In "The Operators," Hastings recounted his experiences embedded with military leadership set in the backdrop of America's doomed war in Afghanistan. During on-the-record interviews, McChrystal spoke disparagingly about President Obama as commander-in-chief while enjoying drunken R & R with other military leaders in Parisian restaurants.
Hastings's article, "The Runaway General, in which Hastings first reported on the general's criticisms in Rolling Stone, prompted Obama to call McChrystal back to Washington where he fired him on the spot.
Frank Rich calls the book "an impressive feat of journalism by a Washington outsider who seemed to know more about what was going on in Washington than most insiders did."
Netflix plans to release the film version sometime next year.