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[0] checkbox [#] position [cover] cover [title] title Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time [author] author Mortenson, Greg * [isbn] isbn 0143038257 [isbn13] isbn13 9780143038252 [asin] asin [num pages] num pages 349 pp [avg rating] avg rating 3.63 [num ratings] num ratings 242,703 [date pub] date pub 2006 [date pub (ed.)] date pub edition Jan 30, 2007 [rating] Lucas's rating 4 of 5 stars [my rating] my rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars add to shelves [notes] notes Notes are private! [recommender] recommender none [comments] comments 0 [votes] votes 0 [read count] # times read 1 [date started] date started not set [date read] date read Jun 10, 2009 [date added] date added Jun 01, 2009 [date purchased] date purchased [owned] owned [purchase location] purchase location [condition] condition [format] format Paperback [29] actions view [review] 
review The central problem of this book is neatly illustrated by Mortenson's encounter with Pentagon officials: Mortenson gives a presentation on the importa The central problem of this book is neatly illustrated by Mortenson's encounter with Pentagon officials: Mortenson gives a presentation on the importance of building schools in addition to purely military efforts in Afghanistan, but when offered support he turns it down because association with U.S. military or intelligence agencies would undermine his credibility there and in Pakistan. (Though the CIA could send him money from anonymous sources without his permission, but probably only on a smaller scale) This is despite his admiration for Mother Teresa, who was controversial because she accepted money from any source without question. Scaling problems are also hinted at when Mortenson is temporarily imprisoned in a new region of Pakistan he is not familiar with, and abandons efforts to build schools there. For a charity with limited resources every new school is a success, but for a large government sponsored effort every school not built is a failure. The flow of money from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia into the funding of Wahhabi Madrassas is interesting- I wonder if it's possible to quantify how much of every dollar spent on gasoline goes into a school like that? An epilogue that tells the story of the creation of the book would be nice- I think there was something at the beginning but it's hard to remember and connect it to where the book leaves off. ...more
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