The Last Magazine, Michael Hastings
The Last Magazine, Michael Hastings
List: $22.95 | Sale: $16.07
Club: $11.47

The Last Magazine
A Novel

Author: Michael Hastings

Narrator: Ramiz Monsef

Unabridged: 9 hr 10 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/17/2014


Synopsis

A posthumous debut novel—wry, wise, and outrageous—from award-winning journalist Michael Hastings, based on his experiences working for NewsweekThe year is 2002. Weekly news magazines dominate the political agenda in New York and Washington. A young journalist named Michael M. Hastings is an intern at the Magazine, wet behind the ears, the only one in the office who has actually read his coworkers' books. He will stop at nothing to turn his internship into a full-time position and has figured out just who to impress: Nishant Patel, the international editor, and Sanders Berman, managing editor—both vying for the job of editor-in-chief. While Berman and Nishant try to one-up each other pontificating on cable news, A. E. Peoria—the one reporter seemingly doing any work—is having a career crisis. He has just returned from Chad, where instead of reporting on the genocide, he was told by his editors to focus on mobile-phone outsourcing, as it's more relevant. Then suddenly, the United States invades Iraq—and all hell breaks loose.As Hastings loses his na├»vet├® about the journalism game, he must choose where his loyalties lie: with the men at the Magazine who can advance his career or with his friend in the field who is reporting the truth.The Last Magazine is the debut novel from Michael Hastings, discovered in his files after his death in June 2013. Based on Hastings' own experiences, it is funny, sharp, and fast-paced, a great book about the news game's final days in the tradition of Evelyn Waugh's Scoop, Hunter S. Thompson's The Rum Diary, and Calvin Trillin's Floater.

About Michael Hastings

Michael Hastings (1980–2013) was a contributing editor to Rolling Stone and a correspondent at large for BuzzFeed. Before that he worked for Newsweek, where he rose to prominence covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was the recipient of the 2010 George Polk Award for his Rolling Stone magazine story “The Runaway General.” Hastings was the author of three previous books, I Lost My Love in Baghdad, Panic 2012, and The Operators. He was posthumously honored with the Norman Mailer Award for Emerging Journalist.

About Ramiz Monsef

Ramiz Monsef has spent several seasons as a member of Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s acting company, and he is the playwright of OSF’s 2013 production The Unfortunates. He has also appeared onstage in New York and in numerous regional productions.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Dave on June 17, 2014

Best book I've read all year--by a country mile. I blurbed this book, so I'll start with that, then expand: That voice. That witty, subversive voice we thought we'd lost, is back for one last romp. Hastings decodes the culture even more incisively in fiction, with wild bursts of imaginative mischief.......more

Goodreads review by Victoria on April 10, 2014

A sharp, insightful book that left me feeling heartsick at the knowledge that such a smart and talented writer won't be able to write all of the amazing books I know he was destined to. An honor to have known him, and to have read this.......more

Goodreads review by Jessica on May 14, 2014

It's sad to know that Michael Hastings isn't around to write anymore. And it's sad that because of that The Last Magazine doesn't get to shine as brightly as it probably would if he'd been able to work through it with an editor. It's a solid book, but it's close to being pretty brilliant, you can se......more

Goodreads review by Pam on June 14, 2014

This is a well written and thought provoking book. There is a harsh reality in many professions but in journalism it is intensified by the fast pace and changes in how information is delivered to the consumer. If you ever wanted to know the behind the scenes story or what people really think this bo......more

Goodreads review by Sketchbook on June 26, 2014

With precision wit (which also signals disillusion), Hastings topples the paleozoics of US journalism. Courting danger from evil smoking cigars, he could duly sniff the empyreumia of the stogie. He died in 2013 when his Benz turned into a fiery ball. Verdict : traffic accident.......more


Quotes

“[Hastings’] dialogue pops off the page…The suffering amid the insufferable is comic gold, and Hastings had no time for heroes. The world he created is filled with lost boys stamping their feet for validation. This could be the perfect summer bro comedy. Paging Judd Apetow!” Chicago Tribune

“A convincing account of the perils of war—and of the journalistic wars of an institution under siege from New Media…The Last Magazine remains a loving account of a profession Hastings believed was honorable and tried to honor. Only the guilty have something to fear.” San Francisco Chronicle

“Surely Michael Hastings would have savored the taste of revenge had he lived to see his first novel, The Last Magazine, published…The humor throughout is searing….entertaining.” New York Daily News

“Narrator Ramiz Monsef makes the most of the novel’s diverse characters…He crafts an educated Indian lilt for a senior editor, a slight Southern drawl for a high-profile writer, and a crisp British accent for a blogger. As the story bounces between the points of view of Hastings and Peoria, Monsef blends humor and drama in a well-done narration.” AudioFile

“Powerful, sharp, often funny, and very compelling reading.” Booklist

“A posthumous novel about the news business…In a way, the book reflects Hastings’ career arc, from unpaid intern at Newsweek to one of the essential war correspondents of his generation. A ribald comedy about doing time in the trenches and the bitter choices that integrity demands.” Kirkus Reviews