The Places In Between : A vivid account of a death-defying walk across war-torn Afghanistan

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