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First, I admire what Mortenson is doing;my review is of the book, not the person. Next, I understand that memoir is a tricky genre. That said, this book was a disappointment to me. The "ghost writer's" voice seemed inauthentic. I wasn't convinced that the experiences and emotional reactions were true. In my opinion, that's what really great memoir does; it takes us into another person's experience. When I find myself doubting the veracity of the narrator, the experience is ruined for me. This bo
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Greg Mortenson was a mountain climber who came to Pakistan to climb K-2 and leave a memorial to his sister on top. He failed to make it to the top. Instead, he accidentally wandered into a remote village and discovered his life's work, funding and founding schools, especially for Muslim girls.
Mortenson's story is inspiring, and in this dark world it is comforting to read such a tale. Yet, while reading the book, my skeptical brain kept buzzing my living-in-fantasy-world brain and reminding it t ...more
Mortenson's story is inspiring, and in this dark world it is comforting to read such a tale. Yet, while reading the book, my skeptical brain kept buzzing my living-in-fantasy-world brain and reminding it t ...more

wish I could give a 3.5. I started out Loving this book but it was as if the charm wore off as the writing seemed to become fragmented. I found myself having to re-read parts to try to determine time or place or even people. I don't like having to do that. Greg Mortenson is an incredible person and I am absolutely amazed at his determination and resolve. Oh, if there were only more like him, but then again maybe there are. Others may be doing things similar to Greg and do not initially require r
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BORING! Yes, I'm impressed at what he did, but... BORING! I feel I SHOULD read it to learn about their culture (and because it's my Book Club's book), but man, it is so very BORING!
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From a writing standpoint, this book is more like a 3 star read. But I was interested enough in the story that my enjoyment of it was a bit higher. I feel a little like this man is receiving very high praise when not enough attention is being paid to his organization/leadership skills. He comes off as a bit fanatical at the expense of training a network of workers that could maybe even reach more people. I don't know - I'd like to read more about this topic from a different perspective.
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Dec 28, 2009
Alexis
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
non-fiction

Jun 16, 2010
Jennifer
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction,
afghanistan-pakistan