Tea time is time well spent
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When first asked to read Three Cups I resisted since I don't ordinarily like self-congratulatory literature. I was captivated immediately because the author described a world I did not own. His descriptions brought me closer to the mysteries of mountain climbers and their community; the people and places they meet along the way. I wonder that my own mountain climbing friends are not more changed from that encounter themselves.
The heroics described seemed logical and wonderful. The hazards confronted somewhat daunting. I find it hard to fathom why someone would travel on the roads that are not roads and the yak-hair bridges not meant for size 14 shoes. I could not be so easily convinced the dangers were overlooked so easily as to permit Greg sleep while atop a vehicle obviously destined to kill all aboard.
The writing, sometimes confusing but mostly compelling in its images, was distracting because of poor transitions. The story itself is readable and the characters so well drawn I understood why things happened as they did. I don't believe these are cartoons, but they are nevertheless, almost cliche'. Yet part of me recognizes they seem that way since these people have been drawn on other canvasses with the same brush.
Hurray for Mortensen's achievements. But I echo back to him his own concern paraphrased as, "What price progress." He judged the lives of the village by a western standard. In the end, who benefited most from the bridge and the school? And at what price?
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Educational experience
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This book was very educational as well as interesting. It taught me a lot about the Middle Eastern people, that the news media reveals albeit sometimes out of focus. I learned to love and admire the people for their tenacity and honesty, but felt the pain of their disappointments and loss, a part of their everyday living. It is a connection between me and the people in the news, that I may never meet, but better understand.
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Inspiring and Informative
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In a passage of the Book, a US politician says she learned more from Greg Mortgenson in an hour-long presentation than she had in years of Whitehouse briefings about the "War on terrorism". This is how I felt after reading this book - I learned more about the roots of terrorism and solutions for working productively towards global stability than I had from years of news coverage about Afganistan and Osama. I admit its never been a topic that had really interested me or drew me in - this book sat on my coffee table for quite a while before I picked it up - but once I started it, Greg's story and his journey into rural Pakistan and Afganistan to bring meaningful change to the people who helped him after a failed K2 summit attempt fascinated me from start to finish. The most interesting thing about his method was his ability to really understand the culture of the people he wanted to help and to respect their customs every step of the way. He truly seemed to empower these people to help themselves, eventually getting the message out to Westerners how education in empoverished rural communities was essential if we ever want to truly have "homeland security". His mission to build school always started with meeting with the village elders, gaining respect and buy-in to helping their own children, and his personalized stories demonstrate in real terms how poverty and war - the breakdown of rural community - has contributed to the ability of extremists to recruit and proliferate in Pakistan and Afganistan. I found this wasnt the most poetically phrased or well-written account I had ever read, but it didnt matter because the stories and human insights were so compelling and inspiring. Its also fascinating for those interested in cultures that still live close to the land with close-knit community/family ties and how we have so much to learn from these inreasingly marginalized societies in our so-called "advanced" fast-paced modern world.
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A True Must Read!
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This book truly lives up to " A MUST READ CATEGORY". The Authors provides the reader with an amazing insight into the geography, history , culture and lives of both ordinary & extraordinary people in remote Pakistan and Afghanistan. His efforts to improve the lives of young children and especially women is simply amazing. Greg Morenson, his wife Tara and the CAI foundation are performing a wonderful humanitarian act that must continue.
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Three Cups of Tea
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An inspiring book that everyone should read, both male and female. I have more than one copy that I lend out to people. Greg Mortenson is an amazing person who has achieved so much and is still doing so much more. Education is the answer to ending human conflict and Greg is making that happen for so many children and their families.
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