Three Cups of Tea

At first I was not impressed with the pace of the book or the writing style. I found myself reading and rereading run-on sentences trying to understand their meaning (could be related to my lack of state-of-mind). Once I got passed those little annoyances and focused on the message, or the essence of the book, I began to enjoy it.

The purpose of this post is not to critique, but to share what I enjoyed about the book. First and foremost, I think it was very inspirational and once again a demonstration of what one person can do to help thousands (ie… Mother Theresa). I admire Greg Mortenson for his perseverance and his ability to live so simply. I also admired his reason for building these schools -- not to teach American ideologies, religious or otherwise, but out of genuine desire to help. He built these schools not because he had a hidden agenda as so many foreigners do but because he wanted to give these people something they needed and requested. I also loved that Mr. Mortenson adapted himself to their way of life not expecting them to adapt for his – he respected the Pakistani people and they respected him.

There are so many quotable passages from the book, but one of my favorite is:

“The only way we can defeat terrorism is if people in this country where terrorists exist learn to respect and love Americans and if we can respect and love these people here. What’s the difference between them becoming a productive local citizen or a terrorist? I think the key is education.”

Mr. Mortenson stated this for an interview after 9-11 when many of the local people were being forced to flee their homes with no assistance from the US as promised. This message of this book seems appropriate especially now as Afghanistan is supposedly poised to take the reins of their government back, yet are still sustaining casualties by those who promised to help them.

Greg Mortenson demonstrates a very in-depth knowledge of the Pakistani people and their ways of life. I think this book should be read by every American so they may be enlightened about the peoples of these regions and their hospitality toward those who care.  I really liked this book and I am looking forward to reading his next one Stones into Schools.