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Most Helpful Favorable Review
8 out of 10 people found this review helpful.
An inspirational and uplifting story
A story which shows that people around the world are truly good. Whether this book simply makes you realize that you're not as different from your neighbor as your thought or it inspires you to follow your heart to change the world, it's a great read.
posted by SphinxFeathers on November 29, 2008
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24 out of 40 people found this review helpful.
Not what I was hoping for.
I am an avid reader and love to read about other cultures. I found this book very dull and tedious. It was not really about the culture as the cover hints, but more of an autobiography about a mountain climber who visits that area. Although it does describe the perso...Read More
I am an avid reader and love to read about other cultures. I found this book very dull and tedious. It was not really about the culture as the cover hints, but more of an autobiography about a mountain climber who visits that area. Although it does describe the personality of the people he meets, it does not describe how these people truly live. For example, although it goes on and on about the building of schools for girls, where the lumber and blocks actually come from, you never actually get to 'know' any of these girls or hear their stories. The book is more the author's perception of the people that he meets and the surprising kindness he feels, rather than a voice from a different culture. I found it disappointing.Show Less
posted by Anonymous on March 12, 2008
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Anonymous
Posted March 12, 2008
Not what I was hoping for.
I am an avid reader and love to read about other cultures. I found this book very dull and tedious. It was not really about the culture as the cover hints, but more of an autobiography about a mountain climber who visits that area. Although it does describe the personality of the people he meets, it does not describe how these people truly live. For example, although it goes on and on about the building of schools for girls, where the lumber and blocks actually come from, you never actually get to 'know' any of these girls or hear their stories. The book is more the author's perception of the people that he meets and the surprising kindness he feels, rather than a voice from a different culture. I found it disappointing.
24 out of 40 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted May 11, 2008
The story gets 4 stars - the writing gets 1 star
This was a difficult book to rate as Greg's story and the cause he and all his supporters dedicate their lives to is truly inspiring and merits 4 stars. However, the actual writing hindered the whole message - it was tedious to say the least and I struggled to get through it and only persevered because this was my book clubs choice for this month. Otherwise I would have given up which would have been a shame as the message the book holds should be told around the world. But because of the writing style many people won't bother to read it. The message to take away from this book is very clear - the enemy is not the person sitting next to me who looks or acts different to me - the enemy is ignorance and the solution is education. Greg Mortensen has dedicated his life to building schools to educate children in Pakistan and Afghanistan, to give them a balanced non-fundamentalist education in the hope that our two cultures can live side by side with respect for each other and our differences. It is truly incredible and highly commendable. But it is only half the story - we in the west need to work on educating our own children and helping them to choose tolerance of other cultures. I hope enough people can get beyond the writing style and get the message, before it is too late.
11 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
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An inspirational and uplifting story
A story which shows that people around the world are truly good. Whether this book simply makes you realize that you're not as different from your neighbor as your thought or it inspires you to follow your heart to change the world, it's a great read.
8 out of 10 people found this review helpful.
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Anna80AM
Posted December 3, 2008
I Also Recommend:
No wonder its on PBS's presidential book list!
This is an amazing book which has been included in the list of books that Bill Moyers on PBS recommends our president should read! It magnifies the fact that no matter which part of the globe and faith we belong to, as humans we all share a common sense of good and evil and a common yearning for progress. Above all this book shows that instead of de-humanising the other, we should attempt to reach out and try to understand their perspective. And if we do that, we will almost always find that as humans we are inherently the same.
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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MadisonGrey
Posted November 2, 2008
The Better Side of Humanity
This book was recommended to me and I wasn¿t disappointed. Though I am primarily a lover of fiction, this book inspired me and reminded me that there are always obstacles and those obstacles are meant to be overcome. It¿s a practice of continually spiraling through the process of action and re-evaluation and, eventually, that persistence and determination will bear fruit.
The book begins with the hospitality and generosity of the people in small, impoverished Korphe, Pakistan to an outsider in need of aid and spans 911, the invasion of Afghanistan and then Iraq. Riddled throughout we see the disparate trails of understanding and intolerance weave their paths through the lives on all sides of the battlefield without discrimination. What stands out is the power of education. Not only in the sense of the traditional litany of math, language and history, but in striving to understand basic human and cultural divides and working together to overcome them.
To wrap this around to our current political situation, this `war on terror¿, as the hypnotic buzz-term goes, has only created more hatred and contempt for America ¿ and not only in the Middle East. It¿s good to find these buoys that bear a message of tolerance and peace and a measure of sanity during this circus of carnage and current of aggression.
I¿ll definitely be passing this book along.5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted November 4, 2008
An astonishing story of one man bravely following his belief with perserverance and dedication to what is just and right.
This is the story of a modern-day hero. If today's youth would read about and follow men like Greg Morteson, there would be peace in every country on this earth.
