Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission To Promote Peace...One School At A Time, Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

#Hardcover # 352 pages # 02 Mar 2006 # Viking Adult # Memoir/Travelogue #AuthorsSite:www.threecupsoftea.com/


What does it take to give up one's comfortable life, embark on a journey to a troubled, distant land few people are familiar with and to try and bring peace to that land by building schools? It takes a vision, courage, determination and passion all of which Greg Mortenson has in large supply.

Greg Mortenson wasn't always an activist, he was a mountaineer and in 1993 when a trek to the K2 summit didn't go as planned he found himself in Balistan, a rather unknown and impoverished province of Pakistan whose inhabitants, the Baltis, are descendants of the Tibetans. So moved was he by their kindness and hospitality to him that he made them a promise to build their kids a school. The promise was an impulsive one. Mortenson didn't have the funds to build a school but he dashed off e-mails and letters to everyone he could think of petitioning them for funds and soon he was on his way to building not just one, but fifty-five schools in some of the most dangerous terrain in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Mortenson's journey and how his school-building mission was accomplished is told along with co-author David Oliver Relin, in the fascinating book "Three Cups of Tea". Not only is this story a story of inspiration and hope, but also, it is a journey into a land not too many people visit because it is fraught with danger (smuggling, lawlessness etc.) I loved reading aobut Mortenson's encounters with the Baltis and the Wazirs, particularly the Wazirs because they are unique in that although their lands are in Pakistan and Afghanistan, they are not loyal to either country, but loyal only to their clans. I also loved how Relin intertwines Mortenson’s story with the rise of the Taliban, 9/11 as experienced by Mortenson in Pakistan, and the American offensive in Afghanistan.

Greg Mortenson comes across as a very sincere, likeable guy in the book. He tries hard to win the approval and trust of the Islamic leaders, elders, commanders and tribal chiefs and succeeds even though the road to winning their acceptance is a difficult one considering their culture was so different from the one he is used to.

All in all I would say that even if the prose is not of the highest standard, this is a good compelling story.

A big "Thank you" to Sylvia from HollyDollyBooks for giving me this book!


The Blogroll Game:

Dewey from 'The Hidden Side of Leaf" has a great game for bloggers. I am joining in because it's a truly great way to discover new blogs and make more friends. Click the button to find out more. It runs only until Father's Day (17 June), so be quick!




Church Book Sale and Book Meme Pg 161

Was passing by a Church yesterday and noticed a booksale in the parking lot. Stopped for what I thought would be a second or two, but ended up spending a whole hour there. Here's my stash of books and I am pleased as punch with the lot! For a closer look at the titles, feel free to click on the picture. I spent $8 on the lot!
I've been tagged (honorarily) by Tanabata of In Spring It is the Dawn. Thank you, Nat!

Here are the rules:

Grab the book that is nearest to you (no cheating), turn to page 161,
post the text of the fifth full sentence on the page, post the rules and tag three people.

I am reading "Human Cargo: A Journey Among Refugees" by Caroline Moorehead so it's the book I had closest at hand.

"Where refugees come from and the conditions that turned them into exiles is often something people do not want to know"

I found the sentence so sad ...is that really true, do we not want to know a refugee's past? But isn't his/her past his passport?

In turn I tag three other bibliophiles:

Happy Reader at Book Closet

A Reader From India

Niranjana from Brown Paper