Short Synopsis
The inspiring account of one man's campaign to build schools in the most dangerous, remote, and anti-American reaches of Asia.

Full Synopsis
In 1993 Greg Mortenson was the exhausted survivor of a failed attempt to ascend K2, an American climbing bum wandering emaciated and lost through Pakistan's Karakoram Himalaya. After he was taken in and nursed back to health by the people of an impoverished Pakistani village, Mortenson promised to return one day and build them a school. From that rash, earnest promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time—Greg Mortenson's one-man mission to counteract extremism by building schools, especially for girls, throughout the breeding ground of the Taliban.

Award-winning journalist David Oliver Relin has collaborated on this spellbinding account of Mortenson's incredible accomplishments in a region where Americans are often feared and hated. In pursuit of his goal, Mortenson has survived kidnapping, fatwas issued by enraged mullahs, repeated death threats, and wrenching separations from his wife and children. But his success speaks for itself. At last count, his Central Asia Institute had built fifty-five schools. Three Cups of Tea is at once an unforgettable adventure and the inspiring true story of how one man really is changing the world—one school at a time.

"A cliffhanger as well as a first-hand introduction to the people and places of a region little understood by most Americans." ---The Washington Times

"Captivating and suspenseful, with engrossing accounts of both hostilities and unlikely friendships, this book will win many readers' hearts." ---Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"This book should be...listened to by anyone who wishes to understand the Muslim world." ---The Roanoke Times

"[Patrick Lawlor] tells the story as if Mortenson had told it to him, keeping it lively and engaging." ---AudioFile

Publishers Weekly Review

New York Times Bestseller

Time Magazine Asian Book of the Year 2006

Publishers Weekly Bestseller