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The title "Three Cups of Tea" comes from an old Pakistani proverb. The first time you drink tea together you are a stranger, the second time you become a friend, and the third, you join the family. It aptly describes the process of developing understanding between people of different cultures.
Often as we get to know someone, that relationship can change our habit of judging others based on stereotypes and ignorance. We all hope for peace and an end to war and suffering, but are we willing to be more tolerant and charitable? It is a soul-searching question. And even if we choose peace, how can we turn our enemy from hatred to a desire to be at peace with us?
The incredible story of Greg Mortenson proves that one person can make a significant difference in the world. In 1993 Mortenson, a nurse with a passion for mountaineering, attempted to climb K2 the second tallest mountain in the world. After his failure he stumbled lost, alone and ill into the small village of Korphe in Pakistan.
While being kindly nursed back to health, he observed their poverty. To repay their kindness he asked what he could do for them and a wise village chief replied that they wished most for a school to educate their children. During the next decade Mortenson was able to raise funds to build fifty-five schools.
David Relin is the journalist who takes on the two-year project to write about the life of the very unconventional Mortenson. Although his choice of writing in the third person gives a bit more distance than the reader would like, and the portrait is definitely painted with adoration rather than objectivity, I still enjoyed reading this motivational biography.
This is the story of a man who has achieved great things with a little luck and a lot of determination. Mortenson believes that bringing education to the children of the region that spawned the terrorists of the Taliban, will indeed change the world. He is an American we can be proud of, and an example of one man working for peace in our world.
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