THE former Daily Telegraph editor's account of his 'pheonix from the flames' transformation of the old national fossil should have been an engaging tale of tussles with Thatcher, Major and proprietor Conrad Black.
Instead it is a largely overblown, ego-driven account of How I Won the War.
Hastings' self-grandeur and smugness is mildly amusing at first, but quickly becomes irritating. He comes across as arrogant, his self-deprecating comments regarding some of his own staff largely masking his own inability to engage or inspire them.
The passages on how he swept the old guard aside as the new broom are frightening, indicative of an era which has thankfully gone. As has Max - fortunately.
Updated: 09:35 Wednesday, September 24, 2003
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