New Releases by Max Hastings

A two-book collection of Max Hastings’ bestselling works about the 20th century’s most terrible global conflicts.

From the acclaimed military historian, a history of the outbreak of World War I: the dramatic stretch from the breakdown of diplomacy to the battles—the Marne, Ypres, Tannenberg—that marked the frenzied first year before the war bogged down in the trenches. In Catastrophe 1914, Max Hastings gives us a conflict different from the familiar one of barbed wire, mud and futility. He traces the path to war, making clear why Germany and Austria-Hungary were primarily to blame, and describes the gripping first clashes in the West, where the French army marched into action in uniforms of red and blue with flags flying and bands playing. In August, four days after the French suffered 27,000 men dead in a single day, the British fought an extraordinary holding action against oncoming Germans, one of the last of its kind in history. In October, at terrible cost the British held the allied line against massive German assaults in the first battle of Ypres. Hastings also re-creates the lesser-known battles on the Eastern Front, brutal struggles in Serbia, East Prussia and Galicia, where the Germans, Austrians, Russians and Serbs inflicted three million casualties upon one another by Christmas. As he has done in his celebrated, award-winning works on World War II, Hastings gives us frank assessments of generals and political leaders and masterly analyses of the political currents that led the continent to war. He argues passionately against the contention that the war was not worth the cost, maintaining that Germany’s defeat was vital to the freedom of Europe. Throughout we encounter statesmen, generals, peasants, housewives and private soldiers of seven nations in Hastings’s accustomed blend of top-down and bottom-up accounts: generals dismounting to lead troops in bayonet charges over 1,500 feet of open ground; farmers who at first decried the requisition of their horses; infantry men engaged in a haggard retreat, sleeping four hours a night in their haste. This is a vivid new portrait of how a continent became embroiled in war and what befell millions of men and women in a conflict that would change everything.

Best viewed on a tablet, includes exclusive audio and video. The special edition of Max Hastings’ magisterial chronicle of Europe in 1914. Explore the position of armies in detail. Search the timeline for the ultimate overview. Watch footage of the protagonists, battlefields and wartime cities. Hear an exclusive author interview.

DIVBomber Command is Sir Max Hastings’ classic account of one of the most controversial struggles of World War II: the British air offensive against the cities of Nazi Germany. /div

«Scritto con fluidità e autorevolezza, Inferno offre un resoconto della guerra che si concentra sul vissuto degli uomini e delle donne che vi hanno preso parte. Quasi in ogni pagina c’è materiale memorabile ricavato da interviste, diari, lettere, ricordi e documenti personali di vario genere. Una teoria di personaggi e testimoni che dà a questo grandioso libro un respiro quasi tolstoiano». New York Times «Un’opera davvero grandiosa: umana, scettica, vivace, autorevole e assolutamente priva di sciovinismo». Independent «Max Hastings non ci risparmia niente nel ritrarre la sanguinosa ferocia della peggiore guerra che il mondo abbia mai vissuto. Un libro magnifico e ipnotico, dalla prima all’ultima pagina». Sunday Telegraph «Maestoso... Impossibile uscirne senza il senso della vastità della tragedia umana». Daily Telegraph «Nessun’altro libro sulla Seconda guerra mondiale amalgama con tanto successo dati oggettivi, analisi prettamente storiche, toccanti vicende umane e argomenti di strategia militare». Times

Collected here for the first time are key works by this century''s leading military historians, all recipients of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing. The Pritzker Literature Award honors writers whose work adds to the public''s understanding of military history and the role played by the military in civil society. In the tradition of historians dating back to ancient times, these authors and scholars demonstrate the numerous ways to write about military history. The surreal fiction of Tim O''Brien''s Vietnam is just pages from an in-depth look at General George S. Patton by today''s leading biographer, Carlo D''Este. Max Hastings and Rick Atkinson use their backgrounds to add a journalistic touch to modern studies of World War I and World War II, respectively. Gerhard Weinberg examines global leaders during World War II as Allan Millett discusses the developing technology that allowed them to further their causes. And James McPherson, the preeminent living Civil War scholar examines crisis in America with accessible and articulate literary skill.

