Going to the Wars

by Max Hastings

Max Hastings grew up with romantic dreams of a life amongst warriors. But after his failure as a parachute soldier in Cyprus in 1963, he became a journalist instead. Before he was 30 he had reported conflicts in Northern Ireland, Biafra, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Middle East, Cyprus, Rhodesia, India and a string of other trouble spots. His final effort was as a war correspondent during the Falklands War. Going to the Wars is a story of his experiences reporting from these battlefields. It is also the story of a self-confessed a writer with heroic ambitions who found himself recording the acts of heroes. 'Max Hastings is one of the greatest living war correspondents.' John Keegan 'A wonderful account of the wars of our times.' William Shawcross, Literary Review 'His memoirs have ...honesty, pace and readability.' Jeremy Paxman 'The chapters on the Falklands War are ...one of the best things written about warfare in half a century.' John Simpson, Daily Telegraph 'This memoir is a first-class piece of reportage.' Jon Swain, Sunday Times

Genres: History, Nonfiction, War, Biography, Military Fiction, Memoir, Military History

399 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Sir Max Hugh Macdonald Hastings, FRSL, FRHistS is a British journalist, editor, historian and author. His parents were Macdonald Hastings, a journalist and war correspondent, and Anne Scott-James, sometime editor of Harper's Bazaar.

Hastings was educated at Charterhouse School and University College, Oxford, which he left after a year.After leaving Oxford University, Max Hastings became a foreign correspondent, and reported from more than sixty countries and eleven wars for BBC TV and the London Evening Standard.

Among his bestselling books Bomber Command won the Somerset Maugham Prize, and both Overlord and The Battle for the Falklands won the Yorkshire Post Book of the Year Prize.

After ten years as editor and then editor-in-chief of The Daily Telegraph, he became editor of the Evening Standard in 1996. He has won many awards for his journalism, including Journalist of The Year and What the Papers Say Reporter of the Year for his work in the South Atlantic in 1982, and Editor of the Year in 1988.

He stood down as editor of the Evening Standard in 2001 and was knighted in 2002. His monumental work of military history, Armageddon: The Battle for Germany 1944-1945 was published in 2005.

He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Sir Max Hastings honoured with the $100,000 2012 Pritzker Military Library Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing.

Reviews

[Zechy · Rating 4 out of 5]

First: The reason I left off a star is the chapter entitled 'Yoni'. I won't go into to much detail because it's not really worth it. I just wish that in this case he could have kept the perspective he shows so often in the rest of the book. In the chapter's on Rhodesia and Angola he managed to show his disapproval and even contempt of some without letting it colour his portrayal of the whole. I think, as is so often the case, he let his disappointment in his disillusionment get away with him. Yes, Israel, and in particular the Israeli government is not perfect, and yes, he got royally screwed over. But. He takes a family who in their mourning idealize their son and brother, and blames them for responding badly to his less then flattering portrayal of that same son, who had died months before. I think a little more recognition of the other side of this issue was in order.

Now that that's over. I can honestly say that this is the best book on reporters, reporting, and war correspondence I have ever read. The author is one of the most sensible, reasonable, and clear thinking people I have read on the subject, and he really knows his stuff. His comments on censorship and the inherent dishonesty of television news in particular are worth reading. He writes about his own lack of physical courage and his attempts to live up to his family's reputation with humor and a healthy helping of chagrin, and he writes about such events as the American involvement in Indochina, the Irish troubles, and the Yom Kippur War with clarity and a great deal of discernment. Everywhere in the book his understanding of, and sympathy for, the common soldier is obvious. The book culminates with his account of the Falklands War, worth reading all on it's own, even if one doesn't want to read the whole book.

In short, I recommend this book to most everyone with any curiosity about war, and war reporting. I feel that this book is required reading for anyone who wants to be a war correspondent, and highly recommended as well for anyone contemplating military service, as he writes about things that don't get much recognition but really are central to the whole mess.

[Robert Webber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Max Hastings professes that his favourite book is ‘My Early Life’ by Winston Churchill who, by the age of 26, seemed to have lived a hundred crowded lives compared to my solitary effort. This book has a similar feel as Hastings recounts his first hand experiences of reporting from the battlefields of the Yom Kippur war, Biafra, Vietnam and the Falklands.

