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Three Cups of Deceit: How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His Way (Kindle Single) [Kindle Edition]

Jon Krakauer
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (182 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Greg Mortenson has built a global reputation as a selfless humanitarian and children’s crusader, and he’s been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He is also not what he appears to be. As acclaimed author Jon Krakauer discovered, Mortenson has not only fabricated substantial parts of his bestselling books Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools, but has also misused millions of dollars donated by unsuspecting admirers like Krakauer himself.

This is the tragic tale of good intentions gone very wrong.

100% of Jon Krakauer's proceeds from the sale of Three Cups of Deceit will be donated to the "Stop Girl Trafficking" project at the American Himalayan Foundation.


Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Greg Mortenson is the bestselling author of Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools, a tireless advocate for improved education in impoverished areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the founder of the Central Asia Institute (CAI), a non-profit that builds schools in these areas. He's also, according to Jon Krakauer, not all that he appears to be. Krakauer is himself a bestselling author (Into the Wild, Into Thin Air), with a well-deserved reputation for penetrating nonfiction. Motivated by his own humanitarian concerns, and having donated considerable sums to CAI, Krakauer now applies his investigative skills to the unmasking of what he calls the "image of Mortenson that has been created for public consumption… an artifact born of fantasy, audacity, and an apparently insatiable hunger for esteem." Did Mortenson discover the village that inspired his crusade while wandering lost down K2? Was he abducted and held for eight days by the Taliban? Has he built all the schools that he has claimed? Tempered by Krakauer's fairly giving CAI credit where it's due, Three Cups of Deceit mounts an extensive, passionate exploration into these questions. --Jason Kirk

Review

"Packed with interviews and anecdotes that undercut Mortenson's image as a cheerful do-gooder, Krakauer's account of good intentions gone horribly wrong is a stunning example of investigative journalism." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Krakauer forcefully claims that Mortenson improperly used his charity’s funds and failed to build all the schools he says he did.” –Chicago Tribune

Product Details

  • File Size: 590 KB
  • Print Length: 75 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0307948765
  • Publisher: Byliner; 1 edition (April 20, 2011)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B004XHVOW4
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Enabled
  • Lending: Enabled
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,927 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

I highly recommend all of Jon's books - I think I've read them all in sequence. A. Sussell  |  38 reviewers made a similar statement
It was well written and well researched. V. Bolling  |  34 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
329 of 351 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A very thorough essay, BUT... April 28, 2011
By jblyn
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
.....as meticulous as Jon Krakauer is in detailing where Greg Mortenson's account of his work in Afghanistan and Pakistan is shot full of holes, it's still best to read THREE CUPS OF DECEIT in tandem with Mortenson's own response to Krakauer's charges (which is in an interview with OUTSIDE magazine) and the response to Krakauer by Scott Darnsey, Mortenson's climbing partner back in the '90s when this all began (also in an interview with OUTSIDE). I suggest reading those as well NOT because they counteract the charge that Mortenson's story has problems---they don't really---but to have their perspective in addition to Krakauer's to then decide for yourself whether this was indeed a hustle by a shrewd con-man or a series of blunders made by a well-intentioned and dedicated man that ultimately undercut his achievements. I tend to be more convinced by Krakauer's reporting precisely because he does what Mortenson does not, namely SPECIFICALLY citing his sources. But even with the bloom off Mortenson's rose, I am not totally convinced that this was intended to be a hustle. Or, more accurately I suppose, I'd hate to have to come to that conclusion, though ultimately I may.

There is a cautionary moral to be drawn from all this, though: If you're going to go high-profile in promoting an agenda, you'd BETTER be prepared to be scrutinized and accountable for all that you do---especially when using other people's money.
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538 of 598 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Depressing but Deeply Necessary Expose April 21, 2011
Format:Kindle Edition
In February, I embedded with the 101st Airborne division in Kandahar province to research a novel. I wound up writing my own Kindle Single, "Lost in Kandahar," about the obstacles our soldiers faced in fighting the Taliban. One reviewer wrote that that the piece offered a very different perspective on Afghanistan than "Three Cups of Tea." Now, unfortunately, I understand why. In this thoroughly researched piece, Jon Krakauer exposes Greg Mortenson as a terrible charlatan.

