December 2007: Three Cups of Tea (Mortenson & Relin)

Post date: Jan 07, 2010 9:15:23 PM

Already a supporter of the Central Asia Institute, Nancy hosted a warm discussion on December 11, 2007 of Three Cups of Tea: One Man's One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace...One School At A Time by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin. Some people were put off by the writing, which particularly in the beginning is not so good, but once the story gains its momentum, it doesn't even matter. This story of one man's effective passion to help mountain villagers build schools in northern Pakistan compelled many of us, yet the marketing pitch that hovers underneath the story and the lucky access to funds for his efforts turned other readers sour at Mortenson (who did not write the book, it was more of a biography about him -- though did provide journal entries and immense amounts of other information).

Despite the heat of the discussion about the book (always better for the clash of strong opinions!), the subject soon shifted to US foreign policy, then to the 2008 presidential elections, the impact of Oprah's endorsement of Obama, and on to Smith's reputation and our various experiences there from the era of house mothers and no men allowed to the 2000's when students have every resource needed to succeed from tutoring to stress-reduction workshops. Touching on the range of mother-daughter relationships from very close (talking every day, sharing almost too much information) to distant (deliberately establishing space between), we wrapped up with some book suggestions and had a strong preference for fiction next time.