Sherard Cowper-Coles is one of the UK’s most distinguished diplomats. His most recent roles included being British ambassador to Kabul and the Foreign Secretary’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. This frank, highly praised and often opinionated memoir provides a unique insight into policy in Afghanistan, and looks at where Britain has gone wrong. He pays tribute to the work of our soldiers, but wonders whether it will be enough to secure a stable Afghanistan. Cowper-Coles explains how we got into Afghanistan and how we might get out. This is a trenchant and very important book.

Vividly portrays the plight of an envoy who really cared about his brief, and felt unable to keep silent about looming failure in a vital region where western intervention has been bungled,’ Max Hastings, Sunday Times

This event is supported by Ian and Carol Sellars.