Book
The finest hotel in Kabul : a people's history of Afghanistan.
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 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 Afghan life, the story of a hotel becomes the story of a people.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780735243415
- Physical Description: 423 pages ; 22 cm
- Publisher: Ontario : Penguin Canada, 2025.
Content descriptions
| General Note: | LA |
| Immediate Source of Acquisition Note: | Library Bound Incorporated |
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| Subject: | BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Editors, Journalists, Publishers HISTORY / Modern / 21st Century POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / Asian |
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| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeshore Branch | ON ORDER | pr08008093 | NONFIC | On order | - |
- Penguin Putnam
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The story of a hotel. The story of a nation.
When the Inter-Continental Kabul opened in 1969, Afghanistanâs first luxury hotel symbolised a dream of a modernising country connected to the world.
More than fifty years on, the Inter-Continental is still standing. It has endured Soviet occupation, multiple coups, a grievous civil war, a US invasion and the rise, fall and rise of the Taliban. History lives within its scarred windows and walls.Â
Lyse Doucet, the BBCâs Chief International Correspondent, has been checking into the Inter-Continental since 1988. And here, she uses its story to craft a richly immersive history of modern Afghanistan.Â
It is the story of Hazrat, the septuagenarian housekeeper who still holds fast to his Inter-Continental training from the hotelâs 1970s glory daysâan era of haute cuisine and high fashion, when Afghanistan was a kingdom and Kabul was the âParis of Asiaâ. It is the story of Abida, who became the first female chef to cook in the Inter-Conâs famous kitchen after the fall of the Taliban in 2001. And it is the story of Malalai and Sadeq, the twenty-something staff who seized every opportunity offered by two decades of fragile democracyâonly to witness the Taliban roaring back in 2021.Â
The result is a remarkably vivid history of how Afghans have survived a half century of destruction and disruption. It is the story of a hotel but also the story of a people.
