Goodreads | Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time (Wheeler Softcover)

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Sarah rated it:

(review of isbn 0143038257)

01/19/08

Read in December, 2007

Here are a few things I’m suspicious of:

1. A book with two authors. It’s kind of like having too many cooks in the kitchen.
2. A book in which one of the two authors is the main subject of the book.
3. A book in which even though one of the authors is the main subject of the book, the book is written in third person.
4. Cultural imperialism.

With these four suspicions in mind, I started in on Three Cups of Tea, which was my book club’s choice for this month. Mortenson is a qu...more Here are a few things I’m suspicious of:

1. A book with two authors. It’s kind of like having too many cooks in the kitchen.
2. A book in which one of the two authors is the main subject of the book.
3. A book in which even though one of the authors is the main subject of the book, the book is written in third person.
4. Cultural imperialism.

With these four suspicions in mind, I started in on Three Cups of Tea, which was my book club’s choice for this month. Mortenson is a quirky do-gooder who commits himself to building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan in order to educate the poor (especially the girls) who are so often lost in the rural mountains of these isolated areas. He started his quest after stopping in a small village after failing to climb K2 in the early 1990s and since then has built over 50 schools, health centers, and women’s centers.

There were lots of things I liked about this book. First off, I love reading adventure stories about far-away places, and learning more about the variety of cultures in Islamic Pakistan and various other -stans was enough to pull me all the way through the book. I also love reading about single-minded esoteric people with crazy missions who stop at nothing to accomplish their goals. Thirdly, I love the idea of fighting the war on terror through education instead of fighting - it seems like it will be more successful long-term and way less expensive, not to mention way, way, less violent.

I’m not sure I was so hot on the book itself - the writing wasn’t interesting (and it had so many chances to be) and, more importantly, the book was terribly skewed in Mortenson’s direction. He’s referred to as a hero at least a few times a chapter and praised non-stop by the people around him. Only smaller sub-prose hints clue you in to the real negative stuff - which I’m as interested in as the positive stuff: Mortenson is kind of crazy and obsessed, he has trouble with delegating jobs to people and handling money, he unapologetically spends months and months away from his family in Montana. He seems to be hurting his health in order to continue with his cause.

Now, I think these negatives could have been dealt with well by the authors - I don’t think any hero is all good or absolutely flawless. In fact, most people who have ever accomplished great things have more than his or her share of weirdo personal problems. I would have loved for the book to explore his flaws in light of his accomplishments instead of brushing his flaws to the side and dropping the Hero-bomb over and over again.

By the end of the book, I felt pretty good about his mission in general, thought. I haven’t taken any developmental studies classes and I don’t know much about rural development, but I can’t see how building schools and educating girls could possibly hurt anything. I was impressed by the way Mortenson adapted to the Islamic culture - learning the languages, dressing the part, and even learning to pray to Allah. He didn’t seem into forcing Western ideas onto the villages, beyond simple wants to educate and equalize.

More than that, though, I was interested in learning about how the Taliban is using the same tactics as Mortenson in order to win support in these rural areas - and they are winning. They have already established tons of schools called madrassas in these places, barring women and teaching only Islam and warfare. They also offer something that is rare in these isolated areas: paid employment. If Mortenson is right, giving these people options other than joining the Taliban, and giving them schools where you learn basic skills instead of extremist propaganda, might be the best step toward a long-term solution for everyone....less

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Daniel rated it:

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05/23/08

Read in March, 2008

recommended to Daniel by: Ann Donahue

While it's hard to give a negative review to a book with its heart in the right place, "Three Cups of Teas" is so full of weaknesses it'd be impossible to give it a rating with any more stars. In fact, the book's writing style alone is so poor, I feel generous giving it even two stars.

Though the work Greg Mortenson is doing -- building schools in impoverished parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan sorely in need of them -- is certainly laudable, his mission seems ill-served by "Thr...more While it's hard to give a negative review to a book with its heart in the right place, "Three Cups of Teas" is so full of weaknesses it'd be impossible to give it a rating with any more stars. In fact, the book's writing style alone is so poor, I feel generous giving it even two stars.

