The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use education to combat terrorism in the Taliban’s backyard Anyone who despairs of the individual’s power to change lives has to read the story of Greg Mortenson, a homeless mountaineer who, following a 1993 climb of Pakistan’s treacherous K2, was inspired by a chance encounter with impoverished mountain villagers and promised to build them a school. Over the next decade he built fifty-five schools—especially for girls—that offer a balanced education in one of the most isolated and dangerous regions on earth. As it chronicles Mortenson’s quest, which has brought him into conflict with both enraged Islamists and uncomprehending Americans, Three Cups of Tea combines adventure with a celebration of the humanitarian spirit.

#Just Amazing (2008-11-23) One of the most touching books I have read in a long time. It is just amazing how much we can do with a little bit of financial help to these NGO s like CIA. I have decided to become a regular contributor of these noble cause, just because of this book. You have to read it, you will never regret you did.

#Inspiring (2008-11-22) What an inspiring book! This is a great read about what one person can do with a vision and very little resources. His tenacity is incredible. Hooray for Greg Mortenson!

#Would have been a great article (2008-11-19) This is a tale about a remarkable man - unfortunately it is not very well written. Even tho the action takes place in different towns, it is basically the same story over and over. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in building schools for the poor in Pakistan and also as an aid to sleeplessness.

#3 and a half stars (2008-11-19) The story itself was quite amazing but I found it difficult to read at times. I think it could have been much shorter. . . I could not keep all of the people straight about halfway through the book. It must have been difficult to write this book with so many stories to tell but it bordered on boring and tedious at times. It would pick up for a while and then I d be bleary-eyed again a few pages later. I really liked the beginning of the story and felt connected to his mission and promise but then I started to think he was a bit off (good inten...

#No wonder it unanimously gets 5 stars (2008-11-18) Truly one of the most inspirational books I have read in awhile. The beginning of this book is a little slow, focusing on Greg Mortenson s climbing expeditions that eventually leads him to find the people of Korphe, and promising them a school. After coming back to the states and scrounging up funds from philanthropists, Mortenson goes back and builds many schools in various regions through Pakistan/Afghanistan/Waziristan. And the story of his determination and the struggles he goes through are extremely inspirational. There is no o...

The explosive first-hand account of America’s secret history in Afghanistan With the publication of Ghost Wars, Steve Coll became not only a Pulitzer Prize winner, but also the expert on the rise of the Taliban, the emergence of Bin Laden, and the secret efforts by CIA officers and their agents to capture or kill Bin Laden in Afghanistan after 1998.

#Thank you Steve Coll!!! (2008-10-20) Very well written and keeps your attention. Very detailed and fact based. The author is as unbiased as they come. I came into this book embarassingly ignorant about international politics, especially the events leading up to September 11, 2001. I feel thankful toward the author for putting together such complex information in a straight forward, but captivating way - a way that lets even the most unaware reader begin to understand the whirlwind of money, politics, fanaticism, and international counter-interests that intersect to create the ...

#Execellent Book - (2008-10-12) Don t let the size of this book scare you - it is accurate and full of great information! I know some people who were close to the information and say it is very accurate - Enjoy - Jan Simpson

#Highly Informative, Not Well-Constructed, and Unfortunately Biased (2008-08-31) I recommend this book, in spite of its flaws, because it is a very useful history of CIA involvement in Afghanistan, from the end of the Carter administration until the day before the 9/11 attacks. The book is divided into three parts, focusing on the Soviet occupation and mujahideen resistance, the Afghan Civil War, and the Taliban era, respectively. Coll commands a truly impressive list of source-interviews, and has clearly devoted considerable research time and effort. I suspect that few authors ...

#Fascinating and well-researched history (2008-08-20) Though Osama Bin Laden became a household name after the 9-11 attacks, few people know the background of Afghanistan and the mujahideen fighters that birthed these radical groups. This book gives a well-researched, in-depth look into the interplay of the Cold War, the U. S. , Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and the radical groups that have made Afghanistan such a key region in the modern world. Though not a quick read, I would recommend it to anyone looking for more information beyond the 10-second sound bytes and action movie blather th...

#A well edited reality show (2008-08-05) It was a pleasure reading this very well written and researched book. As an Indian, I grew up reading about the defeat of Russians in newspapers. The subsequent battle for Afghanistan between the communist government and the mujahedin entered my consciousness through snatches of news on the radio. So, it was great to get the stories and personalities around people like Masooud. However, as I reached to the end of the book, I realized that clearly the author was not telling the whole story. Some gaping holes in the book are1. CIA and the U...

