Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a… (2006)

Wonderful story of one man's pursuit of education for girls in some of the more remote villages on earth. Inspiring. ( )

" Last month, an investigation from 60 Minutes and writer Jon Krakauer found that Three Cups of Teaauthor Greg Mortenson, the raffish philanthropist and founder of 170 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, had fabricated parts of his amazing backstory. Worse, 60 Minutes visited 30 of the schools supposedly built by his Central Asia Institute and found half empty or unsupported by the nonprofit. More stories of “ ghost schools” emerged after the program aired.

The Three Cups of Tea scandal has led to soul-searching and anger among charitable givers and recipients. Nonprofits are scrambling to better account for their dollars. Aid workers in the region are grumbling about the crass imperialist narrative that helped popularize CAI, with a heroic First World dude swooping in to rescue Third World kids.

But the most important lesson of the scandal, and one that hasn’t gotten any attention, is something entirely different. It is a lesson that applies not just to Mortenson’s organization but also to charities that are much-better run: Stop building schools. Or rather, it is a mistake to devote much money or attention to constructing physical school buildings. Throwing up structures is simple. Educating children is a much more complex, expensive, and necessary goal." Anne Lowrey

Before I get started, I just want to say that no review I could ever write ever would ever portray how much this book sucked for me. To me, Three Cups of Tea is the perfect embodiment and representation of the most tragically horrible book I've ever read.
In fact, for you today, I'm going to make a list of the 10 most tragic things in Three Cups of Tea.

In 1993 the author drifted into an impoverished Pakistan village. Moved by the villagers' kindness, he promised to return and build a school. Over the next decade, 55 schools were built--especially for girls. The author's story is about a riveting adventure and a testament to the power of humanitarian spirit.

I read this book many years ago - 1990s I think. I never read the sequel because I think by the time I became aware of the sequel, the scandal had already broken about how 3 cups was a total lie. I do remember liking the first book - 3 cups. I had no reason not to believe it at that time. I am unsure how to rate it now, since I know i enjoyed it, when I did not know it was a total lie. I dont know how i feel about it now. So I think I will give it 2 stars - and treat it as if this book were just a novel. If it had been true then I would have given it 4 or 5 stars. ( )