Book Review: “Three Cups of Tea; One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace … One School at a Time”

By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

The title derives from the Balti tradition of drinking tea. The first time you share tea, you are a stranger. The second time, you are an honored guest. The third time, you become family, and for family the Balti are prepared to do anything, even die. It takes time to share three cups of tea; it means slowing down and building and treasuring relationships. 

The story is of Greg Mortenson, an accomplished mountain climber, who attempts to summit K2 in Pakistan. Becoming disoriented, he wanders away from his expedition and ends up in a remote mountain village where he regains his health. While there, he sees the children of the village scratching their lessons into the dirt with sticks because the village is too poor to afford a school or the $1-a-day salary for a teacher. Healthy again, and preparing to leave, he makes a promise to return to the village and build a school. 

He returns to the United States and tries to raise money by sending fundraising letters to hundreds of celebrities, with no success. Persevering, he sells his possessions and slowly begins collecting donations. He estimates that he needs $12,000 to build the school, then receives a check for that exact amount from a retired philanthropist who had heard of his mission. Mortenson returns to Pakistan to build the first school in Korphe, the village where he had been nursed back to health after his ordeal on K2.  

His belief is that education allows people, especially girls, to succeed in society. And promoting education furthers understanding and tolerance and helps promote peace in a tense world. It is a fascinating journey, underscoring the importance of education in every society. Even in the poorest villages, everyone pitches in and sacrifices to help build schools to educate the children, knowing that it is the path to their future success. One of the most moving stories in the book occurs when Haji Ali — the nurmadhar, or leader, of Korphe and Mortenson’s mentor — is forced to make a decision whether to allow the construction of the school to continue. The man who controls the Braldu valley where Korphe is located refused to allow construction to proceed until he received an extortion payment. Haji Ali gives him 12 rams, representing half the wealth of the village of Korphe. The villagers are shocked, but Haji Ali reassures them. “Long after all those rams are dead and eaten, this school will still stand,” he says. “Now, our children have education forever.”

As the remarkable story continues, Mortenson crisscrosses Pakistan and the United States, raising money for more schools. Dr. Greg, as he is called in Pakistan and Afghanistan, has now built 78 schools. The inspiring story underlines how someone with a dream can change lives with a lot of effort and a little bit of money. To learn more about the mission, go to www.threecupsoftea.com or to ikat.org, the Web site for the Central Asia Institute, the nonprofit that Mortenson runs. You can read more about the remarkable impact they are making in Pakistan and Afghanistan and can also make a donation. I was inspired after reading “Three Cups of Tea” to support their program and hope others will too.