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The Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet (Hardback)
£25.00
Available
Product Ref. (e.g. ISBN, SKU)
9781529151022
Published:
18 Sep 2025
Format:
Hardback
Number of pages:
352 pages
Dimensions:
240x156x40mm
Weight:
0.750kgs
Author:
When the Inter-Continental Hotel opened in Kabul in 1969, it reflected the hopes of the country - a glistening white edifice that embodied Afghanistan's dreams of becoming an affluent, modern power. Five decades later, and the Inter-Continental is a dilapidated, shrapnel-damaged shell. It has endured civil wars, terrorist attacks, the US occupation, and the rise, fall and rise of the Taliban. But its decaying grandeur still hints at ordinary Afghans' hopes of stability and prosperity. Lyse Doucet, the BBC's Chief International Correspondent, has been staying at the Inter-Continental since 1988. She has spent decades meeting its staff and guests, and listening to their stories. And now, she uses their experiences to offer an evocative history of modern Afghanistan.
A sweeping and immersive history of modern Afghanistan from the one of the world's leading war correspondents.
'Simply unforgettable' ELIF SHAFAK
'Incredible' PETER FRANKOPAN
'Utterly compelling' PHILIPPE SANDS
'Ingenious' KAMILA SHAMSIE
'Beautiful' RORY STEWART
In 1969, the luxury Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul opened its doors: a glistening white box, high on a hill, that reflected Afghanistan's hopes of becoming a modern country, connected to the world.
Lyse Doucet - now the BBC's Chief International Correspondent, then a young reporter on her inaugural trip to Afghanistan - first checked into the Inter-Continental in 1988. In the decades since, she has witnessed a Soviet evacuation, a devastating civil war, the US invasion, and the rise, fall and rise of the Taliban, all from within its increasingly battered walls. The Inter-Con has never closed its doors.
Now, she weaves together the experiences of the Afghans who have kept the hotel running to craft a richly immersive history of their country. It is the story of Hazrat, the septuagenarian housekeeper who still holds fast to his Inter-Continental training from the hotel's 1970s glory days - an era of haute cuisine and high fashion, when Afghanistan was a kingdom and Kabul was the 'Paris of Central Asia'. Of Abida, who became the first female chef after the fall of the Taliban in 2001. And of Malalai and Sadeq, the twenty-somethings who seized every opportunity offered by two decades of fragile democracy - only to see the Taliban come roaring back in 2021.
Through these intimate portraits of Kabul life, the story of a hotel becomes the story of a people.
'A story of a country and a people, told with knowledge, insight and tenderness . . A testament to Lyse Doucet's humanity as well as her journalistic eye.' MISHAL HUSAIN
'The Finest Hotel in Kabul plays to all Lyse Doucet's strengths. Clarity, empathy, depth of knowledge and innate grasp of fine detail . . . a most readable account of joy, despair and resilience in one of the world's most fascinating countries.' MICHAEL PALIN
'A powerful and evocative account of a people who have borne tumultuous waves of progress and repression . . . A brilliant and important reminder of the cost of wars.' HELENA KENNEDY
About the Author: Lyse Doucet first arrived at the Kabul Inter-Continental Hotel on Christmas Day 1988, the day after her thirtieth birthday. Visiting Afghanistan to cover the withdrawal of Soviet troops following their disastrous decade-long occupation, she was immediately taken by the faded grandeur of the hotel and the warm hospitality of its staff.Over the course of the next four decades, Lyse would report on many of the most significant moments in world history - from the Arab Spring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and many wars in the Middle East - ultimately becoming one of the world's best-respected war correspondents and the Chief International Correspondent for the BBC. But through everything, she has always found herself drawn back to her Afghan home, the hotel most people just call the 'Inter-Con'. Here, she draws upon years of conversations with its staff and guests to tell the story that only she can.
| Number of pages | 352 |
|---|
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