Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission To Promote Peace...One School At A Time

published	2006 by Viking Adult
binding	Hardcover
isbn	0670034827 (isbn13: 9780670034826)
pages	352
description	The inspiring account of one man's campaign to build schools in the most dangerous, remote, and anti- American reaches of Asia In 19...more [close] The inspiring account of one man's campaign to build schools in the most dangerous, remote, and anti- American reaches of Asia In 1993 Greg Mortenson was the exhausted survivor of a failed attempt to ascend K2, an American climbing bum wandering emaciated and lost through Pakistan's Karakoram Himalaya. After he was taken in and nursed back to health by the people of an impoverished Pakistani village, Mortenson promised to return one day and build them a school. From that rash, earnest promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time—Greg Mortenson's one-man mission to counteract extremism by building schools, especially for girls, throughout the breeding ground of the Taliban. Award-winning journalist David Oliver Relin has collaborated on this spellbinding account of Mortenson's incredible accomplishments in a region where Americans are often feared and hated. In pursuit of his goal, Mortenson has survived kidnapping, fatwas issued by enraged mullahs, repeated death threats, and wrenching separations from his wife and children. But his success speaks for itself. At last count, his Central Asia Institute had built fifty-five schools. Three Cups of Tea is at once an unforgettable adventure and the inspiring true story of how one man really is changing the world—one school at a time. [close]
date added	04-19-07 edit book

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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:

(review of isbn 0143038257)

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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Heidi rated it:

(review of isbn 0143038257)

12/13/07

bookshelves: non-fiction

Read in October, 2007

recommends it for: everyone

I had the honor of presenting the author, David Oliver Relin, at our library book group.

Greg Mortenson failed to climb K2, and while he headed back down the mountain, he took a wrong turn, missed his bridge, and found himself in Korphe, a village not found on his maps. (Ridges in the glacier are as big as highways.) The people there welcomed him and brought him back to health. He happened to ask them to take him to their school....more

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Heather rated it:

(review of isbn 0143038257)

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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Carrie rated it:

(review of isbn 0143038257)

05/02/08

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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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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Lani rated it:

(review of isbn 0143038257)

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:

(review of isbn 0143038257)

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.

...less

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Sharon rated it:

(review of isbn 0143038257)

09/15/07

Read in September, 2007

I approached this book with some reservation. If nothing else several years of study in Development Studies has made me very wary of "do-gooders". As others have noted, there is a strong element of imperialism in the idea of of an American's mission to "fight terrorism and build nations" and I was quite ready to be critical about it.
However I am happy to admit I really enjoyed and was inspired by the book. As Relin writes- "Supposedly objective reporters are at risk of being drawn into his orbit... The more time I spent watching Mortenson work, the more convinced I became that I was in the presence of something extraordinary." ...more I approached this book with some reservation. If nothing else several years of study in Development Studies has made me very wary of "do-gooders". As others have noted, there is a strong element of imperialism in the idea of of an American's mission to "fight terrorism and build nations" and I was quite ready to be critical about it.
However I am happy to admit I really enjoyed and was inspired by the book. As Relin writes- "Supposedly objective reporters are at risk of being drawn into his orbit... The more time I spent watching Mortenson work, the more convinced I became that I was in the presence of something extraordinary." Mortenson appears to have a genuine humanitarian motivation and a deep affection for the people he works with.
I was surprised as I read the book to note that many of the paper lessons I learned about "doing development" were the lessons Mortenson learned through his work and his mistakes. "Participation" is one of the biggest buzzwords in development today and this is what Mortenson learned, and one hopes, how CAI continues to practise. This is what the three cups of tea is all about.
I do however a have a few niggles with the book. While acknowledging it was never written as a academic text I found the overwhelming positivity somewhat unrealistic. Whereever "outsiders" come in to do development or aid work, there are both positive and negative consequences, one just hopes the positive outweigh the negative. I believe in this case it does, but a more rounded discussion of the work would have been good.
And there is, possibly unavoidably, a touch of imperialism. Mortenson is American. He started out as a penniless individual who wanted to help but he now leads a growing organisation with a significant budget. I hope he continues to maintain the relationships that take this organisation above being just another development project.
Overall, I highly recommend this book, taken with just the tinest little grain of salt to aid digestion.
...less

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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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Phayvanh rated it:

(review of isbn 0143038257)

01/05/08

bookshelves: 2008, book-group, reportage, reviews, true-life

Read in January, 2008

recommended to Phayvanh by: Eric
recommends it for: peace workers

I borrowed this book, having heard the story of it, and knowing that other people I knew were/had been reading this book. And I'm returning it so it may be passed along.

