Summary Of Three Shape Of Tea By Greg Mortenson

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Greg Mortenson was widely known for building schools for children in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He portrayed himself to be a charitable and honest man, but in reality he was deceitful and cowardly. Mortenson was accused of publishing false accounts of his accomplishments and struggles into his novel. Many of Greg Mortensons claims in Three Cups of Tea are false and call all of his accomplishments into question. In order to gain sympathy and attention, Mortenson fabricated many stories within his novel. He first catches the public’s attention by depicting himself to be a weak, helpless man who failed to climb K2 and then lost his way on his descent, stumbling into a village called Korphe. In reality, this was not the case at all. According …show more content…

He began the CAI in order to create an opportunity for people to make donations to build schools for children in Pakistan and Afghanistan. People were impressed with the idea however, what they were not aware of, was exactly what their money was being used for. The CAI lacked overview and rarely issued financial statements. The American Institute of Philanthropy investigated CAI and realized the non-profit charity spends more money promoting books and advertising for schools then they do actually constructing schools. According to 60 Minutes in 2009, the charity spent $1.5 million on advertising to promote Mortensons books and $1.3 million on travel expenses and private jets. The donations made to the CAI were more often used for Mortensons personal business affairs then to educate …show more content…

Several major donors withdrew their support from the CAI because of the allegations made against Mortenson. Not only did people stop donating but the employees complained that the charity was too disorganized. A former employee referred to the CAI as Mortenson’s “personal ATM” (Kirchick). The first half of Mortenson’s book explains why he was inspired to build schools and how he overcame obstacles to get where he is. He captured the reader’s hearts with his story about how he arrived to Korphe and then once again when he was kidnapped. The readers were able to relate and sympathize with him however, in reality it was all a lie. Mortenson gained followers and fans through his tragic stories in his book and now that his lies are out he is losing respect from everyone. Mortenson began hurting the charity more than he was able to help. His lies not only led to fewer donations but also to the suicide of his co author David Oliver Relin. He committed suicide because he was overwhelmed and drowning in the lies that Mortenson created (Daly). Mortenson spun a web of lies and Relin was unfortunately trapped in them. He had no part in the fabrication of the book and he could not handle the pressure. Mortenson’s lies ultimately led to the death of Relin. Lastly, his lies led to innocent people being harassed for committing a crime they didn’t commit. The alleged kidnappers were

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