I have seen some headlines in the UK papers about Mortensen, but know nothing about him. Why the 3 Cups of Tea book title?

This from Wikipedia -

The book's title comes from a Balti proverb: "The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family.

I didn't read the whole book - it seemed to me to be more about Mortensen than about problems in Pakistan, and I became bored. Apparently I was in the minority, as the book was/is a huge bestseller. I am completely unsurprised at the allegations that most of the money went to "expenses" and not building schools, and that some of the schools were either not built or were built by others. I had a "something is rotten in Denmark" feeling; and in this I do have company.

I started the book, admired the ideas in it, but could not finish it. I thought it redundant and wondered why all the fanfare died down so quickly. It seemed to be about the author's grandstanding, so I never bothered to find and read his second book.

I started it about a year ago, and it didn't grab me at all. So I put it back on the stack. Now I guess I can put it in the library sale box. Hurray, one more item gleaned from the house!

My book club read this book but I found it unbearably boring and didn't make it very far. I had a general impression of the kind of earnest virtue that is sure it has found The Way, an attitude that repels me. Truth be told, I didn't read enough of the book to know if my reaction was justified. Snap judgments are as much about our own prejudices as they are about reality.

Rosefolly

I read the book, and though I agree that it was a bit boring and not so well written, I was moved by what Mortenson had done and his dedication to educating girls in Afghanistan. I had the opportunity to hear him speak at the University of Missouri. He was inspiring and a lot of students appeared to be very moved by the example he set. Thus, I was sorely disappointed to hear of the 60 Minutes report.

I read an interesting editorial in the New York Times that, although a self-justification for the writer, presented a perhaps more balanced view of Mortenson. Still there is no denying that his alleged misuse (or poor use) of funds is inexcusable.

Kathy

Here is a link that might be useful: 'Three Cups of Tea,' Spilled

Thank you for that article, it is always best to hear both sides, or at least another side. It also points out something of an inherent problem, which is that everybody and his brother seems to start their own foundation, when it usually is more efficient to work with one that is already established and doing good work, as the author of the article decided to do. And that a good part of the problem is that Mortensen claimed that he was working efficiently and wasn't. It isn't easy to run a large charitable foundation, any more than is a large (or small) company. And Mortensen has done a lot good, whatever else may be said.

But it is things like this that have driven me to give my charitable dollars locally, to individuals and small charities, my local church, friends who are trying very hard to help people and animals on their own. I have become very suspicious of large charities, with a few exceptions. It seems like it is the large organizations that raise awareness, and the small guys that do the actual work.

Actually, and this is very snarky, the controversy is more interesting to me than the book was.

Interesting article. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. The sad truth is that the press which is the foundation of our government is too often more interested in sensationalism than in truth. Chasing ratings vs education disadvantaged women, which has more value? Besides, you'd think that if he were writing a fictionalized account, it would not have been such a dull and tedious book.

Perhaps what he needs to do is hire a fund manager and set up a board to oversee the manager. He should be on the board -- it is after all his vision -- but have people who understand money there as well.

Speaking of donating locally, lots of times that money is used very inefficiently as well. I have read that professional fund raisers take 85% of the donated money and only give 15% of it to the actual charity. That has made me very leery.

Rosefolly

Thanks for posting that article, Kathy. I've learned to be careful about making donations. There's a website called Charity Navigator that rates the effectiveness of various charities, but they don't always list the charities I'm inquiring about. When they do list a charity, they give a good explanation of how effective the charity is and how much of the money collected goes to the administration of the organization. I'll post a link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Charity Navigator

great to read these comments - about a year ago I asked RP if anyone had read this but there was no response then. Now I have some ideas I will leave it in the bookstore. Thanks

jan