Max Hastings

With an investigative drive for uncovering the truth, Sir Max Hastings rose through the ranks to become one of Britain’s foremost military historians and journalists. ...

Born in 1945, Max was 17 and on an exercise with a parachute regiment in Cyprus when he realized that a military life was not for him, despite the admiration he felt for those in service. Following in the footsteps of his parents he turned to writing, winning a World Press Institute fellowship in his early 20s that allowed him to spend a few months in the USA – a period that inspired his first book, America 1968 – before becoming foreign correspondent for the BBC and the London Evening Standard, for whom he reported on conflicts including Northern Ireland, the Middle East and Vietnam.

As his writing developed Hastings became adept at blending his research skills and historical knowledge with a determination to convey the experiences of ordinary people – even sneaking to the front without official authorization to gain better coverage of the 1973 Yom Kippur War – and while the publication of his Bomber Command in 1979 met with success it wasn’t enough to entice him away from journalism. When the Falklands War broke out Hastings became one of the few reporters allowed on the island, his accounts becoming a crucial source of information and leading to awards from the British Press. By now the 40-year anniversary of the Normandy landings was approaching and Hastings completed Overlord, which became a bestseller but sparked controversy for its criticism of the Allies and acknowledgement of the Germany army’s strength.

Sixteen years at the Telegraph and Evening Standard followed and it wasn’t until Hastings retired from newspapers that he was able to devote his time to Armageddon, a study of the Eastern and Western fronts during the 1944–45 battle for Europe. Demonstrating an on-going commitment to military history, he has since produced a string of masterful studies – each one further cementing his reputation for portraying events as they happened rather than adding a patriotic gloss or interpreting them through the values of the present day. Now living in West Berkshire, where he tends to his garden and continues to write for Bloomberg, his numerous awards include a knighthood for services to journalism and the 2012 Pritzker prize for lifetime achievement.