#5: Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time

Three Cups of Tea, by David Oliver Relin and Greg Mortenson is a fascinating and very uplifting book to read. It profiles Mortenson, formerly an aimless climbing aficionado as he finds his calling, which is to open schools for the rural poor in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The book opens when Mortenson is on an expedition to climb K2. Though it means giving up on his own pursuit of the summit, he embarks on a mission to rescue a fellow climber in a life-threatening situation. The rescue was successful, but Mortenson, weary and broken down, loses his guide and stumbles into the village of Korphe in northern Pakistan. He is taken in by the village leader and cared for by the townspeople. Eventually he begins sharing his own knowledge with the people of Korphe, especially from his training as an ER nurse, earning himself the nickname Dr. Greg. When he goes to see the children of Korphe at school, he finds them spread out in a clearing, trying to complete their lessons without the aid of a teacher. This gives him his inspiration.

Mortenson returns to Berkeley and passionately begins fundraising for his endeavor. After much frustration, he finally gets the necessary funds and returns to Pakistan, only to be presented with new pitfalls. He cultivates relationships with locals who help him to make his dream a success. From there, he decides that as long as there are other children who need help, he will make a career out of raising money and building schools.

In addition to the inspiring story of Greg Mortenson, I was able to gain insight into what Pakistan is really like. While many people think of Pakistan and other Islamic countries as being teeming with America-hating fundamentalists, Greg's friendships with many ordinary people show what the more typical moderate Muslims are like. The book also does a nice job of describing a completely foreign lifestyle of the tribal peoples, living isolated lives with few modern amenities.

I highly recommend Three Cups of Tea to anyone who wants to read about a person who has truly made a difference or who wants to learn more about life outside of the industrialized world.

***** out of *****