Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time [Paperback]

Greg Mortenson (Author), David Oliver Relin (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 30, 2007

The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use education to combat terrorism in the Taliban’s backyard

Anyone who despairs of the individual’s power to change lives has to read the story of Greg Mortenson, a homeless mountaineer who, following a 1993 climb of Pakistan’s treacherous K2, was inspired by a chance encounter with impoverished mountain villagers and promised to build them a school. Over the next decade he built fifty-five schools—especially for girls—that offer a balanced education in one of the most isolated and dangerous regions on earth. As it chronicles Mortenson’s quest, which has brought him into conflict with both enraged Islamists and uncomprehending Americans, Three Cups of Tea combines adventure with a celebration of the humanitarian spirit.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

From Viking Press
In regards to the 60 Minutes episode that aired April 17, 2011: "Greg Mortenson’s work as a humanitarian in Afghanistan and Pakistan has provided tens of thousands of children with an education. 60 Minutes is a serious news organization and in the wake of their report, Viking plans to carefully review the materials with the author."

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Some failures lead to phenomenal successes, and this American nurse's unsuccessful attempt to climb K2, the world's second tallest mountain, is one of them. Dangerously ill when he finished his climb in 1993, Mortenson was sheltered for seven weeks by the small Pakistani village of Korphe; in return, he promised to build the impoverished town's first school, a project that grew into the Central Asia Institute, which has since constructed more than 50 schools across rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. Coauthor Relin recounts Mortenson's efforts in fascinating detail, presenting compelling portraits of the village elders, con artists, philanthropists, mujahideen, Taliban officials, ambitious school girls and upright Muslims Mortenson met along the way. As the book moves into the post-9/11 world, Mortenson and Relin argue that the United States must fight Islamic extremism in the region through collaborative efforts to alleviate poverty and improve access to education, especially for girls. Captivating and suspenseful, with engrossing accounts of both hostilities and unlikely friendships, this book will win many readers' hearts. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 349 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books (January 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143038257
• ISBN-13: 978-0143038252
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2,710 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,766 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Public Affairs & Policy > Non-Governmental Organizations
  • #4 in Books > History > Asia > Pakistan
  • #5 in Books > History > Asia > Central Asia

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

409 of 438 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars It doesn't add up, and now (sadly) there's proof April 18, 2011

By Daysleeper

Format:Paperback

I read this book just a few weeks before the scandal broke. I loved the story and am glad to see children being educated. And yet some things just didn't add up....

International development is a challenge, and there is a long history of failure. The main problem is, how do you translate donor money into resources that get to the right people at the right time in the right form? It always seems like 90% is either wasted directly (mismanagement, bribes, etc.), or gets siphoned off to pay for things that aren't used or not wanted. A lot of this is political: local leaders resist being upstaged and have their own priorities and face-saving motives, while the philanthropists insist upon doing it "our way" because "we know what's best".

Three Cups of Tea makes it sound like Greg Mortenson has single-handedly solved these problems. Hence the questions that arose when I read the book. Could it really be that a village would be completely unanimous in support of new school, and with such universal, thumping excitement? There weren't any political toes being stepped on? Was there really no suspiciousness or even apathy among the villagers? Would a villager really approach Mortenson to have a broken bone set (Mortenson is a nurse), when this sort of 'technology-free medicine' is exactly the sort of thing, like midwifery, that less developed cultures maintain quite a good grasp of? Given how hard it is to get a doctor to work in rural but accessible areas in N. America, how could teachers be recruited to work in these new schools in tiny villages, which take days to get to and where the local language is different? How could he know the schools were being built in the right place?... Why would his Taliban abductors have had an 1979 issue of Time magazine on hand: why would it have been taken to backwoods Pakistan in the first place and why would it have been kept in storage for 20 years, until the chance kidnapping of an English-speaking American? Using only force of will, would an excitable taxi driver really have been able to singlehandedly get Mortenson moved to the front of the line for Mother Teresa's casket visitation (by far the most preposterous anecdote in the book)?

Basically, I concluded that the book is inspirational, but also a grand mix of political and circumstantial implausibilities. Originally I hoped this was mostly due to the publisher and co-author's embellishment. However...

Krakauer has just published a thorough 70-page challenge to Three Cups in a free PDF at the Byliner website, called 'Three Cups of Deceit'. Many of Mortenson's stories are challenged by about a dozen witnesses in Krakauer's critique. What is remarkable is that aside from maybe one or two of them (Krakauer himself among them, who comes across as a bit snotty), the witnesses themselves have nothing to gain from telling their stories--they're not going to get ratings, glory or money from telling their point of view.

