A book WE all should read!

[IrisRose]

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
I am a year or three late reading this book, but it is one of the most inspiring books I have read in my entire life!   I'm not exaggerating.   It is the true story of Greg Mortenson, a mountain climber, who has dedicated the last 15 year of his life to building schools in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan.  Through his single handed and enduring dedication, he has rescued the lives of thousands of children.     He has built over sixty schools with the help of villagers and mullahs.  This American is respected and loved in these two countries.   If we had more like him, our world would be at peace.       I hope you will read it, and if you buy it, please buy from Mortenson's foundation.   That way, some of the purchase money will go right back into the school building project.   
Contact:  Central Asia Institute, P. O. Box 7209, Bozeman, MT 59771, USA   
info@threecupsoftea.com        www.threecupsoftea.com      Phone:  406 585 7841

The name comes from a cultural practice of hospitality in Pakistan and Afghanistan. 

[IrisRose]

I forgot to say that he has built many of these schools working beside the villagers, spending months at a time in Pakistan and Afghanistan, working with village mullahs, all the way up to the Pakistani Ayatollah, who believes in peace and education.   He has worked side by side with militant freedom fighters, enduring several life-threatening situations and has learned at least three languages.   This is not a man who runs the institute from the comfort of his home or an air conditioned office.   He has refused salary increases because they would take away from the schools.  He has also worked with Pakistani engineers to bring water to these villages and has built women's centers.    He has made special efforts to provide homes for refugees during the Pakistan/India conflict and during the war against the Taliban.     (Where, contrary to news and government reports, US plans bombed refugees traveling along roads trying to get out mercilessly.)   This man has been there through all of it. 

[jacki]

You know, Marie, I have picked up (and put down) this very book the last three or four times I've been in Borders, wondering if it was good...Last time it lost out because of limited funds. I'll pay more attention to it next time I'm in town. Thanks for the endorsement...with all the new books out there, it's hard to make a decision every time I have enough for a purchase.

[delco]

thanks for passing on the recommendation... I'll check it out.  Others interested in this type of topic might also want to look for this one which is in a similar vein also:

Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism from Metropolis books
http://www.metropolismag.com/cda/story.php?artid=3528