The Finest Hotel in Kabul - by Lyse Doucet

As expected, this was a very interesting read. It is, essentially, a history of Afghanistan over the last three decades told through the experiences of various members of staff at Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul. This makes it very personal and, IMHO, very powerful. It took me a while to read, but it was time well spent.

The author often refers to herself in the third person, using the contracted form of her name that the locals used: LyseDoucet; initially I thought that this was odd, but realised that it made sense, as she was just another reporter, not one of the main protagonists of the story.