'This is a journey through more than a decade of hell and futility, written vividly, with emotion but mercifully shorn of polemic ... in this most captivating of war journals' Observer

'A spellbinding synthesis of analysis and highly personal reportage ... Lamb's grasp of the back story enables her to weave illuminating historical context into the narrative' Independent

'She records with a clear eye and a longer perspective her successive encounters with the Afghans and their occupiers ...she writes with sympathy and understanding ... For anyone who wants to understand how Britain's road to Helmand was paved with well-meant but ill-founded intentions this magisterial memoir is the book to read and enjoy' The Times

'A brave and exceptional book ... if you had to recommend one book on Afghanistan then 'Farewell Kabul' should be it" Daily Telegraph

'As a personal account of this sad, twisted story, Lamb's book is unlikely to be surpassed; gracious and humane, she always gives a fair hearing, while her observation is always needle sharp. It is one of the most rewarding and thought-provoking books by any journalist of my acquaintance' Evening Standard

'Authoritative, wide-ranging and thoroughly readable, Lamb's knowledge and understanding of the region and its central players are impressively profound ... Highly recommended' Literary Review

'A very good book ... that sits with distinction in a growing library about where we - both Afghans and the international community - went wrong ... Lamb has a forensic understanding of how things work and why they don't. An impassioned, at moments anguished, love letter to Afghanistan' New Statesman