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Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson, David O. Relin

Three Cups of Tea

One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time

by Greg Mortenson, David O. Relin
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Readers' Rating (79):
  • First Published:
  • Mar 2, 2006, 352 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Jan 2007, 352 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Reviews

Page 8 of 10
There are currently 80 reader reviews for Three Cups of Tea
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Eva

Inspiring story - poorly written
I am very impressed with the inspiring and uplifting quest of one man to make a difference. The subject of this book motivates and owes but the quality writing is so poor that I find myself having to put the book down to recover. Most sentences start with "Mortenson....." The plot is very linear and it ignores many other characters that could have brought more dimension and interest to the story line.
bianca

a need for more
Three Cups of Tea is for the most part an inspirational novel that goes beyond Mr. Greg Mortenson as a person, but this book is in need of more. It put me to sleep in the beginning wondering when this book was going to have a climax.
J PHILLIPS

Interesting person but poorly written
I bought Three Cups of Tea on the advice of a friend and was surprised both by its popularity and the poor writing. Mortenson and his adventures are idealized by the author to the point of ridiculousness. The writing is extremely cliche, although the subject may be genuine.
barbara

read a better story
I am sure that Greg Mortenson is doing wonderful things in Pakistan, however the writer of his story does him no justice. I could hardly read the book because of it's disjointed writing and sappy descriptions. If you want a great read about another great adventurer, read "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidderer...the story of Paul Farmer. Now there's a journalist that can write!
Doug S

Three Hundred Thirty Two Wasted pages
This book is about a great story, but written by a journalist that did not turn it into a great story, but a waste of paper. From the moment I began reading this book, I knew it was going to be a book that I would not be able to forget soon enough. As a reader, I look at the story, and the way the story is told. The story is incredible, but the way it is told is very poor. The main author; David Oliver Relin, does not know how to write a book. Am I the greatest author? No, but I do know a good author when I read one. Relin wrote this as if he just needed to fill up space on a piece of paper. He did a good job of that. The book goes on and on about the same things. We understand it. He was cold and lost. We understand it. He found tremendous love and respect for the village that brought him in. What I don't understand is how this book is loved by so many.
Dee

Subtle as a Mack Truck
I can save you the agony of plodding through this badly written book; the book's messages can be easily summed up as follows: Fight the war on terrorism with books and by the way, Greg Mortenson is a hero. What could have been a truly inspiring story is told so badly that by the end of the book I found myself doubting the character of Mr. Mortenson. The author tells you repeatedly of Mr. Mortenson's humility, (by the way, he is also a hero) yet would a truly humble man allow such an obvious piece of self promotion to bear his name? Somehow I can't quite see Mother Theresa, Mr. Mortenson's self-professed hero, allowing her name on the cover of a similar book. In any event, a disappointment as the book, in the hands of a more skilled (or at least more subtle) writer, could have delivered an important message. Oh, and Greg Mortenson is a hero.
Madame J

Miss, not a hit
While the message is fascinating and uplifting, the writing is so dreadful that I could hardly bring myself to finish the book.
Hutch

Too much of a good thing
Great mission--poor medium. Relin's overblown, melodramatic and unselective writing makes what could be an inspiring story a drudgery to read. Too much detail, too much hero worship, too much redundancy. Characters are flat - a missed opportunity to introduce a culture to a world of readers. Half of this book would have been enough. But kudos to the work of CAI.

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