Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 1463
 A MUST read March 20, 2007
Saad Qaisar (East Lansing, MI, USA)
36 out of 37 found this review helpful
Greg Mortenson's three cups of tea is an account of his unsuccessful attempt on mighty K2, world's second highest peak in Himalayas. Though unsuccessful, his failure embarked him on a mission to educate people of an area inhabitants of breath taking hills and valleys and virgin plains. Whats mind boggling about his adventure is his spirit of self sacrifice for a people of a land much misunderstood by the west. His story proves that with love, compassion and sincerity, you can melt the hearts, even those of mountains. Rightly regarded a hero in Northern Pakistan, his book would go a long way in bridging the divide between the inhabitants of East and West. If you haven't read the book, you are Missing on something. Highly recommended.
So Much More Than Just a Book March 29, 2007
Terry Kalil (Minnesota Northwoods)
34 out of 35 found this review helpful
It's a book but then so are the latest bestsellers yet they offer nothing beyond a mindless distraction. To say Three Cups of Tea is about peace is to say that Mortensen goes hiking in the mountains. To say it's about building schools in the most desolate, remote, obscure part of the planet is to say an idealistic young man had a wild idea.
Mortenson and co-author David Oliver Relin bring the reader to the foot of K2, into a village so isolated from everything that there doesn't even exist a bridge to connect them to the world beyond the raging river that flows from the glacier fields. There Mortenson introduces us to children so eager to learn they work multiplication tables in the dirt without benefit of a teacher or books.
How does this man, so grateful to the people who saved his life, repay them? One school at a time. It's a truely inspirational story of what any of us, including a kid born in Minnesota, can do to change the world. The fact that the book is also a true page-turner and is so "can't put it down, don't interrupt me, I gotta know what happens next" good makes this must reading for every high school senior, every empty-nester, every one of us wondering what to do with the rest of our lives. Although I likely won't venture to the high mountains of Pakistan or Tibet, Mortenson has inspired me to find a way to make a difference. Go read it and find your inspiration!!!
Three Cups of Tea May 27, 2007
M. Ellington (Jacksonville, FL USA)
34 out of 35 found this review helpful
Try as I might I've never been much good at breaking the rules. I always studied for spelling tests, wait to be seated by a hostess even if there is an available table right in front of me and no other people in line, and bypass parking spaces that are reserved for the "Handicapped," "an employee of the month," or "expectant mothers." Admittedly, my law abidingness is not always about having a super active conscience. Ever since being exposed to the idea that there might be candid cameras lurking about, I just can't take the risk that I might throw caution to the wind only to have my moment's wild and crazy decision caught on video. (Okay, sometimes I taste a grape before buying a whole bunch, but that's just good shopping!)
That said, I often break one of the cardinal rules of book buying. Even though it's common knowledge that you can't judge a book by its cover, I do so on a regular basis. I'm a sucker for a pretty picture or fancy lettering. Sometimes, this particular way of choosing reading material doesn't work very well, but just as often it does.
Take for example, the cover photo of Three Cups of Tea - One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time. The three, young girls pictured are so busy reading that they seem not to even notice the camera photographing them. You can't see their undoubtedly big, brown eyes, but you get the sense that they are Middle Eastern beauties about to embark on a journey that will change not only their lives, but those of their community and nation, and perhaps the world.
Well, maybe you have to read the title of the book to get that much out of the picture, but still it's captivating. Three Cups of Tea is, hands-down, the best book I've read in awhile. In a world where Republicans are sending American men and women into harm's way, and Democrats are threatening to cut off funding for their mission and safety; where suicide bombers don't seem to care who they take with them to meet Allah; and where mothers and fathers of several nations cry as they bury their children, Greg Mortenson has not only conceived of a possible way towards peace, he has put his ideas to the test - and begun to make a difference in small Pakistani villages.
