Educated at Kansas State Agricultural College, he began working for the Department of Agriculture after graduating in 1906. Hastings was responsible for a number of ideas regarding the breeding and care of chickens. In 1909, he patented a cold-storage evaporimeter for eggs and published The Dollar Hen, an extremely popular work dealing with free-range chicken farming. He became the food editor for Physical Culture magazine where he remained for many years. In 1911, he turned his hand to science-fiction and published In the Clutch of the War God, which was serialized in the magazine over three issues. The book anticipates the use of aircraft carriers and a war between the USA and Japan. Hastings also wrote or co-authored plays with writers such as Orrie Lashin. Today, Hastings is best remembered for his science-fiction work, City of Endless Night (1919). In addition to his numerous magazine articles, his other works include Roadtown, a Mecca for Physical Culturists (1910), The Continuous House (1914), The New Chivalry (1916), A Solution of the Housing Problem in the United States (1919) and High Blood Pressure (1937). |
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