HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time'' (original hardcover title: ''Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations ... One School at a Time'') is a
memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...
book by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin published by Penguin in 2007. The book describes Mortenson's transition from a registered nurse and mountain climber to a humanitarian committed to reducing poverty and elevating education for girls in
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
and
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. Following the beginnings of his humanitarian efforts, Mortenson co-founded the Central Asia Institute (CAI), a non-profit group that has reported overseeing the construction of over 171 schools as of 2010. CAI reported that these schools provide education to over 64,000 children, including 54,000 girls, in the remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, where few education opportunities previously existed. The book's title was inspired by a saying Haji Ali shared with Mortenson: "The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family..." ''Three Cups of Tea'' remained on the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' nonfiction bestseller's list for four years. In April 2011, critiques and challenges of the book and Mortenson surfaced. Author
Jon Krakauer Jon Krakauer (born April 12, 1954) is an American writer and mountaineer. He is the author of bestselling non-fiction books—'' Into the Wild''; ''Into Thin Air''; ''Under the Banner of Heaven''; and '' Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat ...
alleged that a number of Mortenson's claims in the book are fictitious and accused him of mismanaging CAI funds. In 2012, Mortenson agreed to repay $1 million to CAI following an investigation by the Montana attorney general. The inquiry determined that he had misspent over $6 million of the organization's money, although no criminality was found.


Summary

In 1993, mountaineer Greg Mortenson attempted to climb K2, the world's second highest mountain, located in the Karakoram range of Gilgit-Baltistan, as a way of honoring the memory of his deceased sister, Christa. As a memorial, he had planned to lay her amber necklace on the mountain's summit. After more than 70 days on the mountain, Mortenson and three other climbers had their ascent interrupted by the need to complete a 75-hour life-saving rescue of a fifth climber. Mortenson became lost while descending alone, and became weak and exhausted. Instead of arriving in
Askole Askole, Askoli, or Askoly ( ur, اسکولی) is a small town located in Shigar Valley, in the Gilgit–Baltistan region of Pakistan. Askole is located in a remote region of the Karakoram mountains 3040 meters above sea level. It is notable for ...
, where his porters awaited, he came across Korphe, a small village built on a shelf jutting out from a canyon. He was greeted and taken in by the chief elder of Korphe, Haji Ali. Mortenson soon found out that the village had no school. To repay the remote community for their hospitality, Mortenson recounted in the book that he promised to build a school for the village. After difficulties in raising capital, Mortenson was introduced to
Jean Hoerni Jean Amédée Hoerni (September 26, 1924 – January 12, 1997) was a Swiss-American engineer. He was a silicon transistor pioneer, and a member of the " traitorous eight". He developed the planar process, an important technology for reliably fab ...
, a Silicon Valley pioneer who donated the money that Mortenson needed for his school. In the last months of his life, Hoerni co-founded the Central Asia Institute with Mortenson, endowing the CAI to build schools in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. According to the book, Mortenson faced many daunting challenges in his quest to raise funds for the building of more than 55 schools in Taliban territory. Some of these challenges included death threats from Islamic mullahs, long periods of separation from his family, and being kidnapped by Taliban sympathizers.


Authorship

Though Mortenson and Relin are given equal credit for authoring ''Three Cups of Tea'', it is written from Relin's perspective as a journalist interviewing and observing Mortenson. In the introduction, Relin admitted that his desire to see Mortenson's project succeed likely influenced his objectivity as a reporter. Elizabeth Kaplan, the agent for the book, later acknowledged that the relationship between Mortenson and Relin was difficult. Mortenson, who was often traveling, was hard to track down, and Relin spoke publicly about how Mortenson should not have been named a co-author. As detailed in a ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' article, Relin "suffered emotionally and financially as basic facts in the book were called into question" and later committed suicide on November 15, 2012.Leslie Kaufman
"David Oliver Relin, Adventurous Journalist, Dies at 49"
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', December 2, 2012.


Publication

The original hardback edition of the book was released in 2006 with the subtitle ''One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism One School at a Time''. Mortenson fought against this subtitle, and the edition sold only 20,000 copies. He continued to prevail upon the publishers to change the subtitle to his first choice for the 2007 paperback edition: ''One Man's Mission to Promote Peace One School at a Time''. His publisher relented, and the re-titled book made the New York Times nonfiction paperback bestseller list. Mortenson explained his reasoning for the subtitle in a lecture given in Fairfield, Connecticut: "If you just fight terrorism, it's based in fear. If you promote peace, it's based in hope." The book remained a number one ''New York Times'' bestseller for three years after its release. The book has been published in over 39 countries. A young adult version of ''Three Cups of Tea'' was published by Penguin on January 22, 2009.


