Product Description

The inspiring account of one man’s campaign to build schools in the most dangerous, remote, and anti- American reaches of Asia

In 1993 Greg Mortenson was the exhausted survivor of a failed attempt to ascend K2, an American climbing bum wandering emaciated and lost through Pakistan’s Karakoram Himalaya. After he was taken in and nursed back to health by the people of an impoverished Pakistani village, Mortenson promised to return one day and build them a school. From that rash, earnest promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time—Greg Mortenson’s one-man mission to counteract extremism by building schools, especially for girls, throughout the breeding ground of the Taliban.

Award-winning journalist David Oliver Relin has collaborated on this spellbinding account of Mortenson’s incredible accomplishments in a region where Americans are often feared and hated. In pursuit of his goal, Mortenson has survived kidnapping, fatwas issued by enraged mullahs, repeated death threats, and wrenching separations from his wife and children. But his success speaks for itself. At last count, his Central Asia Institute had built fifty-five schools. Three Cups of Tea is at once an unforgettable adventure and the inspiring true story of how one man really is changing the world—one school at a time.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4934 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-02
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 338 pages

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.

From Bookmarks Magazine
While critics agree that Three Cups of Tea should be read for its inspirational value rather than for its literary merit, the book's central theme, derived from a Baltistan proverb, rings loud and clear. "The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger," a villager tells Greg Mortenson. "The second time, you are an honored guest. The third time you become family." An inspirational story of one man's efforts to address poverty, educate girls, and overcome cultural divides, Three Cups, which won the 2007 Kiriyama Prize for nonfiction, reveals the enormous obstacles inherent in becoming such "family." Despite the important message, critics quibbled over the awkward prose and some melodrama. After all, a story as dramatic and satisfying as this should tell itself.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

From AudioFile
Lost after failing to climb K2, Mortenson was sheltered and nursed in a remote Pakistani village; he promised to return and build them a school. Keeping that promise led to his heading a charitable institute that provides impoverished children in Pakistan and Afghanistan with an education. Though Relin's writing is not top-caliber, Mortenson's story comes through as exciting and inspiring. Patrick Lawlor's voice is neither melodious nor distinguished, but it is likable and serviceable. He tells the story as if Mortenson had told it to him, keeping it lively and engaging. His imitation of voices and accents, loosely rather than precisely mimetic, fits his style. It all works; listeners will begrudge interruptions. W.M. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Xcellent book
I have told everyone I know who reads a lot to buy this book. It is very good

Three Cups of Tea
Excellent book. Gives an amazing view of the country of Pakistan and Afghanistan and its people. Greg Mortenson is one of a kind with his single-mindedness and determination. Many young people, especially girls will have a chance at an education because of him.

Development and Professional Tea Drinking
Greg Mortenson is an American who was raised by missionary parents in Tanzania. These parents left a legacy in Africa of one of the best hospitals led by African Doctors and a leading international school. They also modeled to a cross-cultural son about aiming high. Greg became a nurse who loved mountain climbing, dreaming of one day also conquering K2.

This is the story of his near fatal attempt to climb that mountain. The failure led him on another journey: to a very poor village in the Karakoram mountains and to the conservative Muslim tribal worlds of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Greg, emaciated and exhausted from his failed attempt, is taken in by a local family and nursed back to health. During his recuperation, he hears of some of their dreams for their village and makes a promise to return to build a school for their girls.

The name of the book derives from what a local village chief said, "Here (in Pakistan and Afghanistan) we drink three cups of tea to do business; the first you are a stranger; the second you become a friend, and the third, you join our family, and for our family we are prepared to do anything--even die."

Greg is thrown into another cross-cultural world that is far different from his world in Africa. It is a world of tribal chiefs, imams, the poor trying to survive in incredible circumstances and the impact of poverty upon the lives of children. These people wonder why an American would make a promise that looked so impossible to keep and how this turned into Greg's destiny.

'Three Cups of Tea' is a story of wisdom learned from the local culture over the centuries. It is seeing the practical difference that education makes in the lives of poor villages of Pakistan and Afghanistan one school at a time. It is a story of deep, lasting cross-cultural friendships in a world that has been defined by its geo-political and religious divides. Read it and weep......Read it and get involved.