Book Review: Three Cups of Tea

Title: Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time
Author: Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
Genre: Non-Fiction
Edition: Kindle
Published: 2007
Opening Lines: "In Pakistan's Karakoram, bristling across an area barely one hundred miles wide, more than sixty of the world's tallest mountains lord their severe alpine beauty over a witnessless high-altitude wilderness. Other than snow leopard and ibex, so few living creatures have passed through this barren icescape that the presence of the world's highest mountain, K2, was little more than a rumor to the outside world until the turn of the twentieth century."

"While critics agree that Three Cups of Tea should be read for its inspirational value rather than for its literary merit, the book's central theme, derived from a Baltistan proverb, rings loud and clear. "The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger," a villager tells Greg Mortenson. "The second time, you are an honored guest. The third time you become family." An inspirational story of one man's efforts to address poverty, educate girls, and overcome cultural divides, Three Cups, which won the 2007 Kiriyama Prize for nonfiction, reveals the enormous obstacles inherent in becoming such "family." Despite the important message, critics quibbled over the awkward prose and some melodrama. After all, a story as dramatic and satisfying as this should tell itself." ~Bookmark Magazine

Thoughts: This book captivated me. There were so many passages that struck my attention that my Facebook friends complained that I was posting too many. It is beautifully written and really takes you there. This man, Greg Mortenson, has done more for more people than many of the people acclaimed internationally. His story is an inspiration.

It is amazing reading how much can be done with so little money and so little experience. It shows that the passion of one man or woman really can change the world. At a time when most Americans thought all Muslims only cared about war and should all die, Greg was helping those who needed it, battling terrorism in a much greater way than all the bombs in the world.

I recommend this book to anyone. It will inspire you, and you will learn about a people and a part of the world few know about. It might just change your life.

~Bethany