THE BOOK
THE FINEST HOTEL IN KABUL BY LYSE DOUCET
Drawing on forty years spent staying at the Kabul Inter-Continental, Lyse Doucet’s debut is a deeply intimate, character-driven narrative history of modern Afghanistan through told through the story of its sole luxury hotel. With a deep compassion for the country and its people, Doucet’s book brims with compassion, honesty and clarity.
LYSE DOUCET
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, she was immediately taken by the hotel’s faded grandeur and the staff’s warm hospitality. Four decades later, as the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent, Lyse has covered everything from the Arab Spring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But she has always found herself drawn back to her Afghan home. Here, she draws upon years of conversations with its staff and guests to tell the story that only she can.
Photography © Marc Sethi
The judges said: Novelistic in approach and epic in scope, The Finest Hotel in Kabul book tells the story of Afghanistan via one of its most famous hotels. With a front-row view on one of the world’s most complex regions, to read this is to be moved, enlightened and have your perceptions forever changed.
2025 Non-Fiction judges
