Three Cups of Tea

I’ve been a little behind in updating my blog. There are many books I’ve read over the year 2009, and I want to write something about them. The typical excuse is I don’t have time. Adding to this is I really need some down time to be able to recollect my thoughts on these books.

I read “Three Cups of Tea in early 2009. It’s the type of book that can easily turn you off after the first 30 pages. English is somewhat difficult and you have to adapt to the co-author’s style of writing. Although the story starts with an adventurous expedition to K2, plus a tragic anecdote of the death of the author’s younger sister, the pace of story-telling is a bit confusing and at times lacking a focus. Once you get through this hurdle, however, you’ll be impressed by the author, Mortenson as he is known, and what he did and achieved in the end.

It’s an amazing story. Sometimes you find the author’s action really impulsive and naïve. It is this single-mindedness and naivety that I admire the most though. His entire act of charity that would eventually become his career, started from a simple conversation with an elderly of a mountain village in northern Pakistan. His sympathy of the children who lacked the most fundamental education drove his determination to do something for them. Reminiscence of his sister also played a part in his resolve. Rest of the book is all about a familiar story – how a person in an inferior position achieved something even he could not imagine in the very beginning. He just wanted to do something, but this something turned out to be a lot of influential events. It is also an adventure. Mortenson not just sacrificed his own personal time and family life, as he had to travel a lot to Asia. At times he was also risking his own life, being abducted for a week near the border of Afghanistan.

What I really like about this character is his willingness to respect the culture of other people. The title “Three Cups of Tea” is a statement of cultural difference. Mortenson even adopted the practices of Muslim, putting on their dresses and praying five times a day. After 9/11 and invasion into Afghanistan, he was actually invited by the US government to provide briefing on the latest development in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The book emphasizes many times the importance of soft power. Providing education for women in Pakistan and Afghanistan is the key to changing people’s hostility to the western world there. Hard power like guns and bombs can suppress, but cannot capture the hearts and minds of human beings. Only education can satisfy their most basic needs, help improve their living standards and eventually lead them to appreciate the developed world’s culture.

So overall I like this book, and recommend it. For those who believe in fairytales and enjoy multi-cultures, you will definitely enjoy it.