I found this to be an honest portrayal of his experiences both owning up to his failings whilst enjoying his own achievements. Anybody who is interested in the conflicts of the 1960s, 70s and 80s will find some interesting insights and perspectives here. Written in accessible and easily readable prose, this book is well worth reading. Recommended.

[Rage · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant look at war correspondence. I'd only ever known Max Hastings from his post-journalism history books, and this was an entirely different look at the crazy things he did; journalism is entirely different to book-writing, and I feel like it validates my childhood dream to be a war correspondent, reading all of his adventures. Although the main set-piece of the book is the Falklands War, I did feel the most moved by the Vietnam War interludes; he seemed to have been writing from a place of real emotion there, both for the war as well as for the local people, which I appreciated. Instead of the usual slap-bang-America stuff there was feeling for the landscape and the country and even the defeated ARVN generals, who cried silently as the helicopter took off.

It is of course, as you would expect from a knighted member of the gentry who's great friends with John Keegan, a bit establishment at times - Hastings himself admits that he got a lot of help just being this posh white fellow, and I wasn't surprised after finishing the book and doing a quick google search that he's voted Conservative before. (I was in fact more surprised that he used to vote Labour). There are some condescending, jingoistic, or plain annoying sentiments here and there. The whole rah rah Imperialism really shone through during the Falklands. But I appreciated his attempts to admit and contend with these views, particularly his rethinking of his admiration for Israel (and admission of the Yoni book) - it felt similar to what I went through having read about the Six Day War before I really understood anything else about Israel, and I was glad that he didn't gloss over that and pretend that everything was all right.

[Dan Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read, Hastings' memoirs cover his war reporting and relationship with the military over his career with sections on Ulster, Nigeria, Vietnam, Israel, Rhodesia, Angola, and the Falklands. He does not flinch from reporting his own failures and the picture he paints of himself is of a very flawed character.

I found the section on the time he was commissioned to write a book about the commander of the Entebbe raid particularly interesting, and the connection with modern politics (the commander was the older brother of Bibi Netanyahu) only increases the interest. And then there's the largest section, on the Falklands campaign. Hastings felt he was born to report on this conflict and history has borne him out. The story makes compelling reading.

It's inevitable that an author's background and cultural / political views will colour his or her memoirs and some readers might be slightly put off by Hastings upper middle class and jingoistic mindset - he did, after all, become Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Telegraph so any British readers will know what to expect in that regard. However, this did not spoil the book for me, partly because of Hastings ability to criticise himself and his ilk.

Very good - recommended.

[Fionnuala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just what I hoped for, really. I love this focused, fly-on-the-wall style of memoir, especially with war journalism. This was a lot of fun to read, detailed and engaging and full of the detail and anecdotes you'd hope for, as well as a lot of solid information about the conflicts and the experience of being there. Hastings comes across as confident and honest, unafraid to admit when he's done things that are certainly brave, but just as unafraid to admit when his courage failed him, where his limits are, and where criticism is valid. He also navigates some difficult personal experiences and development with incredible skill.

Solid and entertaining, but never surface-level. Hastings has a lot of practise writing books and organising facts for maximum impact and engagement, and it comes together well in this memoir.

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant ... being from an army family and as a youngster myself being aware of the numerous wars of the 60's, 70's and 80's, Hasting's war correspondent's tales of Fleet Street and the BBC's reporting of the period was a fascinating read. Although Hastings did TV reporting his true vocation was that as a wordsmith, in which he excels. His own family and upbringing is covered which is of interest as to how it enabled him to move around within the front lines of battle and understand the military character.

[James Wilson FRHistS · Rating 4 out of 5]

As ever with Hastings, a very readable and enjoyable book. Unlike most of his other works, this is about himself and his own experiences, so criticisms about his take on each conflict are less relevant. His most famous moment as a war correspondent by far was being the "first man into Stanley" during the Falklands War: he was with the British troops just outside Port Stanley when the Argentine surrender was announced. Reasoning that as a civilian he wasn't bound by the order to the troops to hold position, he scrubbed himself to look as least like a soldier as possible and walked into the town, knowing he'd become either a living hero or a dead idiot. He went past some understandably depressed-looking Argentine soldiers and into the bar of the Upland Goose hotel, where the phlegmatic locals received him. He was rather resented by a few of the other correspondents in that conflict - not just for his final scoop - but shrugs it off since anyone else (he reasons) would have done the same if they had had his opportunities.