Though the work Greg Mortenson is doing -- building schools in impoverished parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan sorely in need of them -- is certainly laudable, his mission seems ill-served by "Three Cups." The book, billed as being coauthored by Mortenson and David Oliver Relin but obviously written by Relin alone, is so worshipful of Mortenson and the work he has done, the reader almost begins to feel Relin is being defensive. Did someone at one time attack Mortenson's good name? Is this the defense's argument? It seems that on almost every other page Relin rolls out yet another person -- "Into Thin Air" author Jon Krakauer, Congresswoman Mary Bono, people Mortenson's worked with -- to talk about how wonderful a person he is, how deserving he is of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Beyond that, there's simply not enough material here for a full-length book. Entire sections feel like padding that do nothing more than get the story to book length. (Pages and pages about a failed relationship Mortenson had before he met his wife, for instance, are almost entirely tangential.) The story would have made a good profile in "The New Yorker" or "The New York Times Magazine," but there's simply not enough material here to justify a 350-page book.

It also doesn't help that there's almost nothing here about how the education Mortenson's schools are giving to boys and girls is actually affecting life in their villages -- or if it is. Granted, it's probably too early to see many results, but is that not also an argument that this story is not quite book-worthy? Maybe Mortenson and Relin needed to wait another 10 years before telling their story.

So far, though, I've ignored "Three Cups"'s writing. Bad and often inappropriate puns, failed attempts to be poetic, and clunky, overwrought sentences make the book particularly hard to get through. It got to the point that I began writing down particularly egregious sentences. Here are a few from my notes:

"Mortenson sat on a boulder and drank from his water bottle until it was empty. But he couldn't drink in enough of this setting."

"As they drove past the scale model of the mountain where Pakistan had detonated its `Muslim Bomb,' Mortenson told his friend and fixer about the explosion of support Americans had provided for the CAI." (Get it? Bomb, explosion? Feel free to groan.)

"He leaned over the side of the truck to request a stop and saw the top of the bearish assistant's close-cropped head stretching out the window, and beyond it, straight down fifteen hundred feet to the bottom of the rocky gorge, where a coffee-colored river foamed over boulders." (Wow, the assistant's head stretched down fifteen hundred feet to the bottom of the gorge? Tell me more about this guy.)

"When Haji Ali handed him a cup of butter tea, Mortenson drank it with something similar to pleasure." (So it wasn't pleasure then? What is this something that's similar to pleasure?)

"The widely spaced streams of tracers leaped across the road like ellipses. But to Mortenson, who wouldn't learn his friends had survived until the following week, when he returned to Kabul, they looked more like question marks." (Talk about tortured metaphors. Ouch.)

This may seem like nitpicking, but these types of sentences occur throughout the whole book. (I easily filled five pages of a small notepad with only the worst of the worst.) Mortenson's story is worth telling, but I wish he'd found a better way -- and a better writer -- to tell it....less

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Heather rated it:

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06/27/08

Read in June, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

This book is driving me fricking nuts. I'm struggling to finish it, and can I help it if I feel like a bad person for HATING this book even though I totally support its main purpose and the mission of the subject??

I hope not. Jeez, where do I start. The writing? It's terrible. I am now going to randomly pick a page, any page, and find a ridiculous, klunky morsel for you:

"Suleman sat like a smiling Buddha next to Mortensen, his arms crossed over the beginning of a pot belly."
...more This book is driving me fricking nuts. I'm struggling to finish it, and can I help it if I feel like a bad person for HATING this book even though I totally support its main purpose and the mission of the subject??

I hope not. Jeez, where do I start. The writing? It's terrible. I am now going to randomly pick a page, any page, and find a ridiculous, klunky morsel for you:

"Suleman sat like a smiling Buddha next to Mortensen, his arms crossed over the beginning of a pot belly."

or,

"the inspiring view that greets these students from every classroom - the roof of the world, represented by Masherbrum's soaring summit ridge-has already helped convince many of Hushe's children to aim high."

or, (my personal favorite)

"And by the time the rising sun iced the hanging glaciers of Masherbrum pale pink, like a gargantuan pastry dangling above them at breakfast time, Mortenson had agreed to shift the funds his board had approved for the doomed Khane school upside to this village whose headman had traveled so far downriver to educate himself."

I could go on, but I'll spare you. If you'd like 350+ pages of the above prose, by all means read this book.

What else besides the writing? The methods - I was always told that non-fiction writing is a pretty specific genre, and that if you don't have a quotation written down from a source, or have it recorded somehow, you don't use quotations at all. The whole time I'm reading, I keep thinking, "there's no way Mortensen remembers every exact conversation he had 15 years ago!" (and that's an exact quote from my brain, by the way).

