Thursday, December 29, 2011

"Three Cups of Deceit: How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His Way" by Jon Krakauer

77 pages

Greg Mortenson, author of "Three Cups of Tea" and "Stones Into Schools," has built a global reputation as a selfless humanitarian and children’s crusader and been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Here, Krakauer claims that Mortenson is not what he appears to be. He writes Mortenson has not only fabricated substantial parts of his bestselling books but has also misused millions of dollars donated by unsuspecting admirers like Krakauer himself.

I loved the inspiring story Mortenson shared in his books, so I was terribly disappointed when I first heard of the allegations Krakauer was bringing against Mortenson. I read the book because I wanted to hear what Krakauer had to say and try to figure out if they had merit. After reading this book, I'm still not sure. Krakauer accused Mortenson of some pretty serious things, and it seems that he's done his research. However, he doesn't cite all of his sources (there are a lot of quotes from "anonymous"), so it seems like it's Krakauer's word against Mortenson's. There doesn't seem that there's any reason for Krakauer to make these things up. I assume that at some point some third party will investigate all of the allegations, and I'll reserve my final judgment until then.

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