A gripping and vibrant book soon to be released as a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts and directed by Mike Nichols, Charlie Wilson’s War was a New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times best seller when it was published in 2003. Crile’s book is the true story of how a Texas Congressman and a rogue CIA agent conspired to launch the biggest, meanest, and most successful CIA campaign ever — the operation to fund the mujahideen in their fight against the Soviet army that had invaded Afghanistan. Moving from the back rooms of the Capitol to secret chambers at Langley, from arms dealers’ conventions to the Khyber Pass, Charlie Wilson’s War presents an astonishing chapter of our recent past, and the key to understanding what helped trigger the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union and ultimately led to the emergence of a brand-new foe in the form of radical Islam.

#The Best Non-Fiction I ve Ever Read (2008-09-25) This is without a doubt the best non-fiction book I have ever read. The plot, the characters and the writing were all brilliant. A truly exhilirating thrill ride. I couldn t put the book down - in fact, I missed my bus stop reading the book. When I finished, I felt that I had lost my close friends, and that my life had just gotten a little less exciting. If you want a thrilling, titilating, over-the top book that never lets up in terms of entertainment, than this is the book for you. If there were six, seven or even eight stars, I w...

#Rollicking good story, but... (2008-09-19) Charlie Wilson s War is a Cold War thriller with the extra attraction that it really happened. It tells the behind-the-scenes story of Texan congressman Charlie Wilson, a hard-drinking, hard-loving, Commie-hating bad boy who nearly singlehandedly (as far as the book tells us) dragged the CIA and the US government into supporting the Afghan mujahidin against invading Soviet forces. Charlie gets top billing, but shares much of the limelight with two other men. Gust Avrakatos is a CIA man whose rough upbringing and wild ways, while effective, ...

#The enemies of our enemies are not our friends... (2008-08-29) Charlie Wilson s War may be one-sided, but it s still a very interesting read, especially in these post-9/11 days. Years before the words Taliban and al Qaeda were in everyday use, or for that matter, even familiar to most Americans, the CIA was waging a secret war in Afghanistan. Having grown up in the tail end of the Cold War, the threat of the USSR never really gripped me the way it did the generations prior to me. We laughed at the comical Duck and Cover commercials when we watched them in history class, but my pa...

#Absolutely Recommended Reading (2008-08-26) I ordered this book upon the strong recommendation of two of my best - and brightest - friends. They said that it is a must read. Due to illness, I have not actually read it, but I can tell everyone that if my two friends think so highly of it, it must be a 6-Star read! I can t wait to dig into it and, because of those who recommended it to me, I assure you that the book should be on your list. Bob K. Litchfield, CT

#This Book Kept My Interests (2008-08-02) Unreliable story of the CIA involvement in the Afghan War. Lots of insight of the secret in and out of our clandestine service. Interesting read but at the same time lots of grandstanding by the author toward the subject of the book which sometime seem a bit hard to believe. Recommended reading for anyone who is a history buff and would like to expand his/her detailed knowledge of the downfall of Communism and the last military action of the cold war. Don t bother to compare the movie, like most of the time, is the book according to Hollywo...

The first successful ascent of Mount Everest in 1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa teammate Tenzing Norgay is a familiar saga, but less well known are the tales of many other adventurers who also came to test their skills and courage against the world’s highest and most dangerous mountains. In this lively and generously illustrated book, historians Maurice Isserman and Stewart Weaver present the first comprehensive history of Himalayan mountaineering in fifty years. They offer detailed, original accounts of the most significant climbs since the 1890s, and they compellingly evoke the social and cultural worlds that gave rise to those expeditions. The book recounts the adventures of such figures as Martin Conway, who led the first authentic Himalayan climbing expedition in 1892, Fanny Bullock Workman, the pioneer explorer of the Karakoram range, George Mallory, the romantic martyr of Mount Everest fame, Charlie Houston, who led American expeditions to K2 in the 1930s and 1950s,...

#An Uplifting Read (2008-11-07) This is an excellent history of mountain climbing in the Himalaya. Isserman and Weaver do a masterful job, not just of recounting the history, but placing the efforts in political and cultural context. There were long periods where access to these mountains was restricted or forbidden. There has also always been a competitive thread to the missions, as climbers tried for all kinds of firsts. Of course the history is filled with both triumphs and tragedies, and the authors tell these stories in a most engaging way. I have only two small nits with the ...