Plus, there are historical inaccuracies all over the place that made me question the validity of the hyperbolized text and the way in which the "co-author" (For Mortensen is the other) idolizes his subject beyond, well, objectivity. For example, there's an entire passage about the year 2000, when Mortensen is struggling with his lack of management skills, his frustration with the lack of sustainability of his foundation's finances, and fulfilling his duties to his family. He goes on a trip to SE Asia to observe other development projects, and ends up in Calcutta, and wouldn't you know it, Mother Teresa just died and he buys himself a big ole bouquet of flowers to honor her, and goes to pay his respects to her shrouded body. It's a quite moving passage (naturally it's littered with horrific metaphor, but I'll leave that alone for now), until it occurred to me that Mother Teresa died in 1997. Yeah, right after Princess Diana. I mean, I know that it's OK to take a little poetic license with this stuff, but the writer has Mortensen strutting his stuff triumphantly all over the Pakistani mountain ridges in 1997...guess it didn't fit in with the narrative arc that Mother Teresa had the indecency to die 3 years too early for Mortensen to mourn her loss at the same time he's reached his own personal crisis of faith.

Wow this sounds bitter. I guess my ultimate point is this: I believe in community-driven development. I believe that education and other related iniatives create stronger societies and really work to promote peace and alleviate violence and terror. But for such an important topic, I really feel that Mortensen deserved a writer who could be more objective and yes, gasp!, critical at times. I am left disbelieving in this foundation, and I am skeptical of its management and practices. I am wary of those who claim to forge the solutions for all in one single bound. I hope that I read another account of Mortensen that changes my mind. This book did little for me but make me despair for the unmentioned NGOs and others who are working (likely) toward the same goal in the same region, without the benefit of collaboration with this Mortensen's access to resources.

Oh yeah, and I resent the book jacket referring to Mortensen as a "real-life Indiana Jones." sheesh....less

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Trixie rated it:

(review of isbn 0143038257)

07/31/08

bookshelves: currently-reading

Read in July, 2008

I found Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin incredibly inspiring. Here are a smattering of quotes and citations from the book that begin to explain why:

The book cites another book entitled, Ancient Futures by Helena Norberg-Hodge, about her time spent living for 17 years in a region cut off from Pakistan - "[P:]reserving a traditional way of life in Ladakh-extended families living in harmony with the land-would bring about more happiness than "improving"...more

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Carrie rated it:

(review of isbn 0143038257)

05/02/08

bookshelves: all-time-favorites

Read in April, 2008

recommended to Carrie by: Costco
recommends it for: EVERYONE

Feel-good, mandatory read for anyone interested in children, the future and in current events. My check to CAI will be in the mail soon- It makes you want to get involved.

The story of one incredible man's love for mountain climbing, that leads to the adventure of a lifetime.

Working to build schools for villages in the remote corners of Pakistan and Afghanistan, Greg Mortenson shines as an example that even one person can make huge difference to world. He may be a future Nobel Peace Pri...more

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Jay rated it:

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10/02/08

Read in October, 2008

I will preface my review by saying that I deeply admire everything Greg Mortenson and his Central Asian Institute have done, and are doing, for Pakistan and Afganistan. It definitely made me think about my own life, and how I could contribute more to the world around me. And there are parts of this book, particularly some of the description of the time period around 9-11, that shine and give us more context for what happened

However, I think Greg Mortenson's and his organization's story would...more I will preface my review by saying that I deeply admire everything Greg Mortenson and his Central Asian Institute have done, and are doing, for Pakistan and Afganistan. It definitely made me think about my own life, and how I could contribute more to the world around me. And there are parts of this book, particularly some of the description of the time period around 9-11, that shine and give us more context for what happened

However, I think Greg Mortenson's and his organization's story would have been better served and told through a different story.

1) For one, Greg Mortenson is listed as the lead author, when he's interviewed and quoted throughout the book. It led me to believe that his role as author was to overrule David Oliver Relin and maintain control, rather than to write any of the story. Perhaps the writing is so choppy and wordy because he wanted it to be written that way, rather than more quietly telling the story.

