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 inspired by a chance encounter with impoverished mountain villagers and promised to build them a school. Over the next decade he built fifty-five schools-especially for girls-that offer a balanced education in one of the most isolated and dangerous ...
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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
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
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. We are no longer able to guarantee delivery by Christmas. 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. We are no longer able to guarantee delivery by Christmas. PLEASE NOTE that we do not offer expedited shipping. Orders placed with the priority shipping option will automatically be canceled. ISBN10: 0143304631. read more
Description: New. We are no longer able to guarantee delivery by Christmas. PLEASE NOTE that we do not offer expedited shipping. Orders placed with the priority shipping option will automatically be canceled. ISBN10: 0141329009. 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
"I have just finished reading this book about a very remarkable man. He is a man that follows through on the promises he makes, something that has gained him much respect in Pakistan and Afghanistan among the common people. In focusing on education, especially education for girls, he is doing more to defeat terrorism in the long term than the military with all its weaponry. Assuming all the incidents are true, serendipitous events occurred in Greg Mortenson's life that propelled him on his way. Whether what he has done and is doing is fate--pre-ordained or the result of fortuitous circumstance depends upon your belief system. I whole-heartedly recommend this book and am looking forward to his next book: Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan, by Greg Mortenson to be released on December 1, 2009."
"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."
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