What We Are Reading Today: August in Kabul 

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Updated 26 December 2022
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What We Are Reading Today: August in Kabul 

Author: Andrew Quilty

As night fell on Aug. 15, 2021, the Taliban entered Kabul, capital of Afghanistan. After a 20-year conflict with the US, its western allies and a proxy Afghan government, the militant group was about to bury yet another foreign foe in “the graveyard of empires.”

Andrew Quilty was one of a handful of western journalists who stayed in Kabul as the city fell. The book offers his first- hand account of those events, according to a review on goodreads.com

And for the US, the superpower, this was yet another foreign disaster. As cities and towns fell to the Taliban in rapid succession, western troops and embassy staff scrambled to flee a country of which its government had lost control.

To the world, Kabul in August looked like Saigon in 1975. August in Kabul is the story of how America’s longest mission came to an abrupt and humiliating end, told through the eyes of Afghans whose lives have been turned upside down: a young woman who harbors dreams of a university education; and a presidential staffer who works desperately to hold things together as the government collapses around him.


Book Review: The AI-Centered Enterprise

Updated 10 July 2025
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Book Review: The AI-Centered Enterprise

What lies beyond ChatGPT for businesses?

In The AI-Centered Enterprise: Reshaping Organizations with Context-Aware AI, authors Ram Bala, Natarajan Balasubramanian and Amit Joshi argue that the next leap in artificial intelligence is not about flashy prompts, but rather perception, reasoning, and organizational transformation.

The book, published earlier this year, introduces the concept of “context-aware AI,” systems that do not just process information but understand it in real-time business scenarios.

These are tools that adjust to their environment, collaborate across teams, and make decisions with nuance; a significant step forward from today’s mostly predictive systems.

The authors, all professors and practitioners in the AI and analytics space, offer a clear roadmap for businesses to prepare.

Their proposed model, the “3Cs” — “Calibrate, Clarify, Channelize” — breaks down how leaders can align AI tools with company values, ensure teams understand how to use them, and direct efforts where they will have the most impact.

For readers in Saudi Arabia, where AI is central to Vision 2030 initiative, this book can serve as a strategic lens.

While it does not focus on the region, its practical insights are useful for decision-makers looking to scale AI responsibly across sectors such as healthcare, logistics, and government services.

More guidebook than manifesto, “The AI-Centered Enterprise” avoids jargon and balances case studies with actionable ideas.

It will not dazzle readers chasing science-fiction futures, but it is a timely read for professionals who want to lead, not just react, in the age of intelligent systems.
 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Wild Orcas’

Updated 10 July 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Wild Orcas’

Author:  Hanne Strager & Catherine Denardo

Of the world’s iconic predatory species, orcas are among the most fearsome. Their awesome physical power combined with their cooperative hunting skills and ability to problem-solve make them uniquely efficient killers. Yet orcas also celebrate births, grieve losses, and maintain lifelong family bonds. This stunningly illustrated book draws on five decades of field research and cutting-edge science to provide an incomparable look at the biology, natural history, culture, and conservation of these awe-inspiring marine animals. 

 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Birds of the Tropical Andes’

Updated 09 July 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Birds of the Tropical Andes’

Authors: Owen Deutsch & Michael J. Parr 

Spanning much of the western part of South America, the Andes are home to some of the world’s most magnificent birds, from exquisite hummingbirds to fabulous flamingos.

This beautifully illustrated large-format book celebrates the splendor and extraordinary diversity of Andean birds and the habitats they depend on.

It draws on the latest findings from the field and sheds light on the lush alpine and forested terrains that make this avifauna so rich and plentiful.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Paper: Paging Through History’

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Updated 08 July 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Paper: Paging Through History’

  • Each papermaker refined their formula to allow ink to glide but not soak, creating sheets that were durable and portable

Author: Mark Kurlansky

“Paper: Paging Through History” by Mark Kurlansky, published in 2016, is a sweeping, detailed chronicle of how paper, arguably one of humanity’s most versatile inventions, traveled from its origins in ancient China across continents and centuries to reshape civilizations.

Kurlansky, an American journalist known for his deep dives into everyday materials, traces how humans moved from parchment and silk to mulberry bark and linen rags. 

Oral narrators once carried knowledge across generations; paper allowed that information to outlive them.

Each papermaker refined their formula to allow ink to glide but not soak, creating sheets that were durable and portable.

The watermark, made from a simple wire design, left a faint imprint that branded the paper. That part was owned by the papermaker, not the paper mill, and customers began choosing paper based on those marks. 

Paper was introduced to Europe by Arabs, who brought refined papermaking techniques to the continent. Europeans initially hesitated to adopt paper widely because oral tradition was the preferred way to share important stories; they felt that writing it down cheapened its value. 

Over time, through trade and cultural contact in regions like Andalusia and along the Silk Road, paper gradually gained acceptance and became widely used.

Kurlansky delves into how the use of paper birthed various industries. It offered people with an entrepreneurial spirit the ability to make a living.

Papermakers changed the art world, too, with the introduction of special papers, such as watercolor paper. 

Paper also shifted the world of journalism: Broadsheets, magazines, pamphlets, almanacs and, of course, books became more widely available at a lower cost. Yesterday’s newspaper would also be reused to line things like bird cages or to wrap food with.

It helped popularize things like playing cards, wrapping paper, wallpaper, paper fans, greeting cards and paper money, and lent itself to important medical, legal and political documents, such as the US Declaration of Independence.

“Paper: Paging Through History” was such a captivating read that I often paused to reflect, and I told everyone around me about the book. One moment that stood out was the 19th-century French campaign in which women were encouraged to donate their old handkerchiefs and linen to papermakers, as it might one day return to them in the form of a love letter.

Today, paper remains a vital medium where thoughts, plans, and dreams are recorded. 

It might seem mundane, but in an increasingly digitized world, its ability to let a narrative stand the test of time is history itself, like this very book.
 

 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Life’s Devices’ by Steven Vogel

Updated 08 July 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Life’s Devices’ by Steven Vogel

Life on Earth is subject to the pull of gravity, the properties of air and water, and the behavior of diffusing molecules, yet such physical factors are constraints that drive evolution and offer untold opportunities to creatures of all sizes.

With an illuminating foreword by Rob Dunn, this Princeton Science Library edition of “Life’s Devices” includes examples from every major group of animals and plants along with illustrative problems and suggestions for experiments that require only common household materials.