About this title: The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use education to combat terrorism in the Taliban's backyard 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 ...
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Binding: Paperback
Publisher: PENGUIN BOOKS LTD Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780141034263ISBN:0141034262
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. 384 pages. Written by a mountaineer who in 1993, after a terrifying and disastrous attempt to climb k2, drifted cold and dehydrated, into an impoverished pakistan village in the karakoram mountains. it tells how moved by the inhabitants' kindness, he promised to return and build a school. it tells the story of that promise and its outcome. illustrations (Paperback) read more
Description: Good. Book shows minor use. Cover and Binding have minimal wear and the pages have only minimal creases. A tradition of southern quality and service. All books guaranteed at the Atlanta Book Company. read more
Description: Good. Book shows minor use. Cover and Binding have minimal wear and the pages have only minimal creases. A tradition of southern quality and service. All books guaranteed at the Atlanta Book Company. read more
Description: New. PLEASE NOTE: All books are promptly shipped from our UK warehouse using Royal Mail or DHL. International Priority mail for non-UK deliveries. Delivery is typically 2-4 working days for UK delivery. Heavier or more expensive books are shipped with a TRACKING NUMBER. Professional and reliable bookseller (est.1987). read more
Description: New. Please note that deliveries to addresses in the UK and Europe will be in 4-14 business days. Other countries should refer to Alibris standard times. ISBN10: 0143304631. read more
Description: New. PLEASE NOTE: All books are promptly imported from the UK using DHL or Royal Mail international mail WITH TRACKING NUMBER. D elivery is typically 5-10 working days. Please do not select expedited shipping. Professional and reliable bookseller (est.1987). read more
Description: New. PLEASE NOTE that we do not offer expedited shipping. Orders placed with the priority shipping option will automatically be canceled. ISBN10: 0143304631. read more
Binding: Pre-Loaded Audio Player
Publisher: Findaway World Llc
Date Published: 2008-09-01
ISBN-13:9781606405802ISBN:1606405802
Description: NEW. Pre-Loaded Audio Player. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9781606405802. read more
Binding: Preloaded Digital Audio Player
Publisher: Playaway
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781606405802ISBN:1606405802
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
"This book is excellent. Sometimes books such as these, howbeit inspiring, are often tedious to read. This one was not. I was fascinated.
After a failed attempt to climb K2, Greg Mortensen is separated from his guide and wanders into a small Pakistani village he otherwise would have never known existed. The friendships he made altered the course of his life. He promised to build them a school after seeing the teacherless village children writing school assignments in the dirt with sticks.
After the first school, his work took on a life of it's own as he gained the trust of the people in other villages bringing as many schools as he possibly could to some of the poorest places in the country.
This man probably knows more about the hearts and minds of the people in Pakistan and Afganistan than any expert in Washington. This is not a political book; however, I was left thinking we've missed the mark in how we can protect our country from terrorism. Greg seems to have the keys--respect, hard work, love, keeping our promises and education.
I would like to be as passionate and brave as this man; or, at the very least, as loving and supportive as his wife."
"I had no idea what this book was about - and it has completely blown me away. This story of Greg Mortenson's actions to build schools for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan as a means to fight terrorism with knowledge. This book makes me question what I'm doing with my life in a very positive way. Everyone should read this - it should be required in our education system. Tell everyone you know to read this and then go out and do something just like Greg."
"Some books I really enjoy reviewing. They're either important, enjoyable, well-written, or some combination thereof. There are a few others I read (or start to read) that simply aren't worth the effort of discussing at all. In a third group are books that bother me by triggering one of my pet peeves: Some may be well-written fiction, with great characters, but the author's clear purpose is to push some kind of agenda. Others exploit children (especially disabled children) as a means of manipulating cheap emotions. Then there are books that needn't be well-written at all but have been given some mysterious boost by the publishing world and soar to far greater acclaim than is justified by their own merits.