''Much excellent gossip, some of it wildly indiscreet . . . Hastings is a brilliant reporter'' – Sunday Telegraph ''The acuity of his insights make this book a wholly compelling read'' – Observer In 1985 Max Hastings was offered the editorship of a nearly bankrupt national institution – the Daily Telegraph – in a surprise move by its owners. This candid and entertaining memoir tells the story of what happened next both to him and to the newspaper he revived. It is all here: the rows with prime ministers, the coverage world events, the daily office dramas. Max describes his complex relationship with proprietor Conrad Black and offers an extraordinary perspective on the fall of Margaret Thatcher, decline of John Major and rise of Tony Blair. From the troubles of the Royal Family to the difficulties of dealing with lawyers, celebrities and statesmen, Editor is a compelling and vivid account of a turbulent ten years by the man with the inside scoop. ''I doubt any book captures so well the romance and thrill of running a great newspaper'' – Nicholas Shakespeare, Evening Standard

I denne boken om annen verdenskrig presenterer Max Hastings den militære historien, samtidig som han lar vanlige menneskers opplevelser og øyenvitneskildringer være bokens bærebjelke. Her er det de sivile og soldater fra hele verden som beskriver redslene krigen medførte. Hastings har også skrevet boken "Armageddon" (2008).

"O retrato de um tremendo confronto armado compensatório para os Aliados, e não para os alemães, na vitória final. Os primeiros relatos do cenário em que ocorreram os desembarques e seus preparativos serão familiares para alguns leitores, mas a sua inclusão parece necessária em prol da perfeição, pois uma história tão maravilhosa merece ser contada novamente. Procurei examinar aspetos menos estudados da estratégia e desempenho dos exércitos e analisar algumas verdades incómodas sobre o que ocorreu no verão de 1944." Os famosos desembarques do dia D, a 6 de Junho de 1944, marcaram o início da Operação Overlord, a célebre batalha pela libertação da Europa. Max Hastings desconstrói neste livro alguns mitos deste conflito, escrevendo um estudo memorável. Com relatos na primeira pessoa de sobreviventes dos dois lados e uma grande profusão de fontes e documentos inexplorados, Operação Overlord proporciona uma perspetiva brilhante mas também controversa da devastadora batalha da Normandia.

«Este es sobre todo un libro de experiencias humanas», nos dice Max Hastings, autor de libros tan valiosos como Armagedon, Némesis y La guerra de Churchill, que ha querido culminar su carrera como investigador de la historia de la Segunda guerra mundial con una ambiciosa visión global, que se aparta de las que se han publicado hasta ahora por el peso que da a las experiencias vividas. “Hombres y mujeres de un buen número de naciones –nos dice- se han afanado por buscar palabras con las que describir lo que vivieron”. Valiéndose de estos testimonios de quienes participaron en la guerra en los más diversos escenarios del planeta, Hastings enriquece el relato de bombardeos, batallas y crímenes de guerra con una dimensión humana que los transforma. Esta no es la visión histórica tradicional, elaborada a partir de los que han dicho y escrito políticos y generales, sino un relato coral, construido con las voces de los de abajo, víctimas y verdugos, que nos ofrecen una imagen nueva y distinta de la guerra.

Recommended for viewing on a tablet. From one of our finest historians, a magisterial account of the most terrible event in history – World War II.

The extraordinary story of the eccentric family of Britain''s most outstanding military historian, Max Hastings. The author is the son of broadcaster and adventurer Macdonald Hastings and journalist and gardening writer Anne Scott-James. One of his grandfathers was a literary editor while the other wrote plays and essays, and penned an enchanting memoir of his own Victorian childhood. His great-uncle was an African hunter who wrote poetry and became one of Max''s heroes. The author tells a richly picaresque story, featuring guest appearances by a host of celebrities from Thomas Hardy and Joseph Conrad to John Betjeman and Osbert Lancaster, who became Anne Scott-James''s third husband. ''All families are dysfunctional'', Anne asserted impenitently to Max, but the Hastingses managed to be more dysfunctional than most. His father roamed the world for newspapers and as a presenter for BBC TV''s legendary Tonight programme, while his mother edited âe~Harper''s Bazaarâe(tm), became a famous columnist and wrote bestselling gardening books. Here, the author brings together this remarkable cast of forebears, ''a tribe of eccentrics'', as he himself characterises them. By turns moving, dramatic and comic, the book portrays Max''s own childhood fraught with rows and explosions, in which the sudden death of a television set was only one highlight. His story will make a lot of people laugh and perhaps a few cry. It helps to explain why Max Hastings, whose family has produced more than eighty books over three generations, felt bound to follow their path of high adventure and popular journalism.

A magisterial history of the greatest and most terrible event in history, from one of the finest historians of the Second World War. A book which shows the impact of war upon hundreds of millions of people around the world- soldiers, sailors and airmen; housewives, farm workers and children.

