Three Cups of Tea By Greg Mortensen

From the Three Cups of Tea website: In 1993 Mortenson was descending from his failed attempt to reach the peak of K2. Exhausted and disoriented, he wandered away from his group into the most desolate reaches of northern Pakistan. Alone, without food, water, or shelter he stumbled into an impoverished Pakistani village where he was nursed back to health.

While recovering he observed the village’s 84 children sitting outdoors, scratching their lessons in the dirt with sticks. The village was so poor that it could not afford the $1-a-day salary to hire a teacher. When he left the village, he promised that he would return to build them a school. From that rash, heartfelt promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time.


What an inspiring story of the difference in the world a single person can accomplish! If you take the deeds that Greg Mortensen did, that alone is an amazing story. If then you add in the danger of mountain climbing and of being an American who is working and negotiating in Islamic countries before and after the events of 9-11, that makes it all the more exciting. So this is a good story. The telling of the story in this book, however, didn't knock me over. I listened to this on audio and it took FOREVER! I had to renew it at the library for four extra weeks to make it through. And, "make it through" is kind of how it felt after awhile. I started out really enjoying the story, Mortensen is a living hero, but then it just seemed to go on and on. The people and the villages started blurring into an indiscriminate Middle Eastern mash and I had a hard time maintaining an active interest. If I had a better grasp of geography, that might have helped. If I could have seen some of the vocabulary in print, like the names, that may have helped. Even though it was too long for me, I enjoyed it and I am glad I listened to it.

This book shows the powerful force that women's education can have on society. And, it highlights that the freedoms I take for granted here in the States are not available to women everywhere.






This book counts toward the 2010 Audiobook Challenge hosted by the bloggers over at Royal Reviews. Click on the button to see my progress.