Last week I finished reading a book suggested to me by my mother-in-law, Three Cups of Tea. It is the account of American Greg Mortenson's struggle to build schools for children in Afghanistan starting a few years before the 9/11 attacks. This probably would not have been a book I would have pursued if it were not for the recommendation of someone I admire and respect (I'm more of a Jane Austen kind of girl) and the story did not disappoint.
Mortenson is a 20-something nurse working the night shift in a California hospital who's real passion is mountain climbing. As the story goes, during a failed attempt at K2, Mortenson is lost, suffering from exposure and near death when he stumbles upon a remote village. The villagers nurse him back to health, he gets to know and love them, and that ignites his passion to build them a school for their children. Of course, Mortenson has no money, but inspite of that minor detail he makes good on his promise to build the village a school and 50 more for other small villages in Afghanistan. How does this single guy, with no money, and an average paying job do such a feat?
Through the account of Mortenson's experiences, mistakes and successes, I was able to learn bits of Afghanistan's culture in a way that was more meaningful to me than the news accounts on TV or in the papers. His story is completely non-political -- it's about building schools for kids who have none. But Mortenson did happen to be in Afghanistan working on a school when the towers were attacked on 9/11 and I found his account of his experiences during that time fascinating and his ability to reach his goals against all odds inspiring.
It's a quick read -- if you get a chance, I think you'll enjoy Three Cups of Tea.
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Melanie, thanks for the tip on the book! It does sound very interesting. I love to read and have been neglecting that, I admit it. Bad, bad thing. Reading a good book feeds my soul and fuels my imagination!
Andrea: I agree with you -- I can't believe I don't read more literature, I was an English major after all! But, I do read many books for business and I love those equally well!
Melanie--I read it last fall and loved it. Like you I don't read as much as I would like to except business related material.
Hi Mary: For business I recently read The Four Hour Work Week. Really interesting book, and hey, we can dream can't we!
Four Hour Work Week??? Wow! I need to read that book. I will look for it, but I think it might rank with the late night TV shows that promote get rich schemes. What do you think?
Ha ha, well . . . I will admit that the title may have been a little more provocative than it was realistic, BUT it was really intriguing to read about all the ways to keep your business running without actually having to be there :)