Three Cups of Tea

About 3 pages (782 words)

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time is a New York Times bestselling book by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin published by Penguin in 2006. The book describes Mortenson's overnight transition from a mountain-climber to a humanitarian committed to reducing poverty and educating girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The book's title comes from a Balti proverb:

“

The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time, you are an honored guest. The third time you become family.

”

1 Summary
2 Themes
3 Perspective
4 Criticism
5 Awards
6 References
7 External links

Summary

The book begins in 1993 as Greg Mortenson, an American nurse, seeks to honor his deceased sister's memory by attempting to climb K2, the world's second highest mountain, in the Karakoram range of northern Pakistan. After more than 70 days on the mountain, Greg and three other climbers had their ascent interrupted by the need to complete a 75-hour life-saving rescue of a fifth climber. The rescue took too much out of Mortenson, forcing him to accept failure and descend the mountain. After getting lost during the descent, he became weak and exhausted. Two local Balti porters took Mortenson to Korphe, a small and unremarkable village built on a shelf jutting out from a canyon. He was greeted and taken in by the chief of Korphe, Haji Ali. To pay the remote community back for their compassion, Mortenson promised to build a school for the village. After a frustrating time trying to raise money, Mortenson convinced Jean Hoerni, a Silicon Valley pioneer, to found the Central Asia Institute. A non-profit organization, CAI promotes education and literacy, especially for girls, in remote mountain regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Hoerni named Mortenson as CAI's first Executive Director. In the process of building schools, Mortenson survived an eight-day armed 1996 kidnapping in the tribal areas of Waziristan in Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province, escaped a 2003 firefight between Afghan opium warlords, endured a fatwa by an angry Islamic cleric for educating girls, and received hate mail and threats from fellow Americans for helping educate Muslim children. He promised to build the impoverished town's first school, a project that grew into the Central Asia Institute, which has since constructed more than 50 schools across rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. Coauthor Relin recounts Mortenson's efforts in fascinating detail, presenting compelling portraits of the village elders, con artists, philanthropists, mujahideen, Taliban officials, ambitious school girls and upright Muslims Mortenson met along the way. As the book moves into the post-9/11 world, Mortenson and Relin argue that the United States must fight Islamic extremism in the region through collaborative efforts to alleviate poverty and improve access to education, especially for girls. Captivating and suspenseful, with engrossing accounts of both hostilities and unlikely friendships, this book will win many readers' hearts. Still, he faced daunting challenges of raising funds, death threats from enraged mullahs, separation from his family, and a kidnapping to eventually build 55 schools in Taliban territory. Award-winning journalist Relin recounts the slow and arduous task Mortenson set for himself, a one-man mission aimed particularly at bringing education to young girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Themes

As with much travel writing, Three Cups of Tea is repeatedly concerned with overcoming cultural divides. Though gifted linguistically and with a childhood-bestowed familiarity with exotic cultures and developing nations, Mortenson is often seen struggling with cultural differences, from a foul-smelling butter tea to the common attitude encountered by many well-meaning Americans overseas of, "Don't tell us what we want; we'll tell you."

Perspective

Though Mortenson and Relin are given equivalent author credits, the book is written from Relin's perspective as an admiring journalist interviewing and observing Mortenson. In the book's introduction, Relin admits to liking Mortenson too much to be as objective as he probably should be.

Criticism

Though widely praised, Three Cups of Tea was subject to some specific criticism. Bookmarks Magazine wrote that, "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."^[1] AudioFile echoed these comments, "Though Relin's writing is not top-caliber, Mortenson's story comes through as exciting and inspiring."^[2]