The Finest Hotel in Kabul is a sweeping and immersive history of modern Afghanistan, written by Lyse Doucet, a leading war correspondent. It tells the story of the Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul, which has remained open throughout the decades of conflict and change in the country. Through intimate portraits of Afghan life, the book explores the experiences of Hazrat, Abida, Malalai, and Sadeq, and how the hotel has become a symbol of resilience and hope. The Finest Hotel in Kabul has received critical acclaim, with reviewers praising its clarity, empathy, depth of knowledge, and fine detail. It has been longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction and has been described as a must-read for anyone interested in Afghanistan.

Format: Hardback
Length: 448 pages
Publication date: 18 September 2025
Publisher: Cornerstone

Top 3 Sunday Times Bestseller BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week Longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction A sweeping and immersive history of modern Afghanistan – the first book from one of the world's leading war correspondents.

Simply unforgettable ELIF SHAFAK Terrific THE TIMES Incredible PETER FRANKOPAN Powerful and charming FINANCIAL TIMES Utterly compelling PHILIPPE SANDS Masterly TELEGRAPH Ingenious KAMILA SHAMSIE A must-read SUNDAY TIMES 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 first checked into the Inter-Continental on Christmas Eve 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 hotels 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 Afghan life, the story of a hotel becomes the story of a people.

Fabu.

Weight: 710g
Dimension: 242 x 165 x 42 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781529151022