2) Instead of showing us what happened, and leading us to make conclusions, the narrative tells us every detail in great minutiae, making sure we come to the same conclusions we would have come to on our own. Yes, clearly Greg Mortenson is a hero, and providing children - and girls - with an opportunity to be educated when they never have had a school before is amazing. Yes, we get that the U.S. government's aid is not getting to where it needs to go But telling us over and over again that Mortenson was called a hero, and the schools are an amazing opportunity, and the U.S. government has failed us, dilutes the story.

3) There are small hints of it, but many of us in the nonprofit world know about the phenomenon called founder's syndrome. Founder's syndrome means that the organization is pretty much based on the work and talent and personality of one person, and the organization dies when that person burns out or moves on to something else, or faces a crisis in their own life.

4) The writing is overly flowery, and the metaphors don't always work. Here's one example: "...the approaching war with Iraq battered Mortenson early every morning as he sat down at his computer."

5) The book could have told the story with half the words. For example, he goes to see Mother Theresa after she dies in India. This takes up three pages of text, and basically could have been stated more powerfully in three paragraphs. Some of the text clearly is used to poke fun at the taxi driver, who is trying to make a few extra bucks in the unsavory way that taxi drivers in developing countries try to make money.

6) The book seems to publicize some of Mortenson's vendettas, including the one scene with an ex-girlfriend who had previously spurned him. I hope he changed her name, as I consider her an innocent.

He also goes after some individuals who, while clearly were not angels and got in his way, seemed underserving of the level of criticism launched at them.

He expresses disdain for those who are naturally curious about what he is doing, or actually can help his cause. While this paragraph is prefaced with Mortenson's reticence to become a public figure, I still find it curious to be included, as it does send a negative shadow that seems unnecessary: "Journalists and filmmakers called constantly, hoping to tag along with Mortenson on his next trip, wanting to exploit the contacts he'd made over the previous seven years to win access to restricted regions before their competitors could." Huh? Why would he not want to bring journalists along to see the conditions that he is so concerned about?

However, I think Greg Mortenson's story is a great story, and as I said previously, it did inspire me. I hope that the book will be re-issued -- or even rewritten -- to tell the story in a different way. It probably would serve his organization even better by being more accessible and to the point....less

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Steve rated it:

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08/28/08

Read in March, 2008

Some books I really enjoy reviewing. They’re either important, enjoyable, well-written, or some combination thereof. There are a few others I read (or start to read) that simply aren’t worth the effort of discussing at all. In a third group are books that bother me by triggering one of my pet peeves: Some may be well-written fiction, with great characters, but the author’s clear purpose is to push some kind of agenda. Others exploit children (especially disabled children) as a means of man...more Some books I really enjoy reviewing. They’re either important, enjoyable, well-written, or some combination thereof. There are a few others I read (or start to read) that simply aren’t worth the effort of discussing at all. In a third group are books that bother me by triggering one of my pet peeves: Some may be well-written fiction, with great characters, but the author’s clear purpose is to push some kind of agenda. Others exploit children (especially disabled children) as a means of manipulating cheap emotions. Then there are books that needn’t be well-written at all but have been given some mysterious boost by the publishing world and soar to far greater acclaim than is justified by their own merits.

Three Cups of Tea is in the latter bunch. It was given to me as a gift last Christmas, and because of the subject I was eager to get into it, despite the fact that Greg Mortenson had relied on a “real” writer to interview him and pull his story together (generally not a good sign, the quality of prose being inversely proportional to the number of co-authors). I was starting to bog down with the mediocre writing that several other reviewers have noticed, but then it was announced that the author was actually coming to speak in an auditorium at my place of employment. Re-motivated, I tried again to make headway in the book, and got as far as the point where our doughty hero returns to Pakistan with funds to start building a school. On the big night, I headed over to the auditorium about half an hour early, only to discover the place had been filled to capacity for a long time. The street outside was still jammed with cars, circling in search of parking spots that weren’t there, and the security guard was warning people that they’d never get in. Turns out, the local NPR affiliate had announced the event, and somehow this particular writer generated enthusiasm like I’ve never seen before. (And I’ve been to hear quite a few prominent literary figures speak or read.)