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Easier to read than the original by Greg Mortenson
The addition of Greg Mortenson's daughter makes this book sing. Young adults and any reader will also enjoy the interview with Jane Goodall, who has made so many contributions to society. Ms Goodall is a name readers will recognize and feel comfortable reading. I have recommended this book to so many adults and young adult librarians because I feel the essence of Greg Mortenson's endeavors to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan is best explained in this young adult version. We will discuss both books at my Book Club soon.
Every young reader from age 10-18 should read this book. I recommend it as a title for gifts for the young and old alike on your gift list!
Sarah Thomson was exceptional at adapting this book.3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Great Window into Modern Afghan Culture
In Three Cups of Tea, Mortenson embarks on a decade-long odyssey to build schools in Afghanistan. In the most literal sense, his fight is against poverty and ignorance, but Mortenson's self-identified goal is to "wage war with the root causes of terrorism."
His quest, of course, is inspiring. His desire to do good is contagious and refreshing. No matter how cynical you are, this book is bound to make you feel a little better about the world. But even more importantly, in the periphery of Mortenson's struggles lies a complex and largely unexplored culture -- that of the country of Afghanistan. (I say unexplored, of course, thinking from a US perspective.)
What's great about Three Cups of Tea, I think, is that it isn't only about his one personal struggle. The book is also about modern Afghan culture. I, for one, know that that is a culture I would like to know more about. But apart from this book, from The Kite Runner (to a much lesser extent), and from the recent documentary Afghan Star -- which explores Afghanistan's struggle to modernize in a similarly peripheral and similarly complete way -- there isn't enough out there.
Read this book!3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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SallySmith
Posted May 8, 2009
Three Cups of Tea
The book three Cups of Tea is a great book. It tells the story of Greg Mortenson and what one wrong turn on his K2 journey did to his life. He ended up in the city of Korphe where he then realized how many towns do not have schools and the children there don't receive education. The rest of the book continues on about how Greg and the CAI build schools and bring hope to the children of Central Asia.
I would recommend this book to people of all ages. It tells a story and makes people realize in a more literal sense what it is like over there. We don't have to worry everyday if we will have food to eat and water to drink. We are required to go to school and they are lucky to go to school. This book does a terrific job of portraying the message, "Education means hope."3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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liz56
Posted May 8, 2009
Three Cups of Tea
By just looking at the novel, Three Cups of Tea, I didn't think that it would have been that great of a book. After reading just a few chapters in the book, I thought, "This isn't that bad of a book, I'm learning some things, and also enjoying some if it." I thought that it was a fantastic idea that someone should build a women's school in Afghanistan, because they didn't have anywhere to learn except for outside the men's school. And then a guy named Greg Mortenson goes over to Afghanistan and earns money to build a school for these girls. He started a great program called "Pennies for Peace", whick is a very good program because it helps to build these schools for young girls.
Greg Mortenson has changed so many people's lives in this book. Every Spring he goes over to Afghanistan with the pennies that "Pennies for Peace" made, and builds more and more schools for these kids that have nowhere to learn. Even with many difficulties to get to the different citie, he still manages to get there. Kids over in Africa needed someone to help them, and they finally got someone.3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted June 23, 2008
How can the co-author teach at Iowa?
While Mortenson's story is very inspiring and gives us a window into processes of development in a part of the world to which American's have paid too little attention, the writing is not very good. There are many run-on sentences, mistakes in punctuation and sentence fragments. I find this shocking considering that the co-author teaches at one of the best known writing schools in the US. I was very uncomfortable with the way the book is written as a biography of a living person, especially with the inclusion of irrelevant and mean-spirited details about a failed relationship. Mortenson is a co-author, so how could he stand to read a book about himself in the third person? A ghost-written 'I did this, I did that' autobiography might have worked better. The writing is at its worst in the beginning, so if you have just started the book take heart that it will improve. The book is at its best when it focuses on Mortenson's relationship with the people 'mostly men' he worked with in Pakistan. Their spirit of cooperation is somehow missing from the creation of the book itself, but manages to shine through the often very bad writing.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted April 29, 2008
Not what I would have liked
I recently had to read this book in my English IV class as a senior in high school. I honestly didn¿t think that it was written well at all, compared to other books that I have read. I found it hard to get into, and felt that I had to reread each sentence over and over again before I could focus on it. Other than that, I believe that the overall message of the book was incredibly inspiring, and it would be nice to see more people take as much interest in helping fight against terrorism and inadequate education the way that Greg Mortenson does in this book. Education is definitely the answer to combating terrorism, not blood and war. If we educate the less fortunate countries they will understand problems better and be able to solve them without drastic measures. In the end, I did not enjoy the book as much as I would have liked to.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted July 12, 2010
I Also Recommend:
Great Book!!!!
