Incredibly inspiring. I know I talk about it too much. ( )

I knew there was some controversy about this book - I decided to read most of it before I looked it up. It’s a story about perseverance and cultural exchange that’s fun to read and hopeful at its best but it does seem idealized and too good to be true. David Oliver Relin was a journalist who interviewed and spent time with Greg Mortensen and did a lot of follow up interviews with colleagues and participants in both the states and Pakistan. He says himself in his intro that he was swept up in Mortensen’s orbit and didn’t write a standard journalistic account. He was inspired and pulling for Mortensen’s success. He crafted a beautiful story that became a bestseller. Later Mortensen was accused of using donated money to promote the book and maybe some other misappropriations. There was an expose on 60 Minutes. Relin fell into depression and ended up committing suicide. Knowing this, the story becomes very sad. Good intentions by both men gone off track. ( )

White savior complex runs deep in this book. IMO skip it. ( )

I’m afraid I made no notes on this book when I read it years ago but I very clearly remember thoroughly enjoying it. ( )

Read this years ago, a little late on my reviewing a book I now look at a bit differently. ( )

What an inspirational book. I finished the book in tears and amazed at the power for good one man can do. It gave me an entirely new look on the war, and on what peace is and how it will truly be acheived. A powerful message for education the world over. ( )

I really wanted to like this book because Mortenson really did accomplish great and noble things. However this review is not of Mortenson but of his book, and his book fell short of a truly good read. ( )

I usually have a tough time reading non fiction but this accessible book with an engaging topic is definitely an easy read. Mortenson's passion, the glimpse into Pakistan's remote region and culture, as well as the advocacy for women's education make for an engrossing read. It's all the more disappointing then when I found out, while wanting to know where the author was at almost 20 years later, that several passages had been invented or embellished for promotional purposes.
Nonetheless, the theme of women's rights still resonates strongly in light of the abuses in Afghanistan and Iran still today. Drawing attention to their plight cannot be bad. ( )

What started as a quest to climb K2 became a much loftier goal for Greg Mortenson when he decided to become humanitarian extraordinaire. Fueled by losing his father early to cancer and losing his sister early to epilepsy, Mortenson knew he had to find a way to help the children of Baltistan obtain some semblance of an education. This would be his life's work. This would be his tribute to the family members he lost too soon. It didn't hurt that missionary work was imprinted on his brain when, as a newborn, his parents packed him up and relocated from Minnesota to Tanzania. Furthermore, Mortenson's father founded Tanzania's first teaching hospital, giving Mortenson big shoes to fill. This is the story we are led to believe when we first crack open Three Cups of Tea. Mortensen is too good to be true. If he wasn't saving a woman from death during childbirth, he was building a vocational center for women. If he wasn't building schools in record time, he was buying desks, teachers' salaries, and books. If he wasn't getting an American cataract surgeon to offer free surgeries, he was sending another doctor for specialized training or digging wells for the village of Skardu. Is there anything Mortensen can't do that didn't involve his broad shoulders or big hands?
One of my favorite parts of Three Cups of Tea is Relin's mention of two other world travelers who happen to be women, Isabella Bird and Dervla Murphy.
As an aside, here is what really irks me. Relin (remember him? the other author credited with writing Three Cups of Tea?); he readily admits he wrote Three Cups of Tea; that they were his words, but Mortenson had lived the story. Why doesn't Relin get more credit? Why doesn't he go on a book tour and lead Mortenson around like Exhibit A in show-and-tell? Is it because an investigation described Three Cups of Tea as fabricated and most likely an outright lie? Many of the reviews I read either praised Mortenson for his humanitarian work or vilified him for misappropriation of funds and exaggerating his experiences. The reviews talk about the person more than the actual writing. I admit, I got a little flack for reading Three Cups of Tea because of the scandal. ( )

Wow. The writing is good, but that's not what makes the book for me. Greg Mortenson's story is just outright fascinating. I learned so much from Three Cups of Tea. That's my measure of a great book. ( )

I listened to this book (I downloaded it for free from the library web site). It took a little while to get into, but I was hooked once he started describing building the schools in Pakistan. Fascinating. ( )

Greg Mortenson's pursuits and heart are not only interesting but inspiring; however, the writing tries too hard for poeticism. The action, geography, and man are interesting, but the writing is not. ( )

Alas, not so true. ( )

Good story of a former mountain climber's work on building schools for girls in the Middle East or Central Asia area. Very inspiring. I hope the rumors that he falsified some of it are not true. ( )

I’ve had this book for years but never got around to reading it until hearing a podcast about how several of the stories are exaggerated or completely fraudulent . That may have coloured how much I enjoyed the book. Next on the list is “Three Cups of Deceit”! ( )

http://tabibqulob.blogspot.com/2010/04/three-cups-of-tea.html ( )

book club book ( )

Wow, this book was one that I would probably not have bought but someone left it in my break room and I picked it up. What this man did and is doing is amazing. This book makes you realize how important education is in fighting the terrorism.

