Three Cups of Tea

Just before Christmas (thanks to lots of time on airplanes) I finished the book "Three Cups of Tea" by David Relin and Greg Mortenson. It's a book about Greg Mortenson, who used to be a mountain climber. In 1993, he went on a trip to climb a mountain in Pakistan, but through a series of coincidences and mistakes he ended up in a small mountain village. The people there helped him, and he promised to build them a school. Though it wasn't intention at the time, that ended up starting what would be his life's work - building schools for poor, remote villages in Pakistan and surrounding areas. The details of trying to make his promise into a reality, and the story of how this all evolves, as well as where he is now, are the topics of the book. It's really interesting - both his story and his philosophy - believing education is the key to stopping poverty and promoting peace. I'd highly recommend reading this one!

You can learn more about the story, and buy the book (7% of proceeds go to the Central Asian Institute, which builds the schools) at this website: http://www.threecupsoftea.com .