fun fact of the day...

what's in title?

the first edition of this book had the subtitle "One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism One School at a Time" and sold 20,000 copies. when the next edition came out, mortenson made the publisher change the subtitle to "One Man's Mission to Promote Peace One School at a Time" and it became a best seller.

mortenson said the following: "If you just fight terrorism, it's based in fear. If you promote peace, it's based in hope."

how much do you think the change in the subtitle effected how his book sold?

slow poke

so i'm one of the above that checked that i'm still reading, don't spoil!

being a procrastinator, i'm aiming to finish this weekend. i'm only at the part where he has finally gotten all of his supplies to the location for the school. i've liked it thus far, but i'm assuming it gets a bit more exciting at this point. am i right? as fun as it is to hear about him bartering for nails and plywood - i'm glad that stage of the book is over.

when i'm done i'll check back in here for some insight.

Key moments for me in Three Cups of Tea...

I dogeared some pages in Three Cups of Tea, and I wanted to share them.

I loved on page 257 (paperback 2006 edition) when Syed Abbas shared his reactions to 9/11 in a school inauguration. He said, "We share in the sorrow as people weep and suffer in America today as we inaugurate this school. Those who have committed this evil act against the innocent, the women and children, to create thousands of widows and orphans do not do so in the name of Islam. By the grace of Allah the Almighty, may justice be served upon them.. I request America to look into our hearts and see that the great majority of us are not terrorists, but good and simple people."

I love that he spoke about Islam, and it sickens me to think of the hatered that many Americans had/have for Muslims (post 9/11). It was so easy for many Americans to direct their anger at an entire religion or geographic region, when certainly all Muslims cannot be pooled into one category of "Taliban," "Al qaeda," "Muslim extremists," etc.

One part of the book made me burst out laughing. It was on page 272 when American Intelligence officers were interviewing Mortenson right after 9/11. I'll bold the part that made me burst out laughing.

The intelligence officers: "You know what will happen to you if you don't tell me the truth?"

Mortenson: "I know what will happen."

The intelligence officers: "Okay. Are any of the parents of your students terrorists?"

Mortenson: "There's no way I could know that.. I have thousands of students."

The intelligence officers: "Where's Osama?"

Also, I feel embarrassed, but I learned a lot from this book about fatwas and madrassas. I didn't realize that madrassas were where many of the Taliban were schooled. It shows the importance of non-religious/extremist based education in the region.

References

Mortenson, G., & Relin, D. O. (2007). Three cups of tea: One man's mission to promote peace -- one school at a time. New York: Penguin Books.

Three Cups of Tea

Our first book is Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.

Helpful resources:
1. Three Cups of Tea website
2. Central Asia Institute
3. Pennies For Peace

More information on the education of girls in Afghanistan and Pakistan:
1. Afghan Girls, Scarred by Acid, Defy Terror, Embracing School
2. Afghan Girls Missing Out on Education
3. Attacks on Schools Imperil Afghan Girls' Education
4. Afghan school empty after acid attack on girls

Related articles:
1. Parade Magazine (mentioned at end of book)