Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin - Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time Review

What a great book! In short, it is a true story of one American man's mission to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. But, it is about more than just building schools. It is a reminder of how a regular person can change the world, one act at a time.

In Three Cups of Tea, David Oliver Relin tells the story of Greg Mortenson and the Central Asia Institute. It starts when Mortenson (or "Dr. Greg" as the locals eventually call him) gets slightly lost on a descent from K2. He wanders into a small village and is nursed back to health with (among other remedies) tea. According to a Balti proverb, "The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time, you are an honored guest. The third time, you become family." Finally recovered, Mortenson sees children doing arithmetic with sticks in the dirt. He vows to return to the region and build a school. Not only does he eventually return and build a school, but he builds many other schools, survives a kidnapping, meets heads of governments, and generally has some pretty awesome adventures!

It is just a great book with a great story, and honestly one that has made me question all the modern luxuries in my own life. I highly recommend it to anyone wishing to learn more about the cultural differences between the modern world and the area near the Karakoram mountain range.