1. The ability to handwrite legibly is not an optional extra; it is essential for everyone, even in this age of computer technology."

2. Author Ann Jones begins her narrative by telling how she flew into Kabul in early 2002. (This is not a trip one sets up with a few keystrokes to Travelocity – Jones had to fly to Dubai and then wait in the airport there until a man with a briefcase briefly turned up to handwrite tickets to Kabul in exchange for hastily offered cash.) KABUL IN WINTER: Life Without Peace in Afghanistan By Ann Jones Metropolitan Books 336 pp., $24 In the MonitorTuesday, 03/28/06 New worldview shapes vote in Israel A new corps mobilizes over immigration Candidates want Bush‘s cash, sans Bush Katrina survivors play defense against looting Opinion: Look to Michigan for how unemployment could affect 2008 Get all the Monitor‘s headlines by e–mail.Subscribe for free.