Book Review: Three Cups of Tea

I recently finished Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School At a Time. I hadn't heard too much about the book, but on a recent business trip to Denver, I was browsing in a fantastic bookstore called the Tattered Cover (seriously, if you like to read and are ever in Denver, you should check it out). I saw the book on a shelf with some "staff recommendations" and decided to check it out. I was not disappointed.

The story of Three Cups of Tea is the story of Greg Mortenson, a mountain climber who, after getting lost descending from K2, spends time in a village in Pakistan called Korphe and decides after he leaves, to build the village a school. He is able to found an organization called the Central Asia Institute, which has built schools across Pakistan and Afghanistan, focusing especially on providing schooling for girls. The book details Mortenson's work, as he negotiates finding funding, dealing with local customs and politicians, religion and the changing view of Americans after 9/11. Upon a bit of further research, I was very impressed to learn that the Central Asia Institute has established 64 schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan--quite impressive!

I found the book excellent reading for several reasons. Just reading about Mortenson's drive was quite inspiring. Here was a man, an ER nurse and a mountain climber, who decided to completely change his life and devote it to building schools in remote areas of the world. It was impressive to me how someone could so dramatically change their life and be so successful.

I also enjoyed how the book portrayed Afghanistan. It put a country which is often in the news into a much more personal light. Hearing about Mortenson's experiences there, and how things changed after 9/11 was quite interesting. It definitely made me want to learn even more about the region.