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Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time Paperback – Illustrated, 30 Jan. 2007
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Anyone who despairs of the individuals power to change lives has to read the story of Greg Mortenson, a homeless mountaineer who, following a 1993 climb of Pakistans 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 schoolsespecially for girlsthat offer a balanced education in one of the most isolated and dangerous regions on earth. As it chronicles Mortensons 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.
- Print length368 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPenguin
- Publication date30 Jan. 2007
- Dimensions13.89 x 1.98 x 21.34 cm
- ISBN-109780143038252
- ISBN-13978-0143038252
- Lexile measure1220L
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Review
"An inspiring chronicle . . . this is one protagonist who clearly deserves to be called a hero."-People
"Mortenson's mission is admirable, his conviction unassailable, his territory exotic."-The Washington Post
About the Author
Co-author David Oliver Relin is an award-winning writer and contributor to Parade and Skiing Magazine.
Product details
- ASIN : 0143038257
- Publisher : Penguin; First Edition (30 Jan. 2007)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 368 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780143038252
- ISBN-13 : 978-0143038252
- Dimensions : 13.89 x 1.98 x 21.34 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: 2,282,242 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 1,229 in Terrorism & Freedom Fighters Biographies
- 1,625 in Indian Subcontinent Historical Biographies
- 1,709 in Mountaineering History & Biography
- Customer reviews:
About the authors

Sarah L. Thomson has written over thirty books for young readers, including poetry, prose, fiction and nonfiction. Her recent books include Cub's BIG World, which School Library Journal called “a big must-have" and Deadly Flowers: A Ninja's Tale, which Booklist called “genuinely thrilling." She lives in Portland, Maine.

photo (c) 2009 Khyber Mortenson
Greg Mortenson is the director of the Central Asia Institute www.ikat.org and founder of Pennies For Peace www.penniesforpeace.org. He is the co-author and protagonist of Three Cups of Tea www.threecupsoftea.com, which has been a New York Times nonfiction bestseller for three years, and published in over three dozen countries.
Since a 1993 climb of Pakistan's K2, Mortenson has worked in rural Afghanistan and Pakistan to promote education and literacy, to establish 131 schools, especially for girls, which provide education to over 58,000 students, including 44,000 females.
Three Cups of Tea is mandatory reading for all senior U.S. military commanders, and U.S. Special Forces deploying to Afghanistan. The book has been a freshman or common book read in over 100 universities and colleges, and a 'One Book' read in over 240 communities. His second book, Stones Into Schools: Promoting Peace With Books Not Bombs in Pakistan and Afghanistan www.stonesintoschools.com will be released by Viking on December 1st, 2009
In 2009, Mortenson received the Sitara-e-Pakistan, which is Pakistan's highest civil award for his humanitarian efforts, While not overseas, Mortenson lives with his wife and two children in Montana.

