Sacramento Bee (CA)
March 2, 2008
Between the lines: 'Tea' for One Book
By Allen Pierleoni
The folks who run things at the Sacramento Public Library
are excited, and for good reason. The library has announced the featured book
for its fourth annual One Book Sacramento: Connecting Our Communities program.
The book is "Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission To Promote Peace, One School at a Time" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
(Penguin, $15, 368 pages).
A starred review in Publishers Weekly magazine said,
"Some failures lead to phenomenal successes, and this American nurse's
unsuccessful attempt to climb K2, the world's second-tallest mountain, is one
of them.
"Dangerously ill when he finished his climb in 1993, Mortenson was sheltered for seven weeks by the small
Pakistani village of Korphe; in return, he promised
to build the impoverished town's first school, a project that grew into the
Central Asia Institute, which has since constructed more than 50 schools across
rural Pakistan and Afghanistan.
"Co-author Relin recounts Mortenson's efforts in fascinating detail, presenting
compelling portraits of the village elders, con artists, philanthropists, mujahideen, Taliban officials, ambitious schoolgirls and
upright Muslims."
I reached Relin, a veteran
journalist and world traveler, by phone and asked for a sound bite: "I
made three trips to Pakistan with and without Greg and did 200 interviews there – his friends and enemies, religious
leaders, soldiers, students at the schools.
"In my opinion, we tend to exaggerate the extent to
which the fanatics and extremists are in control. Once you've been there for a
while and built relationships with people – as Greg has done – the people will
protect you with their lives. The root causes of terrorism and poverty are
ignorance. Greg has provided an alternative" to combat that, he said.
Sacramento Public Library director Anne Marie Gold added:
" 'Three Cups of Tea' is a most timely read for our community, as Pakistan
and Afghanistan are in the world's current focus. It is an inspiring story of
one person's determination to make a difference in one corner of our world. One
Book Sacramento is about neighbor meeting neighbor, reading and talking about
the book, enjoying a variety of programs, and sharing ideas and
experiences."
One Book Sacramento asks everyone to read the same book and
participate in numerous related literary events that will happen online and at
library branches, schools and other venues in October.
"Three Cups of Tea" co-author Relin
will appear Oct. 2 at the Tsakopoulos Library
Galleria, 828 I St., at a special edition of The Bee
Book Club.
For more information on One Book Sacramento: (916) 264-2711
or www.saclibrary.org.
© Sacramento Bee 2008