Why the big deal? It couldn’t be the quality of the writing, which is just passable at best. (I like a reviewer’s comment that “if you actually can finish this blather, it will be as if you climbed a mountain. A long, boring mountain.”) The clue to the excitement, I guess, is on the jacket copy and in the subtitle. This may well not have been Greg Mortenson’s original thought at all. As far as I know, he was motivated only by a laudable desire to do good. (That by the way is another problem with the book: His motivations are never really explored. He’s treated as some kind of icon.) Apparently he did indeed do something remarkable, and that should be commended. But the packaging of his book suggests to me that the opinion shapers are really saying that if we only built more schools in impoverished countries as he did, and generally gave more in foreign aid, lunatics from that part of the world wouldn’t hijack airplanes and fly them into our buildings. Again, I’m inclined to believe Mortenson wasn’t thinking this way at the time, but I see he now has a blog post entitled “It Takes a School, Not Missiles.” So apparently he’s going along with the theme that is working so well.

When I was unable to get into the auditorium that night, my copy of the book went back onto my table. Several months have passed, and I’ve felt no desire to pick it up again. In fact, I just got rid of it. But unfortunately, the important thing about it is that it isn’t really a book at all, now. It became a sort of political phenomenon around a book. And that’s something altogether different. With all the copies out there, I wonder how many people actually read more of it than I did.
...less

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Sara rated it:

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07/10/08

Read in July, 2008

recommended to Sara by: Tricia Hamilton
recommends it for: The Whole World

Well get ready because I'm going to go against the grain of the masses who have fallen all over themselves about this book. As you can see I gave it four stars but there were some elements of it towards the end which I found frustrating. I hope you will read my review all the way to the end and that I will not hurt anyone's feelings. Most importantly there is no doubt that Greg Mortensen is a hero and his accomplishments are very obviously admirable and inspiring. However ...

Mortensen's...more Well get ready because I'm going to go against the grain of the masses who have fallen all over themselves about this book. As you can see I gave it four stars but there were some elements of it towards the end which I found frustrating. I hope you will read my review all the way to the end and that I will not hurt anyone's feelings. Most importantly there is no doubt that Greg Mortensen is a hero and his accomplishments are very obviously admirable and inspiring. However ...

Mortensen's philosophy is that ignorance and tunnel vision are prohibiting the children of remote regions in countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan from receiving the education they deserve, and that if they were all given education the result would be greater world peace. He applies his message "can't we all just get along" throughout the book with regards to different cultures and different religions. He urges people to not be so quick to judge others. Yet he doesn't seem capable of practicing this philosophy himself with regards to his own country.

In the chapter Tea With The Taliban, he mocked the CIA agents who questioned him by referring to them as BobBillPete and criticized the specific questions they asked when he felt he could only give vague answers without statistical backing. Quite frankly, I respect the CIA for taking a hard look at him in the times immediately following 9/11 and I do not think they should be mocked nor should we pretend to know how to do their job.

In the chapter Rumsfeld's Shoes, he described his visit to the Pentagon again with a critical and judgemental attitude. He talked about the inhospitable polished marble hallways through which people "walked quickly, most of them clutching laptops under their arms, speeding toward their next task like missiles, like there wasn't time to look at me." During my visit to the Pentagon I noticed the same and was glad. The Pentagon is a place of military business, it is not a place for hanging out in the hall and socializing, and the business being done there is as serious as it gets. In the same way that throughout the book he tried to get the reader to be sensitive to the viewpoints of Muslims I wish he could have done the same with himself on these particular occasions on American soil. He criticized Rumsfeld's staff for not offering him a seat and compared the experience to the Muslim culture by saying "In Pakistan, meetings with high officials, even cursory meetings, meant at a minimum being escorted to a chair and offered tea." He stood uncomfortably and was at a loss for words. I was amazed that this messenger who is trying to teach us to be understanding of differences could not be understanding himself, let it go, and find his words so as to make an impression on this high level official. Instead all he can say about the meeting is that Rumsfelds shoes were shiny and he smelled like cologne. He's bothered that the Pentagon is so "very far away from the fighting, the heat, and dust" and yet he didn't seize the opportunity to make an impression in that moment.

These are the things that bothered me about the book and caused me to drop my five stars to four. Otherwise, just like everyone else who is raving about this book ... it is fabulous. I won't go on and on because there's really nothing I could say that the other reviewers haven't already. It teaches you in a way that you see the imagery in your mind, you taste the foods he eats from salty to sweet on your tongue, you smell everything he describes (good and bad!), you hear everything from the chatter in the cities to the still silence in the mountains, and you feel such an impression on your heart that you are inspired to act. This book is a must-read....less

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Josephine rated it:

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09/01/08

Read in August, 2008

Last winter, it seemed like everyone I knew was reading Three Cups of Tea. And now I know why. It's not a gripping page-turner. It's not a literary masterpiece. It's a simple, inspiring, true story about how one person with vision and determination can truly make a difference in the world.

