WINNER OF THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2026
In 1969, the Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul opened its doors: a glistening white box, high on a hill, that reflected Afghans’ hopes of a modern, democratic future. In the decades since, its staff have endured two coups, a Soviet occupation, the US invasion, and the rise, fall and rise of the Taliban.
The Inter-Con has never closed its doors. Here, Lyse Doucet offers a vividly human history of modern Afghanistan through the lives of the people who have passed through its battered halls. It is the story of a hotel, and the story of a people.