#Climbing history (2008-11-02) Excellent review of climbing history in both Himalaya and Karakoram ranges. Not a picture book, but there are loads of them out there. This tome covers first ascents and failures, AND is well written. A dream book for this history lover. A real treasure and endlessly fascinating.

#Fallen Giants (2008-11-02) Wonderful, well written, interesting book. Held me fascinated through all it s many pages. Read it just after finishing Three Cups of Tea. A good match, now I can understand the politics of the area and the difficulties of the climbs that lead up to the present. Fascinating how they are all intertwined.

#Needs better maps! (2008-10-24) I m about 150 pages into this book. It s been excellent so far but sadly lacking in one area - a good map of the Himalaya, from K2 in the west to Kangchenjunga in the east - and the many towns and villages mentioned in the book. It would have been ideal for the authors to include one on the endpapers. Then the reader could quickly flip there for reference. There are smaller maps throughout but many of them frustratingly do not include many of the place names mentioned. I have ordered the only map I could find - by Nelles Verlag - and will pick up t...

#Fabulous read (2008-10-23) I read about this book from a review on the New York Times Review of Books and I ordered it from Amazon. I am basically a hiker though I bought it originally for my teen age nephews but it too technical for a teen ager. Highly recommend it.

Two weeks after September 11th, award-winning journalist Asne Seierstad went to Afghanistan to report on the conflict there. In the following spring she returned to live with an Afghan family for several months. For more than 20 years Sultan Khan defied the authorities - be they Communist or Taliban - in order to supply books to the people of Kabul. He was arrested, interrogated and imprisoned by the Communists, and watched illiterate Taliban soldiers burn piles of his books in the street. He even resorted to hiding most of his stock in attics all over Kabul. But while Khan is passionate in his love of books and hatred of censorship, he is also a committed Muslim with strict views on family life. As an outsider, Seierstad is able to move between the private world of the women - including Khan s two wives - and the more public lives of the men. And so we learn of proposals and marriages, suppression and abuse of power, crime and punishment. The result is a moving portrait of a family an...

#Insightful look into Afghan culture (2008-10-29) The Bookseller of Kabul truly gives a representation of an Afghan family, shortly after 9/11. The book provides information that may never have been glimpsed had the author not lived with the family. Truly an intriguing, sad, shocking, emotional book. I highly recommend it.

#Insightful and Compelling (2008-10-01) I read this book early into my year as an American military advisor in Afghanistan. I found that the picutre of Afghan family life that it painted was very helpful in understanding the lives of the Afghans I dealt with every day. Because of the insight, I felt better able to communicate and build rapport with my Afghan friends. The book discusses frankly the disadvantages of women in a cultural context. If the Global War on Terror is a campaign to win hearts and minds, then this book is a must read in order to understand the hearts and m...

#Honest and candid account (2008-09-21) Asne Seirstadt writes an honest and candid account of her four months of life with an Afghan family, following the fall of the Taliban and the end of the reign of terror they subjected the Afghan people to. She spent these months with the family of Sultan Khan who- for twenty years-defied the tyranny of the Communists and then the Taliban by selling books on the black market because the tyrants did not allow books except those which subscribed to their narrow minded and sick ideas. Afghanistan was a great, progressive and vibrant country during th...

#An interesting portrayal of life in Kabul at the beginning of the 21st century (2008-09-02) Seierstad begins the book with a foreword in praise of Sultan Khan, the bookseller she meets in Kabul. I (or the reader) is maybe expecting a warm account of family life amongst the unsettled times in Kabul during 2002, and after the terrorist attacks in America. Alongside that, a little history of Afghanistan and the political environment that saw soldiers burning his books in the street. However. . . what we get is a disturbing account of everyday life for that particular family and others...

#A Glimpse in the Life of an Afghani Family (2008-07-20) This is the depiction of a real Afghani family written by a journalist that wound up in bookstore and developed a friendship with the store s owner. The journalist decided that it would be interesting to live with a family in Afghanistan and this bookseller opened his home to her. Previously, I used the word friendship lightly because as the depiction progresses, the reader gains insight into that traditional role of the male head of the family, and the journalist does not portray the bookseller in the best light. The books...