BOOK: Three Cups of Tea

Given that the state of Iowa is swarming with presidential hopefuls, this book has never been more timely. For what it's worth, I've heard nothing in all the rhetoric blanketing our state that remotely resembles a war "exit strategy" of this sort--one that actually takes into consideration the true rebuilding of those places we systematically just destroyed.

The book is the story of Greg Mortenson's effort to educate the rural people, in particular girls, in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It's a strategy that was proven to work as a means of empowering people in that region long before we dropped the first bombs in Afghanistan. It's a strategy that politicians should be talking about as they throw terms around like exit strategy and point fingers at one another for who said what and supported what and when. Mortenson is a guy who walks the talk of self accountability at a level that most of us will only ever read/dream about.
I have about 25 pages to go and then will write a more thorough review, but I had three friends call me in the past week and ask for reading suggestions (its no secret that I am blowing through books in these chilly days of no rooms to paint/no bike to ride!). This is one for the "must read" list.