Three Cups of Tea Review

Nonfiction

By: Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

349 pages

Anyone who despairs of the individual’s power to change lives has to read the story of Greg Mortenson, a homeless mountaineer who, following a 1993 climb of Pakistan’s treacherous K2, was inspired by a chance encounter with impoverished mountain villagers and promised to build them a school. Over the next decade he built fifty-five schools—especially for girls—that offer a balanced education in one of the most isolated and dangerous regions on earth. As it chronicles Mortenson’s quest, which has brought him into conflict with both enraged Islamists and uncomprehending Americans, Three Cups of Tea combines adventure with a celebration of the humanitarian spirit.

Rereadable!

            To be completely honest, the introduction's excess praise read like a love letter and made me a little nauseous and more than a little dubious about reading this book. Granted, I was already a little dubious about the idea of a white American man going to "fix" other countries. What if this book was nothing more than an ego boost and big pat on the back? Come to find out, I shouldn’t have worried. 

Greg's actions and results speak for themselves. The writing was lovely and visual, especially when it focused on the landscapes of these areas. The book won me over not only with Greg's determination to work alongside the people and cultures of these countries in a non-aggressive way through education but also the time the book took to flesh out a balanced picture of the Middle East.

David Oliver Relin, the primary author, could have so easily glossed over the nature scenes or the wide cast of characters that Greg encountered, and I was glad to find how much time he took in detailing these people and giving credit to those that helped Greg along the way. By the end of the book, I felt that I was equally educated and inspired.

While I believe the book could have pushed Greg’s character further which could have added some more depth instead of leaning on his heroism, I understand that they obviously wanted success and awareness for the cause, and America certainly loves its heroes. (There are a few hints of Greg’s flaws such as lack of delegation skills/care for his health/timeliness and spending so much time away from his family, but I believe the book would have benefited from more detail). 

Overall, I appreciated the journey it took me on into foreign lands and cultures that have become unfairly deemed as only dangerous and barbaric. I am happy to have read this book, and I would definitely recommend it.

            Now, to address the allegations against Greg Mortenson and this book. I had only heard the faintest whispers of the controversy before I read this book. I purposely read it and reviewed it before looking at the issues surrounding it. I did this so I could try to stay unbiased while reading it and I’m glad I did.

For those who don’t know, there are allegations (I’m not how much has been proved at this point) that there were large exaggerations and omissions in the book and that Greg Mortenson greatly mismanaged money for his projects. And while I cannot condone lying, I cannot help but think about the good this man and this book has done. The number of schools he built and that are still in operation might not be true, but there were schools built and there are still schools in operation. Other details might be wrong as well, but the book still felt much more balanced and respectful toward the people and countries it talks about than I ever heard in the media on the “War in the Middle East”.

It’s such a shame that a controversy like this exists for a book that I think did and can do a lot of good. I felt so much more educated and inspired after reading this book. No matter what they end up finding on the book or Mortenson, that inspiration isn’t false. So while I cannot judge Mortenson and I don’t want to, I am here to judge the book, and I would still recommend the book. While this controversy might mean you should lend it from a friend or rent it from the library, I think it still works as an interesting read, a compelling cause, and education on a part of the world that is misrepresented and ignored.