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Review: Washington Times, March 5, 2006, Sunday
On pilgrimage, following spring
By Ann Geracimos
What follows is a magical mystery tour investigating extremes of place and emotion, from inner space to the boundaries of outer space. The trip encompasses several spiritual journeys as well as some punishing physical adventures of a kind that the word 'travel' doesn't begin to suffice.
The experiences of author Greg Mortenson, in Three Cups of Tea (written with David Oliver Relin, Viking, $25.95, 352 pages) encompass both. When he set out bravely to conquer the famously difficult Himalayan K2 peak by way of honoring a beloved sister's memory, he had no idea that more than a decade later he would become the brains and brawn behind a nonprofit organization working to build schools for children -- mainly girls -- in the remote mountain border villages of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The story of how this happened is a cliffhanger as well as an first-hand introduction to the people and places of a region little understood by most Americans. The subtitle, "One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations . . . One School at a Time," underscores the motivation behind his work.
A glint of hero worship in the pages (is there any discomfort that Mr. Mortenson can't endure?) is only a tease to spur on the reader. The mystery is how such a physically strong but self-effacing personality was able to surmount the prejudices and paranoia rife in this part of the world in order to undertake a successful project that thrives today as the Central Asia Institute based in Bozeman, Mont., his home.
He attributes his inspiration to a series of accidental encounters with strangers who cared for him after failing in his original mission to lay his sister's necklace on the K2 summit. Clearly, he is a man apart. But the trained nurse, mountaineer, natural linguist and diplomat is also a thoroughly grounded one. The challenges and how he faced them are ready-made for the movies or TV.
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