Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

Review by Katy

http://whatktreads.blogspot.com/

This is a pretty amazing story. Three Cups of Tea is the true story of Greg Mortenson, who upon failing to summit K2 stumbles quite ill and emaciated into Korphe, a remote village in Pakistan. The people of this village nurse him back to health, and he falls in love with them. During his stay, he asks to visit the school, and is brought to a large field where 84 children were writing in the dirt with sticks. No teacher, no books, just the children studying as best they could. The village leader, Haji Ali, explained that they couldn't afford to pay a teacher, so a teacher comes to the village occasionally, and the children study on their own the rest of the time. Greg promises to come back to Korphe and build the village a school. And he does.

There is so much to say about the work that Mortenson does. He is the director of the Central Asia Institute (CAI), which (as of 2007) has established more than 61 schools in rural areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. After he learns that providing girls with at least a 5th grade education will help prevent infant mortality, population explosion, and overall health and sanitation of a village, he began focusing more towards (though not exclusively) girl's education. He also helps fund projects for clean water and women's halls (where all the local women can get together to sew, etc). He figures that with the unhealthy water that they have now, one in three children don't even make it to their first birthday in these villages. You can't educate someone that isn't there.

I had the opportunity to hear Mortenson speak at a local event. He seems like an honest, humble man doing what he can to help people he loves. He really doesn't seem to be in this for the "glory." He showed a picture of a school, and said that he was proud of this school because it had taken almost 8 years to convince the local leaders to allow it to be built. He is in it for the long term and he is willing to learn the customs and mores of the area in order to build a school that they will be proud of and use.

Mortenson also had a lot of interesting facts about the importance of education in these areas. He said that people that decide to become suicide bombers are without hope. They see no other way of succeeding in life. By providing an education to people in rural areas, they are given some hope.

The one thing that I didn't like about this book is the writing. First of all, it's written in third person, which is not what I was expecting, considering the main character is listed as the first author.

But, even without that little complaint, the writing really isn't that great. It sometimes takes a long time to say simple things and that can get really frustrating. There are also a lot of non-English words used throughout, and not all of them are fully explained. Possibly they are terms that everyone should know, but I didn't, and I got tired of trying to figure some of them out.

However, even with this small(ish) complaint, I highly recommend the Three Cups of Tea. It gives you lots of food for thought and would make a great discussion book for a book club.

The Jane Austen Handbook by Margaret C. Sullivan

Title: The Jane Austen Handbook: A Sensible Yet Elegant Guide to Her World

Author: Margaret C. Sullivan

Review by Jeanette at a Comfy Chair and a Good Book

Genre: Non-fiction, Jane Austen
Pages: 224
Date Finished: 29 Feb 2008
My Rating: A

This is a delightful, charming, humorous and informative book, packed with information on Regency England. As the publisher said, this book is "for all those readers who dream about living in Regency England, The Jane Austen Handbook offers step-by-step instructions for proper comportment in the early nineteenth century. You'll discover:
How to Become an Accomplished Lady
How to Run a Great House
How to Indicate Interest in a Gentleman Without Seeming Forward
How to Throw a Dinner Party
How to Choose and Buy Clothing

Full of practical directions for navigating the travails of Regency life, this charming illustrated book also serves as a companion for present-day readers, explaining the English class system, currency, dress, and the nuances of graceful living."
You'll also learn just how rich Darcy really was and how much he would be worth today. I thought Sullivan explained entail better than anything else I have ever read about the subject. I feel like I finally understand entail and the hows and whys of its use.
All of the little day to day things that made up the life of the landed gentry during Austen's life time are covered. The writing is light and easy, less scholarly and more fun but just as informative and accurate as a more scholarly book.
I loved the tongue-in-cheek references to the novels that are found throughout the book. I found this approach humorous and enjoyable and almost felt like I was sharing an inside joke between myself, Margaret Sullivan and Jane Austen. For example, when writing about child rearing, Sullivan wrote that "if all else fails, liberal slices of cake solve many child-rearing problems." Could she be referring to Mrs. Musgroves approach to her grandsons that is found in Persuasion? This is just one example of such humorous little tidbits found throughout the book.
The illustrations by Kathryn Rathke make the book even more delightful and the wonderful appendices complete the book. There you find a short bio of Jane Austen, a glossary of Regency terms, synopses of each novel, a listing of film adaptations, a bibliography and a list of web site and discussion groups.
I checked this wonderful book out from the library but will be adding it to my Jane Austen book collection soon.

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

The Hiding Place, written by Corrie ten Boom, is a true story about the author's experiences during the holocaust. Corrie ten Boom was a leader in the Underground. With the help of her family, she kept many Jews safe from the Nazis. However, she was eventually caught, and along with her family, thrown into prison and a concentration camp.

This inspirational story is about how Corrie found faith and held onto it for dear life. She witnessed many miracles, but the greatest miracle to me, is that Corrie and her sister, Betsie, were able to maintain such a positive outlook because of their unwavering faith in God. I mean, Betsie prays IN GRATITUDE for the fleas in the bunker, which do, amazingly enough, turn out to have a good purpose.

Here is a brief excerpt:

"Corrie Ten Boom stood naked with her older sister Betsie, watching a concentration camp matron beating a prisoner. "Oh, the poor woman," Corrie cried. "Yes. May God forgive her," Betsie replied. And, once again, Corrie realized that it was for the souls of the brutal Nazi guards that her sister prayed."

The Hiding Place is a life-changing classic. It is a quick read. Although it is about the holocaust, it is not deeply depressing but enlightening and uplifting. I hope you enjoy it! It is one of the best books I have ever read.