Product Description

'Here we drink three cups of tea to do business; the first you are a stranger, the second you become a friend, and the third, you join our family, and for our family we are prepared to do anything - even die' - Haji Ali, Korphe Village Chief, Karakoram mountains, Pakistan. In 1993, after a terrifying and disastrous attempt to climb K2, a mountaineer called Greg Mortenson drifted, cold and dehydrated, into an impoverished Pakistan village in the Karakoram Mountains. Moved by the inhabitants' kindness, he promised to return and build a school. "Three Cups of Tea" is the story of that promise and its extraordinary outcome. Over the next decade Mortenson built not just one but fifty-five schools - especially for girls - in remote villages across the forbidding and breathtaking landscape of Pakistan and Afghanistan, just as the Taliban rose to power. His story is at once a riveting adventure and a testament to the power of the humanitarian spirit.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #154 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Synopsis
'Here we drink three cups of tea to do business; the first you are a stranger, the second you become a friend, and the third, you join our family, and for our family we are prepared to do anything - even die' - Haji Ali, Korphe Village Chief, Karakoram mountains, Pakistan. In 1993, after a terrifying and disastrous attempt to climb K2, a mountaineer called Greg Mortenson drifted, cold and dehydrated, into an impoverished Pakistan village in the Karakoram Mountains. Moved by the inhabitants' kindness, he promised to return and build a school. "Three Cups of Tea" is the story of that promise and its extraordinary outcome. Over the next decade Mortenson built not just one but fifty-five schools - especially for girls - in remote villages across the forbidding and breathtaking landscape of Pakistan and Afghanistan, just as the Taliban rose to power. His story is at once a riveting adventure and a testament to the power of the humanitarian spirit.

About the Author
Greg Mortenson is the director of the Central Asia Institute, and he spends several months each year building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He lives in Montana with his wife and two children.David Oliver Relin is a globe-trotting journalist who has won more than forty national awards for his writing and editing. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Customer Reviews

Three Cups of Tea
The most wonderful book I've ever read. I would like to repeat Mrs. Scarrott's review. If you only read one book in your lifetime let it be this one. This book has really taught me what it means to be a humanitarian. There are so few people in the world like Greg Mortenson and I hope his story will inspire more to follow his lead. Please read this book and understand a little more about these inoffensive people who desperately need to be educated and supported.

Amazing!
This book is a must have. It's inspiring and fascinating - I was gripped within the first page. It opened my eyes to another side of the 'War on Terror' and I shall be purchasing copies for friends and family for them to be equally enlightened. I cannot recommend this book enough and urge you to buy it!

Inspiring
What a fantastic book! Its got all the markings of an excellent novel - gun fights, love story, opium traffickers, mountain climbing tragedies; it's nerve wracking, engaging and inspiring. But this is no novel, it's REAL. Amazing. Greg Morenson - I salute you.