Three Cups Of Tea : Young Reader's Edition
Ratings71
Average rating3.5
This book illustrates that one person really can make a difference. His descriptions of the villages of the Himalayas helped me understand what was happening in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Couldn't finish. While the premise sounds interesting to me, I tried to read this book several times and just couldn't. Judging by the other reviews, I'm glad to see I'm not alone or crazy. I normally give at least 2 stars if I didn't finish a book, to be fair to the parts I didn't read, but apparently much of the book has turned out to be fabricated.
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.
How many journalists have ever written a readable full-length book? I'm sure it can happen, right?
I just had to get that out- When I start to skim a book and sigh when I realize how many pages I have left.. never a good sign.
But! The topic is fascinating and the culture/history engaging. It just didn't satisfy that need for story.
Greg Mortenson was a mountain climber who came to Pakistan to climb K-2 and leave a memorial to his sister on top. He failed to make it to the top. Instead, he accidentally wandered into a remote village and discovered his life's work, funding and founding schools, especially for Muslim girls.
Mortenson's story is inspiring, and in this dark world it is comforting to read such a tale. Yet, while reading the book, my skeptical brain kept buzzing my living-in-fantasy-world brain and reminding it that the story read like a script from a made-for-tv movie. Everyone that met Mortenson liked him. He and his wife met and married after knowing each other for four days. Mortenson and his family lived a life of deep poverty in order to send every possible penny to his schools. I hope this is an accurate story of Mortenson and his mission, yet I can't help but feel this is an account written by a fan, not a careful journalist.
I cried like three times reading this book. Just a good story, and Greg Mortenson just seems like a great guy. Dare I say a “hero”? YES, I DARE. Well written, too, but I think I would probably have read this guy's story if it were composed entirely in text messages sent by an average 12-year-old girl.
Originally I had rather enjoyed this book. A while ago I learned that Mortenson had been quiet dishonest.
Here's a refresher for those who might need it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Mortenson#Controversies
Financial mismanagement
Dishonest accounts of events
This is one of the best books I have read last year. It really shows that one person (with help) really can make a difference in the world.
A similar idea to Mountains Beyond Mountains...one man doing what he can. This time the man is building schools in Pakistan. Great read!
Loved, loved, loved this book! I just don't even know if there is anything else I can say about it other than I LOVED IT!
The difficulties that Greg Mortenson had to go through to get schools built in remoter areas of Pakistan were so fascinating and yet so heartbreaking. Greg is definitely a man with a heart too big for his body, too big for the planet.
Three Cups of Tea covers the 10 years that Greg Mortenson worked to raise money to build schools in areas near K2. The story follows his work in Pakistan as well as in Montana, as he sought out donors for financing and eventually ended up creating the Central Asia Institute, dedicated to building schools for the children of Pakistan, and later Afghanistan.
This is an engaging story and very heartwarming. Ultimately, the message is that children everywhere deserve to be educated, and education is the best weapon against ignorance, prejudice and intolerance.
An inspiring book - unbelievable what the author goes through to bring education to Pakistan. At times I got a little annoyed with him - how can he be so selfless? But overall an interesting read.