No, the writing was not spectacular but the message was. I want to help him. As a military brat that grew up in the Philippines, I could relate to some of his stories about the poor villages and learning the cultures. I remember going places where no American had gone in ages. I remember my blond hair being pet by the locals. I remember the generosity of people that had so much less than we did. It seems that people are the same everywhere.

In this book, the people in Pakistan and later in Afghanistan, welcomed this man who wanted to help their children and overall their communities not just now but for generations to come. He sat amongst various people, Taliban, Shiites, etc. and discussed his plans. We learned how he and his organization are helping to rebuild Afghanistan one school at a time. We learn that for the most part, they do not hate Americans like we are told all the time. We learn that people just want to live and take care of their families in any way they can.

I recommend this book to anyone that cares about humanity. It is time to look past labels and take care of each other. ( )

Cannot get used to the writing style ( )

Wonderful story of one man's pursuit of education for girls in some of the more remote villages on earth. Inspiring. ( )

" Last month, an investigation from 60 Minutes and writer Jon Krakauer found that Three Cups of Teaauthor Greg Mortenson, the raffish philanthropist and founder of 170 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, had fabricated parts of his amazing backstory. Worse, 60 Minutes visited 30 of the schools supposedly built by his Central Asia Institute and found half empty or unsupported by the nonprofit. More stories of “ ghost schools” emerged after the program aired.

The Three Cups of Tea scandal has led to soul-searching and anger among charitable givers and recipients. Nonprofits are scrambling to better account for their dollars. Aid workers in the region are grumbling about the crass imperialist narrative that helped popularize CAI, with a heroic First World dude swooping in to rescue Third World kids.

But the most important lesson of the scandal, and one that hasn’t gotten any attention, is something entirely different. It is a lesson that applies not just to Mortenson’s organization but also to charities that are much-better run: Stop building schools. Or rather, it is a mistake to devote much money or attention to constructing physical school buildings. Throwing up structures is simple. Educating children is a much more complex, expensive, and necessary goal." Anne Lowrey

Before I get started, I just want to say that no review I could ever write ever would ever portray how much this book sucked for me. To me, Three Cups of Tea is the perfect embodiment and representation of the most tragically horrible book I've ever read.
In fact, for you today, I'm going to make a list of the 10 most tragic things in Three Cups of Tea.

I read this book many years ago - 1990s I think. I never read the sequel because I think by the time I became aware of the sequel, the scandal had already broken about how 3 cups was a total lie. I do remember liking the first book - 3 cups. I had no reason not to believe it at that time. I am unsure how to rate it now, since I know i enjoyed it, when I did not know it was a total lie. I dont know how i feel about it now. So I think I will give it 2 stars - and treat it as if this book were just a novel. If it had been true then I would have given it 4 or 5 stars. ( )

Not many American have their photos hanging in taxis in Afghanistan or Pakistan, unless it's used for target practice, I imagine. But the author, who has embarked on a (dare I use the word?) crusade to raise money and build schools in those Countries, is probably the sole exception. His efforts, begun as a thank you for a village who helped him regain his health after a climbing incident in Pakistan, has resulted in dozens of schools being built where none existed before. His mission to educate young women, in the local ways without imposing a western or Christian curriculum, is laudable, and this book describing his story is an inspiring story.

The downside is the follow-up book by Jon Krakauer, "Three Cups of Deceit", in which Krakauer details financial improprieties by Mortenson, as well as explaining that many of the most dramatic stories in "Three Cups of Tea", those which make the story so compelling, were totally fabricated. Those invented stories make for a compelling book, however it becomes a letdown to find out that Mortenson diverts so much of the donated money to his personal use rather than for the students he purports to support. ( )

I would rather give this book 3.5 stars. I felt the writing was cold and impersonal for most of the book but respectful of the people it characterized. I love Greg's mission in life and can relate to him on that level which is why his passion resonated with me so much. This is a fair book. Not spectacular but worth reading if only to educate oneself on the state of education in Pakistan. ( )