Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

Back cover blurb:
“In 1993 a mountaineer named Greg Mortenson drifted into an impoverished Pakistan village in the Karakoram mountains after a failed attempt to climb K2. 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 build not just one but fifty-five schools – especially for girls – in the forbidding terrain that gave birth to the Taliban. His story is at once a riveting adventure and a testament to the power of the humanitarian spirit.”

Three Cups of Tea, coauthored by humanitarian Greg Mortenson and author David Oliver Relin, is a beautiful, enticing, and inspiring story. Reading this book will change your outlook on life. It will inspire you to become proactive and perform good deeds. And in that way, it is a successful book. However, in recent years there have been many questions surrounding the actual events depicted, as well as the legitimacy of the mission of the Central Asia Institute (the non-profit organization started by Mortenson that is allegedly dedicated to building schools for girls in Middle Eastern countries). It is impossible to talk about this book without addressing those issues, so let me clarify my opinion: I would not call Mortenson and his organization a scam, per se… but I would not say he is running a group that is in touch with fully-ethical methods. However, I greatly encourage people to do some research and formulate opinions for themselves on the manner.

Now that I have addressed the “elephant in the room,” let me go back to this book: it is a phenomenal piece of literature. It is literature, by the way… the book advertises itself as non-fiction, but reading it gives the feeling more closely related to watching a movie that is “based on a true story” than watching an actual depiction of the true events. It is grossly apparent that Relin utilizes his poetic licensure, and does a beautiful job telling an exciting story. The validity of the story, while questionable, isn’t actually what matters here – what does matter is that the book is effective in inspiring social action.

And so, I urge everyone to read this book. I urge teachers to teach this book. And if it moves you to become proactive, do some research to find a reputable charity or organization with whom to work with or raise donations for.

Works Cited:

Mortenson, Greg, and David Oliver Relin. Three Cups of Tea. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.