Mortenson was raised in the shadow of Mt. Kilimanjaro by Lutheran missionaries. He climbed his first "serious" mountain at the age of eleven and was "hooked forever on climbing." Fast forward several years to the point in Mortenson's life where a failed attempt to summit Pakistan's 28,267 foot K2, a chance encounter with the inhabitants of the mountain village of Korphe, and, let's face it, the almighty hand of God merged together to re-direct one climber's and several children's future.
Three Cups of Tea is a fascinating read. Co-author and journalist David Oliver Relin, combines several literary elements - adventure, biography, history, geography, romance, and hair-raising suspense - to tell Mortenson's story of keeping a promise to the village elder to return to Korphe one day to build a school. It tells of Mortenson's capture by people so fierce that even Alexander the Great decided to leave them alone, as well as his ability to eat, drink and sleep in some pretty raunchy (by my standards) places. It tells of Mortenson's respect for, and delight ,people who have a different religion and way of life, but who believe in the power of a text book to change lives.
It's impossible to succinctly re-tell even a part of the story, but I can tell you that Mortenson miraculously returns to Pakistan time and time again, to construct bridges, schools and friendships. When he is not traveling half way around the world, Mortenson manages to forge a relationship with a new bride (who never whines, as I am sure I would have, "what about ME???"), raise a family, and stay in constant motion while trying to raise funds for his school building crusade. Suffice it to say, the man rarely sleeps.
In Three Cups of Tea, Mortenson and Relin offer a very real possibility of peace, even in a world where children are as familiar with IED's as they are pencils. Education, especially for the young girls, is the means they've found to combat the Taliban's influence in some of the world's remotest areas.
I encourage you to set aside some time to read and enjoy the book. If you don't trust the cover or my recommendation check out some of the other reviews here on Amazon. After reading the book, process its message of hope, then follow your heart and one of Mortenson's suggestions at the end of the book.
Happy reading!
ME
A Great Book for College Composition Courses June 13, 2007
Jane Greer (Kansas City, Missouri, USA)
34 out of 35 found this review helpful
Greg Mortenson's best-selling, prize-winning "Three Cups of Tea" has been rightly praised by just about everyone who reads it. A powerful story of how the greatest successes often come from moments of tremendous loss and failure, "Three Cups" is a tale for the ages; at the same time Mortenson offers a timely alternative vision to the U.S.'s current approach to international relations, especially in the Muslim world. By building secular schools in small communities in Pakistan and Afghanistan and educating girls alongside their brothers, Mortenson is doing more, in my opinion, to work for peace and global security than any world leader.
Among college writing teachers today, there's much conversation about promoting global understanding and helping students become active citizens of the world. Such teachers would do well to consider adopting "Three Cups of Tea" for their classes. At the urban university where I teach, my colleagues and I have been captivated by Greg's book and are working to incorporate it into the thematic composition courses we teach for first- and second-year students. "Three Cups of Tea" has been selected as a central course text by teachers who focus their classes on topics like gender and literacy, the politics of education, stories of war, and the American hero. Moreover, Greg's own fitful experiences with post-secondary education and his willingness to learn from unconventional "teachers," including village elder Haji Ali, the Pakistani clerk at the copy shop, and U.S. Rep. Mary Bono, usefully remind students and teachers alike that we can find powerful lessons in unlikely places. For writing teachers interested in visual rhetoric, the photographs in the middle of the book provide a rich opportunity to think with their students about how the images support the book's subtle and gripping argument about the importance of relationships and the power of being present with/for others.
To be sure, students will struggle a bit with unfamiliar names and places, and it can be difficult to sort out where Greg's voice stops and the voice of his co-author, David Oliver Relin, starts. "Three Cups of Tea" is, though, a powerful text with immense pedagogical potential. Share it with your fellow teachers, share it with your students!
A Great Read and a Great Cause March 26, 2007
N. J. Vescuso (Greater Boston, MA)
33 out of 34 found this review helpful
Writing is very good and the story is so amazing that I sent 10 copies to my dearest friends and family memebers. What Greg Mortensen is doing is a great way to fight terrorism and bring peace. Educating girls educates a country and he is right on!
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