David Oliver Relin is an award-winning writer and contributor to Parade and Skiing Magazine. For two decades, Relin has focused on reporting about social issues and their effect on children, both in the U.S., and around the world. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
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Without giving too much away the main points were around:
-Greg's first visit to Korphe.
-one of his experiences with the Taliban.
-Greg using the charity to pay expenses for private after dinner speaking.
I am sceptical about these claims and many of them on youtube for example are from some seedy looking characters. I am very questioning of these individuals motives and really dont want to believe their claims.
This has been a huge story in the USA and when I last looked(Mid May 2011) Greg Mortensen or his organization have not come out with clear explanations for any of the irregularities or denied the accusations.
This left me feeling a little cheated as I had taken it as a completely true story.
I believe the vast majority, if not all of it is true. If you read this book knowing that a few facts MAY have been changed to improved the story you won't be dissapointed. It is a fascinating, well written book with a great message.
Definitely worth reading.
Adrian, a friend living and working in aidwork in Addis Ababa, recently reinforced my memories from when I worked in Ethiopia about the about the proliferation of NGO's ( non Governmental Organisations) - charities set up by Americans and Europeans - in Ethiopia and the intense distrust among Ethiopians and lack of coordination with national governmental programmes. Was Greg Mortenson going to be another energetic, well meaning person, funded by rich Americans, striving with generous intent to share their wealth with others but ultimately having little long term beneficial impact?
Very soon Greg stands apart from the architypical traveller turned aid worker. Whilst being nurtured back to health by the people of Korphe - a Balti village in the high Karakorum - after a climbing epic on K2, he not only learns the language of the Balti but also their way of life and Moslem religion. In Korphe, as in so many poor countries, education and schools are very high up the priorities of very poor people after they have gained food security. Greg promises his hosts to build a school in Korphe.
But my suspicions were raised when Greg returned to Pakistan after raising money with with great difficulty and self sacrifice in the US. On his return he found that the people of Korphe had not made the progress they promised him in preparing for the school and he threw a wobbler and got personally involved in building the school. Was this a touch of the neo-colonialist approach? Was that school as great a priority as made out?
However these doubts are soon dispelled. Greg clearly has the understanding, and the language (actually several languages) and attitude to gain the confidence of Pakistanis wherever he goes. He lives with them, he travels and prays and drinks copious cups of tea with them. The book brings Pakistan to life. But whilst defying the principles that I hold so dear in being able to run any kind of organisation, he provides the vision and the funds that unleashes a spate of school building, teaching and maintenance across a wide area of northern Pakistan and into Afghanistan.
Remarkable in itself. But when combined with an outbreak of war in the Kashmir between India and Pakistan, and even more ominously with 9/11 and the arrival of US forces in Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan it seems that the fairytale must end.
Greg ignores the personal danger - in fact he appears to go looking for trouble by travelling into some of the most notorious hotspots including Badakshan far north of Kabul in Afghanistan. He gets captured, imprisoned and has fatwahs declared against him. He is not deterred. His personal standing amongst the people and the more thoughtful mullahs overcomes the hotheads. The imminence of the danger almost seems to accelerate his drive to intensify and extend his operations.
Without ever holding itself out as a treatise on how to combat terrorism, the book provides a real inspiration of the positive way in which building schools and providing moderate Moslem education for both girls and boys is a far more effective way than brute force alone of dealing with the threat to western civilisation.
Written by a ghost writer - Greg is too driven to stop to write a book - the narrative can be accused of being disjointed. But it is a very rare biographical tale that is a non stop page turner.
Firstly, this book has been on my to read list for years, I'm passionate about the subject and love reading anything set in this area of the World. My expectations were high, as were the reviews that led this to my to read shelf in the first place.
The start of the book is a great introduction to Greg Mortenson, his climbing career, his team and ambitions. When he fails at his most recent climbing expedition and loses contact with his team, he spends a lonely night, fighting the cold and extreme conditions high altitude in the Karakoram mountains has to offer. The next day, tired and weak he finds his porter, only to lose him again and stumble upon a village called Korphe.
The hospitality of the Korphe leader Haji Ali and his family, warms Greg's heart, and after seeing the village children learning with sticks, outside in the dust, Greg vows to repay the kindness he'd received by returning and building a school.
Great... Well maybe not, the next few chapters flitted between Greg's struggle back in the USA to raise money for the school, to his weird infatuation with a woman with full lips who became his girlfriend. I can't even remember her name, she was so irrelevant, that I have no idea why she was included in the book. This part of the book Greg spent feeling sorry for himself, a lot.
So skimming over few chapters to where the real action begins, I began to love the story. How selfless could one person get, on the other hand I found myself feeling sorry for his new wife, Tara, having to put up with him.
The only other negative to this book, may be due to the fact there were two authors. I loved the descriptive scenes, giving me several lumps in my throat, but it kept jumping to a very interview based, journalistic style. While interesting to hear the views of the many people Greg met along the way, I didn't appreciate being dragged out of my scene making!
Whilst my review may not sound positive, I am merely pointing out the negatives. If you want to read a story of friendship, hope and determination, all in a country fighting the effects of several wars (not just military), then read this book!
I will be reading the next book in the series "Stones into Schools" and seeing how the charity CAI have progressed in recent years. I find it highly topical, with the recent shooting of school girl Malala Yousafzai in Pakistan, that the fight for girls education in Muslim countries continues.







