Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
Product Details | Similar Products | Customer Reviews | Author: Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin List Price: $16.00 Our Price: $8.49 You Save: $7.51 (47%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours  |
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 | Product Details: Paperback 349 pages Release Date: 30 January 2007 Publisher: Penguin Books ISBN: 0143038257 Rating:   Sales Rank: 33 | | Look for similar books by subject:
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| | Customer Reviews: Incredibly inspiring story of faith and courage (31 August 2010)Amazing story of one man's mission to bring peace to the world, starting with one of the most difficult areas on the planet. I've never felt so inspired by a true story. He is so right, this is the way out of all the hatred and fear in the middle East. I think this is a MUST READ for every human being. Three Cups of Tea. (30 August 2010)This well written documentary about the Muslim world helps to dispell the anxiety, suspicion and fear we may have toward Islam. It warmed my heart and I couldn't put it down. Fantastic Book (29 August 2010)I don't normally read nonfiction, but this work is not to be missed. It is an absolutely fantastic demonstration about how one person can truly make a difference. Three Cups of Tea (29 August 2010)I am disappointed only in the fact that this book is listed under politics on Amazon. I don't see how helping others, especially those who are so in need of help is a political topic. I thought is was morally right. (Not that this book is preachy in any way). I feel this is the antidote to politics. Politics is ugly and only sees what is wrong with the world and this book shows you what is right in the world. One person can make a difference. Tiresome and Tedious!! Should Have Been a Magazine Article, Not a Book (28 August 2010)This is a very political story. If you agree with Greg Mortenson's views, then I suspect you'll probably be a fan of this book. If you don't, then you probably won't like it. But I don't feel qualified to debate the politics, so I'll keep my review focused on the main character (Mortenson) and the actual writing. This should have been a fascinating story, but the writing and editing of this book are absolutely atrocious. What this book needed was a good editor! The book is written in the third person, so it's not really a memoir. It's a third-person account written by co-author David Oliver Relin (a journalist who must have done most or all of the actual writing). It's obvious from the first chapter that Relin has no objectivity whatsoever about his main subject. Second, Relin must have kept a huge unabridged thesaurus by his side throughout the writing process, because it appears that he used every single adjective in the English language! Chapter after chapter is filled with minute details and descriptive words that don't add anything to the story. In fact, they muddy it to the point of confusion. And third... sure, it's good to admire the person you're writing a book about. But Relin's page after page after page of excessive fawning is painful and unbalanced. A nurse who couldn't afford an apartment and lived in his car? A man who neglected his own wife and young kids to build schools halfway around the world? Mortenson is clearly an idealist, but he also strikes me as being extremely naïve, and it's highly debatable whether he's worthy of all the saintly praise Relin heaps on him. This story would have made an intriguing "Vanity Fair" or "New York Times Magazine"-type article. But unfortunately, there's just not enough here for a 330-page book. I almost always finish every book I start, but it was utter torture to get halfway through this one. Then I remembered the speed reading course I took in high school, and I skimmed through the second half. I really wanted to feel touched by Mortenson's story. But in the end all I felt was relief--relief that I had finally made it through to the last chapter. | |
