Three cups of Tea

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time
by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Rellen
Read April 2009

I read this because it was the library's One Book One Lexington selection.

I probably would never have picked this up on my own. In fact, I noticed it in stores when it was first published. The cover caught my eye. But after reading the description, I wasn't interested. I tried to read it several months before the One Book program began this year, but couldn't get into it.

When we began the One Book One Lexington program, we had this edition as well as the young readers' edition and the picture book edition. I started reading the young readers' edition and got so interested in it that I switched to the regular book so that I could read all of the details.

I enjoyed this a lot. Greg Mortenson is an amzing human being. He stumbled into his mission in life after getting lost in the mountains of Pakistan. He wandered into a village called Korphe. The people there took him in, took care of him and healed him of his physical exhaustion. In return, Greg promised to return and build Korphe a school. He did return, after many months and many trials. He did build the school. And that's how his mission began. The Central Asia Institute is the result of Greg's initial action. They've built schools all over Pakistan and are beginning to build in Afghanistan.

This book is wonderful because it helps us to see that the people there - people of Islam - are not terrible or not all terrorists. They are actually peacful, hospitable people. Of course, there are terrorists, criminals and con men. They are human beings, after all. There are problems that Muslim society brings. But the people we encounter in this book are not part of the problem.

The book cover shown here is from the early edition of the book. The original subtitle of the hardcover was "One man's mission to fight terrorism and build nations...one school at a time." The authors asked that the subtitle be changed for the paperback to: "One man's mission to promote peace...one school at a time."
Better subtitle.

Very Very Good. I wish Greg Mortenson would win the Nobel Peace Prize.