Let me admit that I was not familiar with him before Rachel Maddow discussed him last night. I was not aware of the tragic way his girlfriend died in Iraq and his epic book of sorrow and anger about her untimely demise, I lost My Love in Baghdad.
http://www.amazon.com/Lost-My-Love-Baghdad-Modern/dp/B004JZWSZC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1371673928&sr=8-3&keywords=michael+hastings
He was an amazing investigative reporter who argued taht he had proved that it's possible to do real journalism while maintaining access with the people of influence you need to really be an investigative reporter.
Yet, what took me aback even more was the revelation that Rachel did the show because of his death in a car crash a day ago at the age of 33.
"Hastings, who was also a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, was perhaps best known for his candid Rolling Stone interview with General Stanley McChrystal, then the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, that eventually led to McChrystal being relieved of his command.
He was also the author of two books about America's wars: The Operators, detailing the flaws of the U.S. military operation in Afghanistan, and I Lost My Love In Baghdad, about his experiences as a war correspondent in Iraq during his mid-twenties."
"Hastings joined BuzzFeed in April 2012 to cover the presidential election. He is survived by his wife, Elise Jordan."
"We are shocked and devastated by the news that Michael Hastings is gone," BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith said in a statement. "Michael was a great, fearless journalist with an incredible instinct for the story, and a gift for finding ways to make his readers care about anything he covered from wars to politicians. He wrote stories that would otherwise have gone unwritten, and without him there are great stories that will go untold. Michael was also a wonderful, generous colleague and a joy to work with."
"Rolling Stone managing editor Will Dana also remembered Hastings' uncompromising, aggressive reporting style. "Great reporters exude a certain kind of electricity," Dana said in Rolling Stone's obituary, "the sense that there are stories burning inside them, and that there's no higher calling or greater way to live life than to be always relentlessly trying to find and tell those stories. I'm sad that I'll never get to publish all the great stories that he was going to write, and sad that he won't be stopping by my office for any more short visits which would stretch for two or three completely engrossing hours."
"Hastings' dedication to journalism shines through in ten pieces of advice for young journalists that he shared on Reddit last year. "Mainly you really have to love writing and reporting. Like it's more important to you than anything else in your life--family, friends, social life, whatever," he wrote."
What I find even more arresting though, is that nobody seems to be even belaboring the circumstances of his death. Nobody seems suprised and nobody really gives much detail-certainly neither this short piece by Huffpo or Rachel's piece last night. I mean doesn't anyone wonder how he just came to 'hit a tree at high speed?' It's funny how everyone just takes this part of the story so matter of factly?
He also wrote a number of other great books and of course it was his interview that got General McCrystal relieved of his command.
http://www.amazon.com/Panic-2012-Terrifying-Campaign-ebook/dp/B00AR48WB8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371673928&sr=8-1&keywords=michael+hastings
Another book is a fascinating look at the 2012 Obama campaign which, yeah, I've already brought through Kindle Cloud Player-note, I don't have a Kindle, Amazon gives me the Cloud Player, so if you want to get this-or any other low priced book immediately you can get it too.
http://www.amazon.com/Lost-My-Love-Baghdad-Modern/dp/B004JZWSZC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1371673928&sr=8-3&keywords=michael+hastings
He was an amazing investigative reporter who argued taht he had proved that it's possible to do real journalism while maintaining access with the people of influence you need to really be an investigative reporter.
Yet, what took me aback even more was the revelation that Rachel did the show because of his death in a car crash a day ago at the age of 33.
"Hastings, who was also a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, was perhaps best known for his candid Rolling Stone interview with General Stanley McChrystal, then the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, that eventually led to McChrystal being relieved of his command.
He was also the author of two books about America's wars: The Operators, detailing the flaws of the U.S. military operation in Afghanistan, and I Lost My Love In Baghdad, about his experiences as a war correspondent in Iraq during his mid-twenties."
"Hastings joined BuzzFeed in April 2012 to cover the presidential election. He is survived by his wife, Elise Jordan."
"We are shocked and devastated by the news that Michael Hastings is gone," BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith said in a statement. "Michael was a great, fearless journalist with an incredible instinct for the story, and a gift for finding ways to make his readers care about anything he covered from wars to politicians. He wrote stories that would otherwise have gone unwritten, and without him there are great stories that will go untold. Michael was also a wonderful, generous colleague and a joy to work with."
"Rolling Stone managing editor Will Dana also remembered Hastings' uncompromising, aggressive reporting style. "Great reporters exude a certain kind of electricity," Dana said in Rolling Stone's obituary, "the sense that there are stories burning inside them, and that there's no higher calling or greater way to live life than to be always relentlessly trying to find and tell those stories. I'm sad that I'll never get to publish all the great stories that he was going to write, and sad that he won't be stopping by my office for any more short visits which would stretch for two or three completely engrossing hours."
"Hastings' dedication to journalism shines through in ten pieces of advice for young journalists that he shared on Reddit last year. "Mainly you really have to love writing and reporting. Like it's more important to you than anything else in your life--family, friends, social life, whatever," he wrote."
What I find even more arresting though, is that nobody seems to be even belaboring the circumstances of his death. Nobody seems suprised and nobody really gives much detail-certainly neither this short piece by Huffpo or Rachel's piece last night. I mean doesn't anyone wonder how he just came to 'hit a tree at high speed?' It's funny how everyone just takes this part of the story so matter of factly?
He also wrote a number of other great books and of course it was his interview that got General McCrystal relieved of his command.
http://www.amazon.com/Panic-2012-Terrifying-Campaign-ebook/dp/B00AR48WB8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371673928&sr=8-1&keywords=michael+hastings
Another book is a fascinating look at the 2012 Obama campaign which, yeah, I've already brought through Kindle Cloud Player-note, I don't have a Kindle, Amazon gives me the Cloud Player, so if you want to get this-or any other low priced book immediately you can get it too.
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