According to dozens of people who spoke to Krakauer, most of whom are quoted by name, Mortenson lied about the origins of his school-building project, lied about the number of schools he's built, lied about how much time he spends in Afghanistan, lied about his financial relationship with his charity, lied about how much he pays himself, lied about his "kidnapping" in 1996, and even lied about the fact that schools are mainly in relatively peaceful parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan. There are probably a few other lies I've forgotten. For his own ego and financial gain, Mortenson took advantage of the goodwill of donors in America and all over the world.

As Krakauer points out, we are so desperate for good news out of Afghanistan that we latched onto Mortenson's story despite some of its obvious flaws (the Taliban didn't really exist in Pakistan in 1996, for example). Mortenson's efforts to defend himself at this point are pathetic, and if he is smart - and wants to avoid a criminal indictment - he will come clean and then slink away, never to be seen or heard again. And hopefully, the rest of us will be a little wiser the next time a Pied Piper comes along promising to solve the world's ills -- for just a few bucks down!

Lost in Kandahar (Kindle Single)
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250 of 278 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars "Hell hath no fury like Jon Krakauer scorned" April 24, 2011
Format:Kindle Edition
The quote in the title comes from a journalist writing in the Seattle Times. It's important to note that Krakauer was a supporter of Mortenson's, and this report only came to be after numerous other private communication (all documented here) was ignored. Krakauer builds a damaging, fact-based case while still acknowledging the good work that Mortenson has done.

I wish it weren't so, but wishing something doesn't make it true. This report is well-documented, well-written, and sadly accurate.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Confirmation of my thoughts
While reading the original I was thinking this guy is a Joker!!
How easy it is to suck money out of people & live the high life
Published 7 hours ago by Fran
5.0 out of 5 stars Go Jon
Although Greg Mortenson escaped federal indictment, Jon Krakauer has nailed him for us. My sister's church school class raised $600 for this joker and who knows what really... Read more
Published 4 days ago by K. Birtwell
5.0 out of 5 stars Meticulously researched
A big part of Jon Krakauer's muse is unusual people and what makes them tick. When Mortenson's perfidy became apparent, he mutated from being unusually humanitarian to curiously... Read more
Published 9 days ago by ROGER M MCKIMMY
2.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected
Seems like a personal vendetta against Mortenson, although it seems he deserved it. I thought it would deal with mountaineering, not just an effort to raise money and misspend it.
Published 18 days ago by C. DeJong
5.0 out of 5 stars Feet of Clay
We're so often taken in by charisma. Thank goodness for people willing to dig into the stories we're given. Read more
Published 19 days ago by Pat
3.0 out of 5 stars Hype
Revealing book about guy with a very skewed view of hat's right. Or tension is not the great humanitarian his hype made him out to be.
Published 21 days ago by Harv
4.0 out of 5 stars Compelling
Overwhelming evidence underscores how Greg Mortenson fooled everyone for years. Krakauer has fact-checked to the nth degree. Read more
Published 21 days ago by beemom
5.0 out of 5 stars a good expose
shows the crookedness of Mortensen's work. Never really did all that he said. Too bad so many fell for it.
Published 22 days ago by Leon Ginsberg
3.0 out of 5 stars Fly Catcher
Krakauer documents the deceits, frauds, misappropriations, negligence, and breaches of trust of Greg Mortenson, author of "3 Cups of Tea" and founder of the Central Asia Institute. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jeff Rasley
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it!
I love Krakauer's books and I was forced to read Greg Mortenson's "Three Cups of Tea" by my own high school, who contributed money to this fraudulent man. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jordan Marciello
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More About the Author

Jon Krakauer grew up in Corvallis, Oregon, where his father introduced him to mountaineering as an 8-year-old. In 1999, upon presenting him with an Academy Award in Literature, the American Academy of Arts and Letters declared, "Krakauer combines the tenacity and courage of the finest tradition of investigative journalism with the stylish subtlety and profound insight of the born writer. His account of an ascent of Mount Everest has led to a general reevaluation of climbing and of the commercialization of what was once a romantic, solitary sport; while his account of the life and death of Christopher McCandless, who died of starvation after challenging the Alaskan wilderness, delves even more deeply and disturbingly into the fascination of nature and the devastating effects of its lure on a young and curious mind."

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