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time follow...more Last winter, it seemed like everyone I knew was reading Three Cups of Tea. And now I know why. It's not a gripping page-turner. It's not a literary masterpiece. It's a simple, inspiring, true story about how one person with vision and determination can truly make a difference in the world.

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time follows the story of Greg Mortenson, a young man who fails in his attempt to climb K-2, the world's second tallest mountain. Very ill after his climb, Mortenson is taken in by residents of Korphe, a small Pakistani village. Moved by their hospitality and stunned by the absence of a school in the area, Mortenson vows to return to Korphe and build a school for the village. A school that, against the grain of custom, will teach girls as well as boys.

Greg Mortenson sold everything he owned and wrote letters asking for donations. Things began to come together when a group of school children in River Falls, Wisconsin heard about his cause and collected over $600 worth of "Pennies for Peace." Mortenson has spent the last 15 years building schools for girls and boys in Pakistan and Afghanistan, sometimes at great risk and danger to his own life. Today, his schools educate more than 26,000 girls and boys in Central Asia.

Mortenson argues that the education of girls in particular is the key to the end of the "war on terror." While educated boys often leave their villages to work, girls stay home, take care of their families, engage their communities. He quotes an African proverb: “If you educate a boy, you educate an individual, but if you educate a girl, you educate a community.”

There's an interesting quote from a September 2007 article about Mortenson in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

Consider the word “jihad.” We know about that word in one context — a violent quest. But the word has other meanings — reflecting other pursuits. But before beginning a jihad, you ask permission from your mother, Mortenson said. If she is educated — she’s less likely to give approval for a violent mission.

Those who dismiss education say that many of the 9/11 hijackers were educated — and that’s true, Mortenson said. “But none of their mothers were educated.”

For more information and to get involved:
Central Asia Institute
Pennies for Peace

This review was originally posted at Please Come Flying....less

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Lani rated it:

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07/15/08

bookshelves: islam, non-fiction, own

Read in July, 2008

recommends it for: Diana, Caryl, Sarah

I have been putting this review off for about a week - just haven't felt like sitting down and writing stuff out.

I kept seeing this book on the 3 for 2 tables at Borders, and would pick it up thinking it looked promising. The description on the back always ended up boring me, and I just never cared enough to buy it. Ended up getting it for fifty cents at the book swap, and gave it a try.

Definitely a worthwhile read! It really is an interesting look at one man's development from a climber...more I have been putting this review off for about a week - just haven't felt like sitting down and writing stuff out.

I kept seeing this book on the 3 for 2 tables at Borders, and would pick it up thinking it looked promising. The description on the back always ended up boring me, and I just never cared enough to buy it. Ended up getting it for fifty cents at the book swap, and gave it a try.

Definitely a worthwhile read! It really is an interesting look at one man's development from a climber in pursuit of a peak to a dedicated man doing almost anything to help the people that saved him.

The story follows Greg Mortenson as he tries to build his first school in the mountains of Pakistan, through the creation of a foundation he runs, all the way through his attempts to help Afghani refugees and children. It really is an inspiring and fascinating story, and it reads quickly enough to not get bogged down.

It certainly is not a perfect book, however. The book is written by Mortenson himself and another writer, yet is written in the 3rd person. As other reviewers have noted, the constant 'Greg is a saint' refrain in EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER is a little exhausting - and seems a little odd in a book with the subject billed as an author.

And while the people he helps regard Mortenson as a saint, it seems clear that his American colleagues and his families really struggle with him. On one hand, I don't think Mortenson wants the book to be about HIM, and I can see why he would not want his personal failings and struggles to become too distracting. However, I think that showing the rough patches of Greg's life would give a more rounded view of this man who is so willing to sacrifice other parts of his life to his cause. It also would give a bit of a rest from the saintly depiction - making all of the comments on his character a bit more believable.

I really respect Mortenson's approach. He so clearly cares about these people, and is completely respectful of the culture he is involved with. He makes efforts to dress like the people he aids, learns the language, and even learns to pray. He doesn't seem to want to spread his beliefs or views so much as subsidize what is already there. Although the book is ostensibly about his schools for girls, he really provides all kinds of aid to all people - only being sure that the aid goes to ALL people - men and women, girls and boys.

