One day Greg Mortenson set out to climb K2 - the world's second highest mountain - in honour of his younger sister, but when another member of his group fell ill, they turned around and Greg became lost in the mountains of Pakistan. He wandered into a poor village, where the chief and his people took him in. Moved by their kindness, Greg promised to return and build a school for the children.
This is the remarkable story of how, against all the odds, Greg built not only one but more than sixty schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and how he dedicated his life to establishing literacy and peace, and understanding.
About the Author
Greg Mortenson is the co-founder and director of the nonprofit Central Asia Institute www.ikat.org and founder of Pennies For Peace www.penniesforpeace.org.
He is the co-author of Three Cups of Tea www.threecupsoftea.com, which has been a New York Times nonfiction paperback bestseller for overfour years, and published in 49 countries, and also the author of Stones Into Schools, Promoting Peace With Books, Not Bombs in Afghanistan and Pakistan www.stonesintoschools.com.
Since a 1993 climb of Pakistan's K2, Mortenson has worked in rural Afghanistan and Pakistan to promote education and literacy, to establish 178 schools, especially for girls, which provide education to over 68,000 students, including 54,000 females.
David Oliver Relin is an award-winning writer and contributor to Parade and Skiing Magazine. For two decades, Relin has focused on reporting about social issues and their effect on children, both in the U.S., and around the world. He lives in Portland, Oregon.