The story that emerges is sad. The testimony suggests that CAI's funds are mismanaged by Mortenson, who spends too much money on himself and his book tour and publicity, and who resents the attempts of his American staff to evaluate what has worked and not worked in his overseas building projects. And that's the crux of the problem: Mortenson is allegedly building schools that are in the wrong place, where no one will use them; when they are in the right place, Mortenson's organization is not paying for teachers to staff the school.

I hope Mortenson makes it through his heart surgery safely so he can correct these problems and redeem himself, his values, and his organization. Until then dear readers, please do not give up. There are charities that work on the ground overseas that are much more accountable and centered around local needs. My favorite one even has a blog with pictures and contributions from the locals. Peace. Read more ›

81 of 89 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Greg is a con artiste? April 18, 2011

By Matt C

Format:Paperback

This book has been revealed to have invented stories, including the first story about K2. 60 minutes recently had a damning expose that Greg's stories are fabricated and his charity is used to enrich himself. Google 'Three cups of tea 60 minutes' to see the episode. As someone who works in Afghanistan and puts his butt on the line there, I find this reprehensible. The publisher needs to issue refunds to people who bought this book.

95 of 108 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Three cups of bull April 17, 2011

By Bharat

Format:Paperback

60 minutes just took this guy down for the fraud that he is. He made up the stories, made up being kidnapped by the Taliban, and it sounds like he border-line embezzled from his charity.

100 of 114 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars If you're going to lie, at least make it interesting. April 17, 2011

By Tstash

Format:Paperback

I had been feeling bad b/c this book has been on my nightstand for months and months. I'd pick it up and read a few pages after finishing yet another (good) book, then go on to a more captivating or entertaining read. It just wasn't interesting enough to keep me reading it. Now I find that it's a work of fiction. That's even worse. The truth is not always thrilling and exciting but fiction should never be so boring. Well, now I can remove it (and my guilt) from my nightstand. Anyone looking for a cheap copy?

430 of 506 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars One man against an ocean of need . . . July 28, 2006

By Ronald Scheer

Format:Hardcover

This is an as-told-to biography of American Greg Mortenson, who has devoted his life to building schools in the remotest mountains of Pakistan. After a failed attempt to scale the earth's second highest peak, K2, he stumbles into an isolated mountain village, where he resolves to repay the generosity of the village leader and his people by building them a school. Mortenson's struggle to fulfill that promise and then committing himself to fund raising and building many more schools, for both boys and girls in this Muslim country, is the central subject of this long, well detailed book.

Rising gamely to meet all obstacles, including his own naivte, errors in judgment, and lack of financial resources, Mortenson falls back on skills and values learned as the son of Lutheran missionaries in Africa. Along the way he encounters others who have the money, the connections, and the abilities to help him on his mission, in both the U.S. and Pakistan. There are frustrations that would discourage the best of us, and there are sudden unexpected turns of fortune that rescue his efforts from oblivion. The book is a lesson in how a real field of dreams comes into being, and it is a quiet rebuff to those who seek change and order in the world's trouble spots through shock-and-awe military might.

Writer David Relin's worshipful account of Mortenson's career draws heavily on "Parade"-style drama, suspense, and sentiment. At times readers may yearn for more objectivity and wonder how much Relin might be glossing over his subject.... Still, the story has a momentum of its own, and you read on, as Mortenson's fragile achievements are threatened by other forces set loose by the anti-West indoctrination of Saudi-funded madrassah schools, the emergence of the Talibabn, and the post-9/11 attacks on Afghanistan. Recommended for readers who enjoy heartfelt and inspiring stories of unusual achievement by heroically generous individuals. Read more ›

61 of 68 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Build a Jail April 18, 2011

By Bookman

Format:Paperback

Perhaps Mortenson should build a jail for himself and all the other liars of his ilk who take millions from honest people for essentially a one man charity.

435 of 513 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A blueprint for making a difference April 4, 2006

By Sam Carpenter

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

After four trips over the past three years to Pakistan and Azad Kashmir, and after founding Kashmir Family Aid ([...]) to aid victims of the Oct 8, 2005 earthquake, I whole-heartedly endorse Greg Mortenson and his work. This book adds new life to the over-wraught dictum that "one CAN make a difference." Beyond that, if one wants to truly get inside the rural Pakistani's heart and soul, this is mandatory reading.

My personal experience has been that once I met these people (and yes, had tea with them in their tiny homes, or in the quake region, in their tents), it was difficult to want to leave to return to the West. It's a hard thing to explain but Mortenson's book will absolutely do the job. A powerful thread within his story: It would be impossible not to love these people after getting to know them one-on one.

These remote village people are simple, strong and proud. Their lives are spent nurturing their families and working hard in a politically and environmentally tortured region. BUY THE BOOK, get inside the people of this place and then send Greg Mortenson your donation.