Unfortunately, the last bit of the book, about Afghanistan, seems a little rushed. Particularly frustrating because Greg's schools contrast so neatly with the madhrasas, and there is certainly HUGE cultural impact made by providing a secular education as an option to poorer Muslim families.

Despite the book's flaws, I did enjoy it, and it was a fantastic example of what good Americans can do. When compared to similar books like Reading Lolita in Tehran, and Kabul Beauty School, Three Cups of Tea is a SHINING example of sharing our money and compassion without forcing our own beliefs onto others. ...less

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Debbi rated it:

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02/09/08

recommends it for: Anyone who wants global peace to be more than a pipe dream!!

I wish goodreads had a 10-star rating for this book. Anyone who has ever wanted to make a difference, anyone who has ever dreamed the impossible dream of a diverse world living together in peaceful coexistence, anyone who has ever feared their own small voice was too small a drop in the bucket to matter -- MUST read this book, and then share it and its message with everyone you know. (NOTE: buy through the link at http://www.threecupsoftea.com/..., and y...more I wish goodreads had a 10-star rating for this book. Anyone who has ever wanted to make a difference, anyone who has ever dreamed the impossible dream of a diverse world living together in peaceful coexistence, anyone who has ever feared their own small voice was too small a drop in the bucket to matter -- MUST read this book, and then share it and its message with everyone you know. (NOTE: buy through the link at http://www.threecupsoftea.com/..., and you will be sending 7% of the cost back to this amazing charity.) The book is fascinating, inspirational and informative on so many levels -- exciting action story, moving human drama, exotic travelogue, social action miracle, bird's eye view of contemporary history in the making in the world's most complex and volatile region, a revelation of the tenaciousness and power of the human spirit under the most destructive conditions. For the first time, I have a basic understanding of the roots of conflicts in central Asia, and how the very land and landscape (and their role in outside powers' self-serving political decisions) have helped to shape today's Pakistan and Afghanistan (enough of a reason right there to read this book). But the real MIRACLE of this book is that this is all done through the mind-boggling true story of one man's miraculous mission, and seen at ground level through the eyes and souls of those who call these lands home, in such a way that these foreign places and people feel as intimate as sisters and brothers -- which, in fact, as this story makes clear, they are. The book follows GREG MORTENSON (who has my vote, along with many others', for the next Nobel Peace Prize) from his unexpected life-saving encounter with the hospitality and generosity of a remote village in Baltistan (northern Pakistan) through his fulfillment of a grateful promise to come back and build a school for this tiny, poor community -- and on through the unfolding of an incredible mission (so incredible you can hardly believe it's nonfiction) to bring nonsectarian education and basic humanitarian aid to tiny villages throughout remote, war-torn and povertry-stricken areas throughout northern Pakistan and, eventually, Afghanistan. If for no other reason, please, PLEASE, read this book for its empowering message of the earth-shaping, history-altering power that begins with a SINGLE PERSON (you, me!) -- but can leverage the hearts and hands of millions to move mountains toward a common good. I have read dozens of eloquent pleas for and dreams of world peace -- but NEVER have I read so shockingly concrete a story of planting its actual seeds -- never have I been so moved to feel global peace can actually be more than mere dream.

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Lena rated it:

(review of isbn 0143038257)

07/29/08

bookshelves: non-fiction

Greg Mortenson was a mountaineer with his sights set on Pakistan’s unforgiving K2 when a disaster in his climbing party forced him to abort his attempt on the summit. On his way down, the exhausted climber got lost and wandered into a remote and impoverished village that had never seen a Westerner before.

As the kind residents helped Mortenson regain his strength, he committed to repaying them by building a school for the dozens of children he saw carving their lessons into the dirt with s...more Greg Mortenson was a mountaineer with his sights set on Pakistan’s unforgiving K2 when a disaster in his climbing party forced him to abort his attempt on the summit. On his way down, the exhausted climber got lost and wandered into a remote and impoverished village that had never seen a Westerner before.

As the kind residents helped Mortenson regain his strength, he committed to repaying them by building a school for the dozens of children he saw carving their lessons into the dirt with sticks. That promise would go on to transform Mortenson from a part-time nurse and climbing nut to a man obsessed with bringing education to some of the world’s most neglected people.

