Winner of the RSL Ondaatje Prize
Shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award

Embark on a perilous journey through war-torn Afghanistan in this moving travelogue by Rory Stewart, bestselling author of Politics on the Edge and co-host of the hit podcast The Rest Is Politics.

‘A striding, glorious book . . . A flat-out masterpiece’ – The New York Times Book Review

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

'An astonishing achievement' – Colin Thubron, author of Shadow of the Silk Road