The premise is great, an inspiring story, whether real or not, and one I'd love to continue to know about. My main problem with the book is the storytelling, how it abruptly snaps back and forth in place and time so that I am not always sure where the scene is taking place or when until fully into the scene. And some scene...more I borrowed this book, having heard the story of it, and knowing that other people I knew were/had been reading this book. And I'm returning it so it may be passed along.

The premise is great, an inspiring story, whether real or not, and one I'd love to continue to know about. My main problem with the book is the storytelling, how it abruptly snaps back and forth in place and time so that I am not always sure where the scene is taking place or when until fully into the scene. And some scenes are left completely hanging at the end of a chapter only to be dealt with later, almost as an after thought.

It would have been far better to read and understand if presented in a more linear fashion, although David Oliver Relin did address the time/place conintuum problem in the intro. There are a lot of missing dates, such that by the end of the book, I was still unsure as to how long it took for the first school to get built.

But you keep reading ( or I did, at least) because the story is full of hope and frustration, and you really want the best of everybody, even the conivvers. But Relin's verbose prose keeps tripping you up:

...burned fuselages lay like the decomposing carcasses of whales along the cratered runway...

Besides, how many times can he emphasize just how magnificent the view of K2 is? Or how treacherous a journey every journey was? Puleeze.

In the end, one hopes for the best of all involved and is encourages that the work will continue. I'd rather knwo this story though from watching a TV movie or reading some expanded Sunday story in the New York Times Magazine rather than this book.

Also, the other thing that bugged me in this book is how the author describes the "people" of Pakistan, which I do take some offense at, just lumping them into a sort of stereotypical group like that. Talking about their gentle, simple ways, etc. Even though, admittedly, he does go on to illustrate the extreme kindness of the Pakistanis involved, I still bristle at any sort of generalisations from outsiders. And the OTHER thing that also began to wear by the end of the book was how EVERY woman was beautiful, or at least, as Greg Mortenson saw them--village women, his future wife, Senator Mary Bono. Not beautiful in that spiritual way, but physically, a little too much so....less

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Christopher rated it:

(review of isbn 0143038257)

04/15/08

Read in April, 2008

recommended to Christopher by: Jessica
recommends it for: All Americans who want to know more about the Near East

What an inspiration! Greg Mortenson is a soft-spoken but resolute individual who, in tribute to his terminally ill sister Christa, who he nursed before her passing, undertakes the construction of schools (primarily for young girls) in Pakistan, and later, Afghanistan.

It is a multi-leveled story, dealing with frustrations, exultations, financial difficulties, and the satisfaction that comes from helping others and creating peace through education. Mortenson's efforts obtain the backing of sem...more What an inspiration! Greg Mortenson is a soft-spoken but resolute individual who, in tribute to his terminally ill sister Christa, who he nursed before her passing, undertakes the construction of schools (primarily for young girls) in Pakistan, and later, Afghanistan.

It is a multi-leveled story, dealing with frustrations, exultations, financial difficulties, and the satisfaction that comes from helping others and creating peace through education. Mortenson's efforts obtain the backing of semiconductor pioneer and fellow mountain climber Dr. Jean Hoerni -- an irascible but kind-hearted sort who, upon learning of his own imminent mortality from leukemia, provides the seed money for Mortenson's Central Asia Institute (CAI). Hoerni finds Mortenson endearing because he appreciated someone with the entrepreneurial spirit who was attempting to do something difficult. Hoerni says at one point "Americans care about Buddhists; they don't care about Muslims." This was Mortenson's challenge from the beginning.

Mortenson's humanitarian work makes him a national hero in Pakistan, where, in keeping with local custom, his photo begins to appear on the dashboards of many cars throughout Islamabad and Rawalpindi -- an honor for an American which, in the post-9/11 era, is nothing short of remarkable.

Mortenson, the son of Lutheran missionaries from Minnesota, and an outstanding college football player, started basically as a "free-agent" in Pakistan - having to learn new languages, cultivate local suppport, and in later chapters, having to deal with U.S. intelligence interrogators, who didn't understand or appreciate his mission.