The story of how Mortenson managed to fulfill his naïve promise and go on not just to build one school, but dozens more across the remote mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan, is nothing short of astounding. The fact that he survived this hostile environment at all, let alone succeeded in a humanitarian endeavor of such enormous proportions, is truly inspiring.

Part of what permitted Mortenson to make so much progress is that he allowed himself to learn how things needed to be done from the local people. Though American, Mortenson was raised by missionaries in Africa, and his sensitivity towards and ability to integrate into another culture was a crucial part of what made this project work.

In addition to providing valuable insight into the lives of a people the West knows little about, this book also offers a unique perspective of the events in Pakistan and Afghanistan that led to the current war on terror. Mortenson began building his small schools at the same time fundamentalist madrassas were also springing up in that part of the world. Though Mortenson couldn’t compete with either the pace or the money spent by those with a religious agenda, his success provides a powerful model for filling the gaps that the US military has left wide open in those vulnerable places.

I would recommend this amazing and educational book to pretty much anyone, but I do have to add one caveat. Though I was very moved by the story, I did not like the writing so much. The author and I seemed to have different pacing—he spent long passages talking about things of little interest to me while barely touching on aspects I wanted to know much more about. I was also put off by the book’s opening, which was a pumped up mix of macho adventure writing and fawning hero worship. Mortenson’s story is so extraordinary it doesn’t need this kind of inflation. While the author’s admiration for Mortenson is understandable, I would have enjoyed this book more without this kind of embellishment.
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Jen added it (review of isbn 0143038257)

06/18/08

bookshelves: male-author, non-fiction

Read in June, 2008

I am opting not to give this book a star rating. The story that is being told is worthy of 10 stars. The writing doesn't live up to the story, but it isn't so bad you can't get past it. This is definitely a book everyone should read.

Greg Mortenson's failure to summit K2 in Pakistan led him to the small village of Korphe where he witnessed children doing their school lessons outside in the cold unsupervised. The village couldn't afford a sheltered building or a full-time teacher. When the ...more I am opting not to give this book a star rating. The story that is being told is worthy of 10 stars. The writing doesn't live up to the story, but it isn't so bad you can't get past it. This is definitely a book everyone should read.

Greg Mortenson's failure to summit K2 in Pakistan led him to the small village of Korphe where he witnessed children doing their school lessons outside in the cold unsupervised. The village couldn't afford a sheltered building or a full-time teacher. When the teacher wasn't present, the students practiced their lessons by drawing them in the dirt with sticks. This scene was the catalyst for Greg's life work. He set out on a mission to raise enough money - $12,000 - to build a school for this village. And then one school turned into a bridge, a school, a women's center...and then the projects started to spread to other Pakistani villages and ultimately to Afghanistan.

What this man accomplished - is still accomplishing - and his vision are absolutely incredible. He is by all definitions a true hero. He did not set out to teach Pakistani children (especially girls) to think like American children, but rather he set out to provide them with a means to get a well-rounded education, to have a chance in life. He respected their beliefs and accepted who they were as a people. Because of that, the people rallied around him and provided the labor, the support, the safety that was necessary to improve their ways of life without destroying their beliefs. Mortenson himself has lived in virtual poverty, has been kidnapped, and has spent many months each year away from his own family to accomplish this goal.

Mortenson had - still has - a view of the Middle East that most Americans never see, and he shares a small window of that view in this book. It is something we all need to see, so we aren't making the same mistakes we've made in the past. Mortenson believes that the kind of education he is helping these people to earn is what will be the strongest force against terrorism; the strongest force for promoting peace. I agree - whole-heartedly.

If you have not read this book, find a copy: order if from your bookstore, check it out from the library, borrow it from a friend. You will not regret it. I will admit that the writer, David Oliver Relin, is a bit on the verbose side. The first half of the book contains a lot of unnecessary fluff, but the second half tightens up considerably. Ignore the fluff...read this book...hear Mortenson's message. You don't need to donate to the cause, just hear his message and become educated yourself! It will be our country's strongest defense against terrorism and our greatest step toward peace!...less

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Jodi rated it:

(review of isbn 0143038257)

08/27/08

Read in August, 2008

recommended to Jodi by: Gayle Byrne
recommends it for: everyone

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Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time (Wheeler Softcover)

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