Controversy


Criticism

In 2010, South Asian scholar and anthropologist Nosheen Ali wrote regarding ''Three Cups of Tea'' in that “let me state clearly that Three Cups of Tea illuminates a remarkable tale of courage and compassion. Like numerous readers, I too am deeply moved and inspired by Mortenson’s genuine and enduring devotion to the cause of education in Northern Pakistan and Afghanistan.” In regard to Mortenson's management style at the Central Asia Institute,
Nicholas D. Kristof Nicholas Donabet Kristof (born April 27, 1959) is an American journalist and political commentator. A winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, he is a regular CNN contributor and an op-ed columnist for ''The New York Times''. Born in Chicago, Kristof wa ...
, formerly a supporter, said that Mortenson is "utterly disorganized", and added, "I am deeply troubled that only 41 percent of the money raised in 2009 went to build schools." In a deeper look into Mortenson's business dealings, British journalist Jonathan Foreman wrote in a 2008 '' Daily Telegraph'' story that CAI's success was due in part to Mortenson's use of intuition and last-minute decision-making. Foreman explained that Mortenson was habitually late for meetings but that those traits worked well and were important to the success of his work in the Balti region of Pakistan. Baltistanis have no tenses in their language, are vague on their timekeeping, and make their own decisions largely based on intuition.


Allegations

On the April 17, 2011, broadcast of CBS News' '' 60 Minutes'', correspondent
Steve Kroft Stephen F. Kroft (born August 22, 1945) is an American retired journalist, best known as a long-time correspondent for ''60 Minutes''. Kroft's investigative reporting garnered widespread acclaim, winning him three Peabody Awards and nine Emmy a ...
alleged inaccuracies in ''Three Cups of Tea'' and its sequel, ''Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan'', as well as financial improprieties in the operation of the Central Asia Institute. The ''60 Minutes'' report made the following allegations: * Some of the events recounted in ''Three Cups of Tea'', including Mortenson getting lost on the way down from K2, stumbling into Korphe, and promising to build a school, did not take place. * The story recounted in ''Stones into Schools'' about Mortenson's capture by the Taliban did not occur. His purported kidnappers state he was a guest, and the Taliban did not exist in the country at that time. * Schools that the Central Asia Institute claims to have built either have not been built, have been built and abandoned, are used for other purposes such as grain storage, or have not been supported by CAI after they were built. * The amount of money Central Asia Institute spends on advertising Mortenson's books and paying the travel expenses of his speaking tours, including hiring private jets, is excessive relative to other comparable charitable institutions. ''60 Minutes'' asked Mortenson for an interview before their broadcast, but he did not respond to their requests.
Jon Krakauer Jon Krakauer (born April 12, 1954) is an American writer and mountaineer. He is the author of bestselling non-fiction books—'' Into the Wild''; ''Into Thin Air''; ''Under the Banner of Heaven''; and '' Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat ...
, a former financial supporter of CAI, questioned Mortenson's accounts separately and was interviewed for the ''60 Minutes'' segment. The day after the broadcast, Krakauer published his allegations in a lengthy online article, ''
Three Cups of Deceit ''Three Cups of Deceit: How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His Way'' is a 2011 e-book written by Jon Krakauer about ''Three Cups of Tea'' (2007) and ''Stones into Schools'' (2009) author Greg Mortenson. In it, Krakauer disputes Mortens ...
— How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His Way''. In the article, Krakauer documents how he had been captivated by Mortenson's story and donated substantial sums to CAI, but subsequently heard stories of misconduct and began investigating. Krakauer stated that he invited Mortenson to address his allegations and scheduled an interview where Mortenson lives, but Mortenson canceled the interview.


