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Shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award Winner of the RSL Ondaatje Prize ‘A striding, glorious book . . . A flat-out masterpiece’ The New York Times Book Review The compelling and deeply thoughtful account of a death-defying walk across war-torn Afghanistan from Rory Stewart, former Cabinet minister, bestselling author, and co-presenter of hit podcast The Rest is Politics. Caught between hostile nations, warring factions and competing ideologies, Afghanistan was in turmoil following the US invasion. Travelling entirely on foot and following the inaccessible mountainous route once taken by the Mughal emperor Babur the Great, Rory Stewart was nearly defeated by the extreme, hostile conditions. Only with the help of an unexpected companion, and the generosity of the people he met on the way, did he survive to report back on his journey with unique insight on a region closed to the world by twenty-four years of war. ‘This evocative book feels like a long-lost relic of the great age of exploration’ The Guardian
Rory Stewart was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Malaysia. After a brief period in the British army, he joined the Foreign Office, serving in the Embassy in Indonesia and as British Representative in Montenegro, Yugoslavia. In 22 he completed a 6, mile walk from Turkey to Bangladesh. His account of crossing Afghanistan on foot shortly after the US invasion, The Places In Between, was published in 24, drew widespread acclaim, and was shortlisted for that year's Guardian First Book Award. He was awarded an OBE in 24 for his work in Iraq. From 26 to 28 he lived in Kabul, where he was the Chief Executive of the Turquoise Mountain Foundation; in 29 he was appointed to a professorial chair at Harvard University as the Ryan Family Professor of Human Rights; and in 21 he was elected as Member of Parliament for Penrith and the Border.
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