Boken handler om kappløpet mot Berlin i krigens siste fase. Hastings analyserer hvorfor det gikk galt med de alliertes felttog fra vest og stiller spørsmålet: Hvem hadde ansvaret for at de allierte ikke vant krigen i 1944? Han har intervjuet 170 tidsvitner og gransket arkiver i flere land. Forfatteren er tidligere avisredaktør og har skrevet flere bøker om andre verdenskrig tidligere.

Churchill fue el líder de guerra más grande de Gran Bretaña y, hasta 1940, la nación le había seguido de una manera extraordinaria. Pero a partir de entonces —sostiene Max Hastings— hubo una profunda división entre el dirigente y el pueblo británico hasta tal punto que, en 1942, su popularidad tocó fondo en medio de una sucesión ininterrumpida de derrotas en el campo de batalla. Algunos de sus colegas más cercanos se unieron para que abandonase su papel de director de guerra. Hastings ofrece una nítida imagen del primer ministro en el triunfo y la tragedia, como cuando la impulsividad de Churchill amenazó con perder casi todas las tropas desplegadas en el noroeste de Francia. La unidad británica en tiempos de guerra se vio empañada cada vez más por los disturbios de los trabajadores, con muchas huelgas en las minas y las industrias. Hastings proporciona además nuevas perspectivas sobre el dirigente inglés basándose en la opinión de los soldados británicos, los civiles y los periódicos de la época, y condena algunas de sus acciones fallidas, como su intento de promover levantamientos de masas en la Europa ocupada y su "impensable" plan para liberar Polonia, que implicaba una ofensiva aliada contra los rusos. Este libro no sólo supone un retrato íntimo y afectuoso de Churchill como el salvador de Gran Bretaña, sino también un examen implacable del papel que jugó la nación durante la guerra.

An exhilarating and uplifting account of the lives of sixteen ‘warriors’ from the last three centuries, hand-picked for their bravery or extraordinary military experience by the eminent military historian, author and ex-editor of the Daily Telegraph, Sir Max Hastings.

A controversial wartime profile of the iconic prime minister analyzes Churchill''s relationships with his country, its allies and its armed forces, offering insight into his deliberate establishment of positive ties with FDR and his more questionable decisions. By the award-winning author of Retribution.

Military History.

''I would choose this account over and above the rest. It is a fabulous book: full of perceptive insight that conveys all the tragedy, triumph, humour and intense drama of Churchill''s time as wartime leader; and it is incredibly moving as a result'' James Holland, Literary Review

By the summer of 1944 it was clear that Japan''s defeat was inevitable, but how the drive to victory would be achieved remained unclear. The ensuing drama—that ended in Japan''s utter devastation—was acted out across the vast theater of Asia in massive clashes between army, air, and naval forces. In recounting these extraordinary events, Max Hastings draws incisive portraits of MacArthur, Mao, Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, and other key figures of the war in the East. But he is equally adept in his portrayals of the ordinary soldiers and sailors caught in the bloodiest of campaigns. With its piercing and convincing analysis, Retribution is a brilliant telling of an epic conflict from a master military historian at the height of his powers.

This book is an examination of the intellectual milestones and contributions of the IISS to fifty years of strategic studies.

In the second book of the series, the Imperial War Museum once again supplies memorabilia, images and personal testimonies which bring the last century of the British Navy to life. Packed with extensive information on the key people, campaigns, ships and vessels that have shaped the twentieth century of naval history, the book is fully endorsed by the Imperial War Museum, and fronted by noted historian and journalist Sir Max Hastings. This will be a fascinating reference for anyone interested in the military and recent history.

No hubo una Segunda guerra mundial, nos dice Max Hastings, autor de Armagedón, sino dos, completamente distintas: la que se desarrolló en Europa y la que tuvo por escenario el oriente de Asia y el Pacífico, con más de treinta millones de muertos. Este libro nos habla de esta “otra” guerra, no menos dramática y trascendental, pero hasta hoy demasiado olvidada. Basándose en un gran trabajo de documentación y en la recogida de testimonios de los supervivientes, Hastings recupera esta epopeya, en una sucesión de episodios que van desde la historia del “ejército olvidado” de los británicos en Birmania hasta la invasión soviética de Manchuria, pasando por los sufrimientos del pueblo chino, las grandes batallas navales, la brutalidad de los campos de prisioneros y de los barcos de la muerte, la lucha por las Filipinas, la sangrienta conquista de Iwo Jima, la destrucción de las ciudades japonesas incendiadas por los bombardeos con “napalm” o el drama secreto que se desarrolló en torno al palacio imperial de Tokio en los días de la capitulación.