Responses

Interviewed by the '' Bozeman Chronicle'' a few days after the 60 Minutes exposé, Mortenson told reporter Gail Schonztler: "I stand by the information conveyed in my book, and by the value of CAI's work in empowering local communities to build and operate schools that have educated more than 60,000 students." He further explained, "The time about our final days on K2 and ongoing journey to Korphe village and Skardu is a compressed version of events that took place in the fall of 1993..."
Scott Darsney Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saskat ...
, a respected mountaineer and friend of Greg Mortenson, sent an email, subsequently turned into an exclusive article for the online version of '' Outside'' magazine, as a response to the allegations against Mortenson. Darsney questioned the accuracy and fairness of both the Krakauer piece and the ''60 Minutes'' report. Darsney had been interviewed by Krakauer, and maintained that Krakauer either misquoted or misunderstood what he said. CAI responded to the various media reports with a public statement, saying the board had retained an attorney the previous year to investigate whether Mortenson received "excess benefits" for his work, and that counsel had concluded this was not the case. The statement concluded, "It would be truly tragic if the sensationalized allegations against him were to harm the future of this crucial work." In December 2011 CAI released a comprehensive list of projects completed over several years and currently in progress. In April 2012, following a year of investigation by the Montana attorney general, Mortenson agreed to repay $1 million to the CAI. The Montana inquiry determined that he had misspent over $6 million of the organization's money, although no criminality was found. Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock said: "Mr Mortenson may not have intentionally deceived the board or his employees, but his disregard for and attitude about basic record-keeping and accounting for his activities essentially had the same effect." Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Mortenson was required to resign as executive director and could no longer serve as a voting member of CAI's board. However, he was allowed to remain with CAI as an employee. Mortenson broke all of his remaining ties to CAI by officially retiring from the organization in 2015.


Lawsuits

In May 2011, Jean Price and Michele Reinhart, Democratic Party representatives in Montana, along with Dan Donovan, a Great Falls attorney, filed a class-action lawsuit against Mortenson and asked a federal judge in
Missoula Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...
to place all proceeds from the purchase of Mortenson's books into a trust to be used for humanitarian purposes. The total of Mortenson's book sales then stood near $5 million.Complaint against Greg Mortenson and CAI
''Wall Street Journal'' May 5, 2011
In June 2011, Price dropped out of the suit because she had never read the book. In Illinois, former school teacher Deborah Netter dropped her Illinois lawsuit against Mortenson in early July 2011, and joined the Montana lawsuit in mid-July. The Montana lawsuit was dismissed on April 30, 2012. In October 2013, an appeal of the dismissal of the class-action lawsuit claiming damages against Greg Mortenson over ''Three Cups of Tea'' was rejected by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.


Awards

*
Kiriyama Prize The Kiriyama Prize was an international literary award awarded to books about the Pacific Rim and South Asia. Its goal was to encourage greater understanding among the peoples and nations of the region. Established in 1996, the prize was last awa ...
* Time Magazine Asia Book of The Year * Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association – Nonfiction Award * Montana Honor Book Award * Borders Bookstore Original Voices Selection * Banff Mountain Festival Book Award Finalist * 2007 Nonfiction Runner-Up for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize * People Magazine – Critics Choice * Publishers Weekly – Starred Review * 2009 Italy: Premio Gambrinus “Giuseppe Mazzotti" * Powell Book's Puddly Award (nonfiction), Portland * 2010 The Christopher Award: "To affirm the highest values of the human spirit" * 2010 The Mason Award - Extraordinary contribution in literature (George Mason University DC)


Editions

* 2006, ''Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism One School at a Time''. 1st Edition. Viking Press. . Hardcover. * 2007, ''Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time''. Tantor Media. . (
Audio Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound * Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum * Digital audio, representation of sou ...
MP3 CD). * 2007, ''Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time''. Penguin Books Ltd. .
Paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, ...
. * 2009, ''Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Journey to Change The World…One Child at a Time'' (Young Adult Book). Mortenson, Greg; Relin, David Oliver; signature by Amira Mortenson, foreword by Jane Goddall. Puffin. . * 2009, ''Listen To The Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg and Three Cups of Tea'', (Children's book). Mortenson, Greg; Roth, Susan – illustrator. Dial Books. .


Sequel

A sequel to ''Three Cups of Tea'', titled ''Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace With Books, Not Bombs, In Afghanistan and Pakistan'

was released on December 1, 2009, by
Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquir ...
. ''Stones Into Schools'' explores the progress of Mortenson's seventeen-year effort to promote female literacy and education, with an emphasis on the expansion of his efforts into Afghanistan and his expressed desire to help the U.S. military to promote peace and build relationships with the Afghan
shura Shura ( ar, شُورَىٰ, translit=shūrā, lit=consultation) can for example take the form of a council or a referendum. The Quran encourages Muslims to decide their affairs in consultation with each other. Shura is mentioned as a praisewort ...
(leaders).


References


External links


Official website for ''Three Cups of Tea''Three Cups of Tea
at ''
Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...
''
Official website of Greg MortensonOfficial website of David Oliver RelinOfficial website of Central Asia InstituteDecember 2011 Comprehensive list of CAI projects past and presentOfficial website of Pennies for PeaceC-SPAN ''Q&A'' interview with Mortenson about ''Three Cups of Tea'', August 24, 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Three Cups Of Tea 2006 non-fiction books American non-fiction books American memoirs Books about Pakistan Collaborative non-fiction books