Throughout the entire book, Mortenson's efforts underscore one important theme - that education is the key to peace and prosperity in countries thought to be nothing but hostile, terrorist enclaves by many in the world. The people he helps are so grateful for his help, they share "three cups of tea" with him - one as a new acquaintance, one as a friend, and finally, one as a family member. It is a positive reinforcement that the Muslim faith is really, at its heart, a peaceful one, where families only want the best for their children and themselves.

I loved this book; and in today's political and military climate, it nobly serves the purpose co-authors Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin have intended: to inform those of us who may be ignorant of Muslim life -- that despite obvious differences, Americans and Near-Easterners are very much alike in many ways....less

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Michele rated it:

(review of isbn 0143038257)

02/09/08

Read in October, 2007

A Discussion Americans Need to Have
This is a long 350-pages, which I feel can be summed up very briefly: Education is the key to world peace. The story of Greg Mortenson is worth reading, as it certainly educates on many fronts. He's a unique, larger-than-life character, who comes across to all those who know him well as "not one of us. He is his own species."

Having made a promise to build a school in the high altitudes of Pakistan shortly after his failed attempt to climb...more A Discussion Americans Need to Have
This is a long 350-pages, which I feel can be summed up very briefly: Education is the key to world peace. The story of Greg Mortenson is worth reading, as it certainly educates on many fronts. He's a unique, larger-than-life character, who comes across to all those who know him well as "not one of us. He is his own species."

Having made a promise to build a school in the high altitudes of Pakistan shortly after his failed attempt to climb K-2 to spread the ashes of his youngest sister, Mortenson lives for this goal. He's single-minded, determined, and fearless. His efforts to raise funds give new meaning to the term grassroots. But he does succeed in spite of mountainous obstacles put before him. Three Cups of Tea provides every detail of this struggle.

The writing is excellent, although mid-way through I felt as though I were reading a Time magazine article (or perhaps Parade Magazine article is the better choice) that wouldn't end. By mid-book, I found Mortenson--and reading about his outgoing while in Pakistan, yet reclusive while in the States personality frustrating. Although his wife, Tara Bishop, fell in love with him for his passion regarding the school/s project, once they were married (six days after meeting) and she was carrying his child, I resented his apparent recklessness regarding his personal safety in volatile and hostile terrain. My attitude changed after 9-11, however, and how he pleaded with the world to try and see that not all Muslims are terrorists. Learning he received hate mail from many, many Americans after this proclamation, illustrated how much ignorance is out there. It led me to champion his cause in spite of the hardships it brought to his family. His accomplishments are amazing and truly admirable. I was left with the impression that this was not a man merely in search of an extraordinary life, but rather, this is an extraordinary man, who genuinely believed in a noble and worthy cause, and stopped at nothing to see it through.

His meeting with Donald Rumsfeld, then Secretary of Defense--particularly the way he compares and contrasts his meeting/s with Taliban leaders--was especially interesting. Mortenson tries to make the case for Afghanistan civilians, victims of the war (deemed collateral damage), who were forgotten when the American army switched its focus to Iraq. If you want to try and understand how and why the reputation of the United States has suffered around the globe since 9-11, Three Cups of Tea certainly makes its case.
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Jessica rated it:

(review of isbn 0143038257)

02/29/08

Read in March, 2008

Three Cups of Tea contains a hint of a beautiful story. There were parts that made me tear up. Some of the parts that made me tear up were touching; other parts that made me tear up were painfully written.

Greg Mortenson is really an American hero. His work in Pakistan and Afghanistan is truly amazing. David Oliver Relin is an American journalist. His work, at least on this book, is not so heroic. The following are some of my favorite, terrible sentences from the book:

“And by the time t...more

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Angie rated it:

(review of isbn 0143038257)

03/11/08

Read in March, 2008

Two words about Three Cups of Tea - absolutely amazing! An absolute must read for everyone. I laughed, I cried, I was angered by the ignorance (mostly American ignorance), and I really had a great learning experience. Greg Mortenson has shown through his work that one person can truly make a difference in this world, and that difference is bringing education and a message of peace and deep love to an area of the world that hasn't seen much help and compassion from Westerners.

The stor...more