Three Cups of Tea by Morentson and Relin

I just finished reading this book (a way too long time coming, I kept getting distracted with real life to finish it!). Every one needs to read this book. If you want to be inspired, or learn more about Pakistan and the reality of one small man's dream... then this is the book you should read.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

Greg is a man who grew up in Africa but became a nurse in America. In the beginning of the book he lays out his passion for climbing and everything seems to center around that. As he tries to scale K2 he ends up in the tiniest of tiniest villages in Pakistan (you don't understand poverty until you read how they live) and becomes inspired and promises to build them a school (the children used sticks and drew times tables in the dirt for the little bit of education they can muster... with no teacher). One of my favourite parts of this book is how many hurdles Greg goes through trying to raise money in the beginning of this project, but he keeps going. He would literally sleep in his car because he would see how much any bit of money made a difference in this small village in Pakistan and he was not going to waste this money on rent or food.

The book evolves to Greg making it his mission to continue building schools in Pakistan and his continuous struggles (trying to raise a family and jet over to Pakistan, trying to raise money and trying to keep up hope... and being safe). The book also highlights a lot about what was happening in the world during the time of 911 (at this time Pakistan was his second home, and Greg was actually in Pakistan when the towers were bombed). He has so much insight and is so giving that this book is a must read. Both this book, and especially his second book (Stones into Schools - about building schools in Afghanistan), have skyrocketed in popularity (which is great for his non-profit organization the Central Asia Institute) in the past little while.

So pick this book up!