[Peter Brickwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remarkably, I was able to read this because non-fiction is frequently beyond my attention span and I have to listen to books while doing something mundane, like sorting Lego. Particularly intriguing is the honesty with which Hasting describes his affinity for all things military, is ineptitude for actual soldiering and his genuine terror in combat. A thoroughly fascinating read.

[Tony Styles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hastings’ short review of a long career…

The title of this review says it all. It was an almost unputdownable read but considering where Hastings had been in the world and what he’d seen the book was remarkably short on detail. Somewhat lazy the book could have been twice as long and even more of a compulsive read. Wets your appetite but sadly little more…

[Colin Freebury · Rating 2 out of 5]

One would never say that Hastings was 'an officer and a gentleman', but he doesn't seem to mind. Professional ethics be damned, he got his story describing how he was the "first man into [Port Stanley], along with of a photo of him looking manly, on the front page of the newspaper. Which could be a metaphor for how Britain came to rule an empire.

[Harrison Okins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A remarkably measured, personal, and personable self-portrait of a war correspondent’s life through some of the larger events in the latter third of the 20th century. Many nuggets of interest and education are contained within for readers with a mild interest in contemporary history.

At a minimum, it got me to subscribe to
Hasting’s Bloomberg column.

[Adam Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I think Max is a bit pompous and he would probably agree, but he knows his stuff when it comes to writing about conflict.
His insight into wars in all parts of the world are remarkable. The best bit is looking back on his time in Belfast, Saigon, Rhodesia, Israel and the Falklands. Every student of journalism should read this book. Hard to put down.

[The Bauchler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Informative, candid, and it filled in my knowledge gaps of 'small' wars like Angola, the Israeli Arab conflicts of the 60/70s.

He is a great war writer with a tactical/strategic understanding. He's also very forthcoming about his shortcomings.

Put it on your list to read.👍

[John Savage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read most of the author's works I enjoyed this late arrival to my list of his works

[Ian Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic book. It was good to read about wars from a different perspective.

[Kristaps · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like Hastings' books, you'll probably like this one. The "camera" is turned around to show what's it alike for the journalist during serious military action.

Often hilarious and sprinkled with self-deprecating humour.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Max Hastings 2000 account of his experiences as a war reporter from the late 1960s to the 1980s. As this covers his time in Northern Ireland, Vietnam, Israel, Rhodesia and the Falklands, it makes incredible reading, so different from the various histories of the campaigns concerned. Hastings isn't afraid to talk about events that he is not proud of, alongside those that he is, making for a reasonably balanced view of events. This however, is my perception, and not all may agree. You do get a skewed journalists viewpoint of many events, and this adds a great flavour to things. For example, military people do not generally welcome journalists - this comes across quite strongly in much of his anecdotes and the way in which he dealt with this problem makes for some interesting stories. Most enjoyable.

[Tariq Mahmood · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a travelogue of a war journalist, a most privileged one who was given quite a few opportunities to cover some of the post WW2 encounters in person. The most interesting chapters for me were the Vietnam and Arab/Israel wars. I thoroughly enjoyed the author's adventures in the war zones. I did not really enjoy the Falkland's war as it seemed to be an anti-climax when compared to some of the other wars in his book. Probably would have enjoyed more if I were British but that's impossible now :)

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing personal story, that is in turn masterfully written. The author has a very good grasp of his own limitations and doesn't try and sugar coat them in this autobiography. If you are interested in military history, the story of the man who has reported on almost every major military endeavor in the last 40 years will astound you. Worth the time even if you have not picked up any of his other books.

[Jesper Jorgensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always having a good time in company with Hastings' books. This book relates stories from some of the post WWII wars and conflicts with but with another angle than other good books on the subjects.
I really liked it

[Laura Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very insightful look into the experiences of one of Britain's top foreign correspondent and now prominent newspaper editors.

[Saint No Stopping Us · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10.

Max Hasting recounts his experiences covering various wars from Northern Ireland to Vietnam and the Falklands. Very interesting but the Falklands stuff is just like his other book.