The Finest Hotel in Kabul - A People's History of Afghanistan

What a beautiful book - inventive, compassionate, witty, brilliantly structured. An extraordinary introduction to Afghanistan, and a tribute to one of the finest correspondents of our age.>

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.

Product details

• Authors: Lyse Doucet
• Publisher: Penguin Books Uk
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Release: 10.09.2026
• EAN: 9781804957943
• ISBN: 978-1-80495-794-3
• No. of pages: 352
• Dimensions: 129 mm x 198 mm x 35 mm
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Contemporary history (1945 to 1989); Afghanistan, Kabul, HISTORY / Middle East / General, HISTORY / Modern / 21st Century, HISTORY / Social History, Social & cultural history, Military history: post WW2 conflicts, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Islamic Studies, TRAVEL / Middle East / General, 21st century history: from c 2000 -, 21st century, c 2000 to c 2100, Social and cultural history, Early 20th century c 1900 to c 1950, Middle Eastern history, True war and combat stories, Military history: post-WW2 conflicts, Relating to Islamic / Muslim people and groups, Armed Conflict, Hospitality, sports, leisure and tourism industries, HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century / General, HISTORY / Wars & Conflicts / Afghan War (2001-2021)