I enjoyed the book. I would recommend the book to anyone.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous13
Posted May 11, 2009
Three Cups of Tea Review
The summary would be one man changing the lives for many children. This is because a man goes over to Pakistan, Afganistan, etc. To build schools for the children who have no education. Three Cups of Tea was a well written book. I thought it was really good. I learned a few things from this book. One, about different cultures. Second, the sacrafices people give to help other people. I think that no matter who you are you should be able to have an education.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about other cultures. Also, sacrafices some people make. I thought this book wasn't going to be as good as it turned out to be.2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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gross101
Posted May 8, 2009
Three Cups of Tea
Greg Mortenson tried to climb the mountain k2. He couldn't make it all the way up and had to come down the mountain. He ended up getting lost and ends up in Korpe. He ends up putting up schools for girls and poor villages. Greg ended up being president of the CAI.
I thought this book was pretty good. I thought it was awesome that he built schools for poor villages. I didn't like when he got kidnapped even though he came out alive. I would recommend this book to all my friends because it gave great details.2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted March 30, 2009
I Also Recommend:
This is an inspiring book that needs to be shared with friends and family, young and old.
If you read this book and don't want to send money to the author's foundation, I would be amazed. Now that I am older, I find that true stories like this stay with me more than most of the fiction I read. I hope there is a follow-on book about building (and maintaining) schools in northern Pakinstan for girls, given the current political upheaval there now.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Should be required for everyone
This is truly an inspiration of what one man with a dream can do to draw together people from all walks of life to create change in the world. Mortensen's story, and the work that he is doing create a lasting impact on the world. Everyone in a position to set policy in this world should be required to read/listen to/absorb this book. Ending terrorism comes with healing relationships, not with bombs.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted December 12, 2008
Important as well as engaging reading
Those leading our government should read this one. I agree with the prior review that Greg should get the Nobel Peace Prize! I've also given numerous copies as gifts.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted December 9, 2008
Helping people who cant help themselves
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin is a book about how one man helped many students by building schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Greg attempts to climb K2, but fails and was injured. He wandered into a poor village in Pakistan, where he was nursed back to health, however he promised them he would return one day and build a school for them. Building this school led him to co-found CAI, Central Asia institute, who sponsored him in building many more schools throughout Pakistan and Afghanistan. He had many challenges with this, such as being captured and having to leave his family for so long, but it educated many students, which helped their villages lessen their poverty. This book teaches people to do things to help others, because it proves that one man really did change the world. I liked this book because of how he helped so many kids and even lessened death rates because he found a way to get them clean water and sanitation. It takes a lot to leave your family to help children millions of miles away, but that is exactly what he did. One thing i didn't like about this book is how it descriptively talked about each school they built, which got repetitive because a lot of it was the same. All people should read this book because it will teach them about poverty in other countries and how more people should care about helping them, because not everyone is fortunate enough to live in America. This was overall a good book that inspires you to live for more than just yourself.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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kadams
Posted December 9, 2008
I Also Recommend:
¿He is fighting the war on terror the way I think it should be conducted: Mortenson goes to war with the root causes of terror every time he offers a student a chance to receive a balanced education, rather than attend an extremist madrassa.¿ Relin
In memory of Christa, Greg Mortenson's sister, Greg attempts the world's second tallest mountain, K2. However, due to a life-saving rescue of a member of Greg's climbing group, he accepts failure and descends down the threatening mountain into a small village known as Korphe, Pakistan. The compassionate population of Korphe aids Greg and his crew. Greg promises to build a school for the village that kindly takes him in. He has a hard time raising money but eventually a man named Jean Hoerni donates the money to build the school. Greg faces many challenges during the rest of his years to build even MORE schools for the poverty. He was met with death threats from Islamic mullahs, kidnapping, and long periods of time being apart from his family. However, even after all of these misleadings, the results from this one man are spectacular: over 55 schools in Taliban areas to deter kids from extremism with access to education.
Education is a prevailing theme in Three Cups of Tea. Greg Mortenson explains in this fascinating novel that education is the answer to eliminating the recruiting of innocents to extremism groups. As Ahmed Rashid says, "Three Cups of Tea is beautifully written. It is also a critically important book at this time in history. The governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan are both failing their students on a massive scale. The work Mortenson is doing, providing the poorest students with a balanced education, is making them much more difficult for the extremist madrassas to recruit." Another theme is the everlasting issue of overcoming cultural differences. Greg is often challenged with these differences, though he overcomes all of them in order to achieve his scholastic theory of student enlightenment.
I love this book and I will undoubtedly make my kids read this once I have them. I liked it because it give you inspiration and motivation to do something about this uneducated problem. I believe the Christan Science Monitor sums this book up the best, "Laced with drama, danger, romance, and good deeds, Mortenson's story serves as a reminder of the power of a good idea and the strength inherent in one person's passionate determination to persevere against enormous obstacles." I guess my only complaint about this book is that it sometimes went into a bit too much detail due to Co-Author Relin's way of writing, but other than that, this book is a MUST READ.2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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