Three Cups of Tea

I finally got around to reading Three Cups of Tea, the inspirational story of Greg Mortenson and his experience building schools in the mountainous regions of northern Pakistan. I had seen this book on the shelves of countless bookstores, and even picked it up a few times. I wish I had read it sooner.

Mortenson undergoes a radical transition over the course of the story. Beginning as a young mountaineer in the midst of an arduous climb up K2, he stumbles across a remote village in the ultra-remote no-mans land called the Braldu Valley. Over time he falls in love with the people of the village, and while witnessing their extreme poverty, decides to build them their first school.

This challenge becomes a turning point in Mortenson's life, putting him on a path that finds him building dozens of such schools across Pakistan and Afghanistan, eventually founding an organization called the Central Asia Institute.

The beginning of Mortenson's journey coincides with that of 9/11 and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan, providing a completely new perspective on the turmoil within the region. He contends, rightly I believe, that by providing the opportunity for young men and women in extremist regions to earn a real education, the entire world benefits. Busy, productive people, it turns out, have little need for extreme ideologies or terrorism.

I envy Mortenson, and hope to someday emulate his work in one way or another. In the meantime, I added his next book, Stones into Schools, to my wishlist. In fact, my family already bought it for me for my recent birthday!