (formerly Pritzker Military Library) is a non-profit museum and research library for the study of military history located in a state-of-the art facility in Kenosha, WI. The institution was founded in 2003, ...
, 1 May 2008; accessed 2 April 2014
Interview
on ''Armageddon: The Battle for Germany, 1944–1945''], Pritzker Military Museum & Library
The Pritzker Military Museum & Library (formerly Pritzker Military Library) is a non-profit museum and research library for the study of military history located in a state-of-the art facility in Kenosha, WI. The institution was founded in 2003, ...
, 30 November 2004; accessed 2 April 2014.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hastings, Max
Living people
1945 births
People from Hungerford
People from Lambeth
People educated at Charterhouse School
Alumni of University College, Oxford
British people of the Falklands War
English male journalists
English military historians
English newspaper editors
English columnists
Writers from the London Borough of Lambeth
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