An Amazing Book from the NY Times Bestseller List.

Three Cups of Tea is written by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin is an amazing and inspiring true story of one man’s mission to promote peace by building schools in remote areas of Pakistan.

The Story

Greg Mortenson is devastated over the death of his younger sister, Christa. He decides that a fitting way to honor her would be to climb K2, the world’s second highest mountain, and place her beloved necklace at the summit. However, after a climbing incident forces Greg to abandon his summit bid, he is so devastated that he doesn’t pay attention on the way down the mountain and becomes separated from his group. Greg ends up in an isolated and impoverished village called Korpe. The villagers show him immense kindness and share what little food they have with him.

Greg is moved by their way of life and decides to re-cooperate in Korpe. He stays in the village chief’s home. When Greg sees the village school, he is heartbroken. He discovers that 78 children hold class on an open ledge and sit on the frozen ground. The village can only afford a teacher three days a week. The rest of the time, the children hold class by themselves. They do not have a building, desks, books, or supplies. They use a stick to scratch their work in the dirt. The children’s strong desire to overcome their situation reminds Greg of his deceased sister, Christa. Christa had health problems which made daily routines a struggle, but she faced them with strength and dignity anyways. On the spot, Greg decides that building a school in Korpe would be a more meaningful way to honor his deceased sister. Greg promises the chief that he will build a school.

That promise completely changes Greg’s life. Greg is a son of missionaries and a registered nurse. He has no experience in fundraising, or building a school in a remote part of a country that is suspicious of Americans, but he attempts it anyways. To build a school in a remote part of Pakistan is no easy feat. The book details all of the obstacles Greg faces as well as his adventures. If only half of what Greg claims he did in this book is true, it would still be an amazing tale! Greg is so moved by his first experience of building a school, that he spends the next 10 years of his life, at great personal sacrifice, building 54 more schools, especially ones for girls, in very remote, impoverished areas of Pakistan.

I do not want to give away Greg’s adventures, but I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I am a busy mom, but I stayed up late to finish this 352 page book in 4 days. I loved learning more about Pakistan, its people, geography, way of life, tribal cultures, and customs. I especially enjoyed how well several main characters were developed. The friendships Greg made really touched my heart. I was impressed at how people from such radically different cultures formed family like relationships and worked together to overcome unbelievable obstacles. What was most surprising to me is how well I could relate to the villagers and their strong desire to give their children a more promising future.

What Greg has accomplished is inspiring. I am a former educator and completely agree with Greg’s premise that education is the key in life. He states: “What’s the difference between them [Pakistanis] becoming a productive local citizen or a terrorist? I think the key is education.”

The original subtitle to Three Cups of Tea was: “One Man’s Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations….One School at a Time”

Greg changed it for the paperback version and it now reads: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace……One School at a Time.

After reading the book, I feel that the change is perfect. Greg’s main mission in building schools is offering children an education which he feels will eventually destroy a child’s desire to join the Taliban and other radical groups.

The Photographs

Several pages of black and white photographs are included in the book. I loved seeing pictures of K2 and all of the main characters in the book. I would have liked to have seen more pictures, such as one of the bridge Greg built in the village of Korpe (when you read the book, you’ll understand my interest). There are blank areas on several of the picture pages so I don’t know why more pictures were not included.

Disappointments

As much as I loved this book, I am disappointed in the writing. First, I would have preferred that it had been written in first person. Second, I didn’t like David Oliver Relin’s style of writing. I found him to be overly descriptive and wordy at times. For example:

“The panorama of colossi blinded him. Gasherbrum, Broad Peak, Mitre Peak, Muztagh---these ice-sheathed giants, naked in the embrace of unfiltered sunlight, burned like bonfires.

Not all of the writing is this over the top, but Relin does throw in some of these overly descriptive lines here and there.

My biggest complaint would be the choppiness and lack of fluidness in the writing. For example, Relin writes about Greg being cornered at his high school by a gang of students, attacked, and left with an upside-down can of garbage on him. The next paragraph is on a completely different subject and the book never goes back to how Greg felt about being attacked, how it changed him, etc.

Final Thoughts

Greg’s organization is called Central Asia Institute (CAI). It is a non profit organization dedicated to building schools in needy areas in Pakistan and Afghanistan. This book is so inspiring that, even though I am a stay at home mom on a very tight budget, I happily wrote them a check anyways.

Despite the sophomoric writing, I loved Three Cups of Tea and I have recommended it to my friends and family. I would give the story 5 stars, but the writing only 3. For Epinions, I will rate it 4 star. I found Greg Mortenson and his accomplishments to be extraordinary. I have never been so moved by a book as I did with this one. Greg is referred to as an American hero and I believe that description is fitting. What Greg has done has caused me to reflect on my life. Please do not let the writing style scare you away from this book. It is well worth the read and I highly recommend!

Thanks for reading.