Going to the Wars

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 coward: 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