Three Cups of Tea is in the latter bunch. It was given to me as a gift last Christmas, and because of the subject I was eager to get into it, despite the fact that Greg Mortenson had relied on a "real" writer to interview him and pull his story together (generally not a good sign, the quality of prose being inversely proportional to the number of co-authors). I was starting to bog down with the mediocre writing that several other reviewers have noticed, but then it was announced that the author was actually coming to speak in an auditorium at my place of employment. Re-motivated, I tried again to make headway in the book, and got as far as the point where our doughty hero returns to Pakistan with funds to start building a school. On the big night, I headed over to the auditorium about half an hour early, only to discover the place had been filled to capacity for a long time. The street outside was still jammed with cars, circling in search of parking spots that weren't there, and the security guard was warning people that they'd never get in. Turns out, the local NPR affiliate had announced the event, and somehow this particular writer generated enthusiasm like I've never seen before. (And I've been to hear quite a few prominent literary figures speak or read.)
Why the big deal? It couldn't be the quality of the writing, which is just passable at best. (I like a reviewer's comment that "if you actually can finish this blather, it will be as if you climbed a mountain. A long, boring mountain.") The clue to the excitement, I guess, is on the jacket copy and in the subtitle. This may well not have been Greg Mortenson's original thought at all. As far as I know, he was motivated only by a laudable desire to do good. (That by the way is another problem with the book: His motivations are never really explored. He's treated as some kind of icon.) Apparently he did indeed do something remarkable, and that should be commended. But the packaging of his book suggests to me that the opinion shapers are really saying that if we only built more schools in impoverished countries as he did, and generally gave more in foreign aid, lunatics from that part of the world wouldn't hijack airplanes and fly them into our buildings. Again, I'm inclined to believe Mortenson wasn't thinking this way at the time, but I see he now has a blog post entitled "It Takes a School, Not Missiles." So apparently he's going along with the theme that is working so well.
When I was unable to get into the auditorium that night, my copy of the book went back onto my table. Several months have passed, and I've felt no desire to pick it up again. In fact, I just got rid of it. But unfortunately, the important thing about it is that it isn't really a book at all, now. It became a sort of political phenomenon around a book. And that's something altogether different. With all the copies out there, I wonder how many people actually read more of it than I did."
"Learned a lot about the culture of Islam. When I worked at HP I had (and still have) a good friend that's a Muslim, and he taught me quite a bit about his way of life, the Koran, the pillars of their faith, and some of their traditions and beliefs. Beyond that though my exposure to the world's second largest religion (right?) has been extremely limited. So, this book taught me a little more about Islam and some of the customs and practices of the people of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nepal. The book is about a very unique mountaineer by the name of Greg Mortenson who stumbles upon a very poor mountain community after a failed attempt to summit K2. He promises to build them a school, and then returns to fulfill his promise in a wonderful fashion, and repeats it many times over in poor community after poor community throughout this part of the world. It's astounding to read about his courage and bravery, his commitment and determination. He risked his life time and time again for these people, and only accomplished what he did at great personal expense. What an amazing life cause. And to think amidst all of this he was able to find a wonderful soul mate whom he married after only 6 days of knowing her. Wow! It just seems like the stars really aligned for this guy time and time again, but not until he had made extraordinary personal sacrifices. I think one of the morals of this story that I took away is that the stars will always align for someone with a great purpose and with great determination and discipline.
The other thing I took away from this book is that wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and perhaps in Iran some day have probably and will probably do more harm than good. I think the war in Afghanistan was a necessity but if what I read in this book was correct then it should've been followed up with more investment in the infrastructure of the country so that we weren't just leaving a path of destruction and poverty in war's wake. I also think, more than ever before, that the war in Iraq has probably done a lot more harm than good. More than that, it was a waste of precious resources that could've been spent and invested in much more positive ways. Rather than spend billions on toppling regimes and trying to blow up terrorists why don't we build schools and invest in the infrastructure and economies of these countries. Let's give their people opportunity. Let's pull them out of their ignorance. Let's fight the pernicious spread of evil fundamentalist Islam madrassas. Let's recognize the root cause of the hatred of these people and solve the problem at it's core.
For the most part, I think the leaders of our country are and ever will be completely incapable of understanding what the greatest threats to our society truly are. They will miss the most important problems that threaten our way of life and throw billions at the easy, popular targets. They will never understand that the disintegration of the family is the greatest threat to our way of life. They will chase terrorists abroad, make new enemies, and all the while miss the opportunity to strengthen our families here at home and make friends abroad by investing in those countries, giving them a hand up, and eliminating ignorance."
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