Three Cups of Deceit by Jon Krakauer

Book:  Three Cups of Deceit 

Author:  Jon Krakauer 

Grade:  B 

Recommended To: Krakauer fans, People who believe deceit is best served icy cold. 

Three Cups of Deceit is Jon Kraukauer's expose of The Central Asia Institute, a charitable institution that builds schools for children in Pakistan and Afghanistan.  

Some of the reveals in this book are shocking.  For example, the CAI rakes in millions of dollars in donations each year, but a small fraction of those donations are actually used to build schools.  Instead, the leader of the organization, Greg Mortensen, uses donated funds for private planes to his book signing and speaking events to the tune of several million dollars.  

Another shocker:  that none  of the profits from Greg Mortensen's extremely popular books are donated to the CAI, those royalties go straight into Greg's pocket.   

I've donated to the CAI and I raved about Greg Mortensen's book Three Cups of Tea  on this blog in early 2011.  (actually, almost a year ago today...interesting.)  The book is compelling and the stories told by Greg are uplifting.  I remember crying when finishing Three Cups and thinking that I had to do something, since a man from so humble beginnings was able to accomplish such extensive change.    Krakauer exposes many of the heartwarming stories in Three Cups, and Mortensen's follow up book Stones into Schools, as out right lies.  Many of the stories did not happen, or were seriously elaborated to make them sound better for publishing.

I trust Krakauer.  He has a reputation of thorough research that is easy to follow.  This is certainly not a heartwarming book, but, it is very interesting at a time when many charities are under scrutiny for exactly how donations are spent.

Happy Reading!!

Three Cups of Tea - Retraction

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen 
Retraction based on 60 Minutes  

I feel it is necessary to issue a retraction for any statements I made endorsing the charity Central Asia Institute that was begun by Greg Mortensen, the author of Three Cups of Tea. 

60 Minutes aired a piece about the CAI today and exposed several aspects of Mortensen's charity as poorly run and several portions of his book as fictional, even though the book is written as a non-fiction account of Mortensen's work with the charity.  

I'm especially upset about this because I used the Central Asia Institute as my yearly Christmas charity this year.  My mother donates to a charity of our choice in our name each year for Christmas as a part of our gift and I loved Three Cups of Tea  so much that I chose the CAI as my charity.  Unfortunately, their records are rarely audited and the charitable organization funds Mortensen's book tours and travel expenses to the tune of millions of dollars a year  - instead of sending donations to the schools in Pakistan. 

60 Minutes also investigated some of the schools and found that some of the schools are underfunded and that Mortensen exaggerated the number of schools that were actually built in a particular area of Afghanistan. 

Bummer.  A total stinking bummer.  I don't think it is that bad that Mortensen is making money from his books, or that he uses the books to promote education for women and girls.  But, I do have an issue with a charity that is poorly run and a book that might have serious exaggerations for the sake of selling books.

I apologize for my un-researched support of Three Cups of Tea and for the CAI.   Greg Mortensen still wrote a compelling book, regarless of the fabrications and the problems with his charity, but I will think twice about donating after watching that 60 Minutes episode. 

Happy Reading! 

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen

Book:  Three Cups of Tea 

Author:  Greg Mortensen 

Grade:  A + 

Recommended To:  Philanthropic minded individuals/readers. 

I love this book.  I love the meaning behind this book and I love everything about the organization that Greg Mortensen started.   I finished this book about a year ago and I have been so hesitant to write a review about this book because I was fearful that my complete devotion to Greg Mortensen and the Central Asia Institute might come off as disingenuous.

But, I review everything else, so why not give it a go.  I kept seeing this book in Borders on the must-read shelf and never wanted to buy it, so of course I waited forever to get it on paperbackswap.com.

This is the story of Greg Mortensen - the mountain climber turned philanthropist.  Greg got lost in the Hindu Kush and was taken in by the people of a small village.  While there he made a promise that he would return and build a school for the village children.  It took him years to build the first school, but he did it and that school turned into dozens all over the mountainous region of Pakistan.

The schools are mainly for women and girls and the goal is to give the people of the harsh lands bordering Afghanistan an educational alternative to the fundamentalist madrassas that were popping up all over that area and training the residents in fundamentalist Islamic doctrine.

This story wasn't particularly well written, but when I read it, it gave me such hope that a normal person could exert such influence in an area where Americans aren't exactly welcomed with open arms.  Though I suppose Greg Mortensen turned out to be anything but normal.  I was in tears through out much of this read - not the sad kind of Anna Quindlan tears - but the joyful-I-don't-want-to-stop tears.   I have not been so in love with a charitable organization since St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

This is a really fantastic, hopeful work, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a bit of joy.

Happy Reading!!