The story of Kuwait-based telecommunications operator Zain is a corporate lesson worthy of attention. The company grew by leaps and bounds for seven years, until in 2009 it became an Arab model in profit building, branding and positioning in the top tier of telecoms operators worldwide. “A Passion for Adventure” narrates this story from the perspective of Saad al-Barrak, who led the Zain team during that time. A fluid read, the book will be most rewarding for anyone fascinated with telecommunications in this region and for students — in a wide sense of the word — of the Arab management experience. Parts of the book that convey details on the acquisition of African network Celtel and on the creation of the Zain identity out of boringly named predecessor Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC) were page turners. It is information of record that MTC paid $3.36 billion for Celtel and that South
