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What Members Thought
As a person of Pakistani descent, I was really touched by Greg's affection and advocacy for the Pakistani rural poor. I enjoyed the stories about the village elders and the tenacious young Pakistani women, who are pioneers for their education.
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Greg Mortenson must be difficult to live with: a driven guy with a "fluid sense of time", frequently absent from home, and when he is there unable to sleep and down in his basement working on his next plans-his wife must be a saint!
But 5 stars for his chosen work. The book is not without its faults, but as a true story of how much one person can accomplish with a dream and the best of intentions, it is a must-read.
He appears to care little for his personal safety or health, and once he is on a ...more
But 5 stars for his chosen work. The book is not without its faults, but as a true story of how much one person can accomplish with a dream and the best of intentions, it is a must-read.
He appears to care little for his personal safety or health, and once he is on a ...more
This was a very interesting book. I enjoyed reading about Greg Mortenson and his efforts to educate children in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. I liked the glimpse into the lifestyles and cultures of the people that Mortenson has encountered.
After mountain climber Greg Mortenson fails an attempted climb of a mountain in Pakistan known as K2, he becomes separated from his party and lost on the way down. Arriving in the small, isolated village of Korphe, Mortenson is greeted with hospit ...more
After mountain climber Greg Mortenson fails an attempted climb of a mountain in Pakistan known as K2, he becomes separated from his party and lost on the way down. Arriving in the small, isolated village of Korphe, Mortenson is greeted with hospit ...more
By Far the Worst Listening Experience
Words cannot express how much I hated this book. It is so unskillfully written that it's laughable. The author views his subject as manna from heaven (like it's so adorable when Mortenson shows up 10 days late for an important meeting) and the hero-worship is awful. Top that off with the world's worst narrator and you have the trifecta that makes this the world's worst audio book of all time. I am not faulting the work being done by Mortenson. But it could ha ...more
Words cannot express how much I hated this book. It is so unskillfully written that it's laughable. The author views his subject as manna from heaven (like it's so adorable when Mortenson shows up 10 days late for an important meeting) and the hero-worship is awful. Top that off with the world's worst narrator and you have the trifecta that makes this the world's worst audio book of all time. I am not faulting the work being done by Mortenson. But it could ha ...more
While on a climbing expedition in Pakistan, American Greg Mortenson gets lost and while trying to find his way back, he stumbles upon a remote mountain village called Korphe. The people there help Greg and in gratitude, he promises to come back and build a school. This promise turns into his life-long work and he ends up coming back every year to build more schools. It's very inspiring and anyone who reads it might be encouraged to want to help others, whether it be here at home or abroad.
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The writing itself is simple and not that engaging, but the story itself was motivating enough to get me to the end. You have this guy in his 30s, who started with almost nothing - living in his car, going to the gym for showers, working night shifts - and in the course of five years he's head of a non-profit organization to build school in order to bring education to the remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. And I looked up his website and he's still doing it! The book is a quick read, and
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This actually a really great, inspiring book, but I often struggle with the slow speed of non-fiction so I kept putting it up and putting it down. The story of how a failed attempt at K2 turned a mountain climber into an activist to build schools for girls in Pakistan.
With the continued struggle in that area of the world it was nice to get an understanding of the culture other than just as a harbor for terrorist. It is also a wonderful example of both what a single person can do as well as proo ...more
With the continued struggle in that area of the world it was nice to get an understanding of the culture other than just as a harbor for terrorist. It is also a wonderful example of both what a single person can do as well as proo ...more
Just plain incredible. I greatly enjoyed reading the book.
Most people have heard about this book already, so I'll skip the professional review and just add my personall rave:
Wow! Talk about too good to be true, I was amazed that this guy is a real person. I'm always afraid that people who become heroes to the American public will get torn to shreds by the media or their own dark past. I really hope that doesn't happen with this man, he's an example to us all.
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Wow! Talk about too good to be true, I was amazed that this guy is a real person. I'm always afraid that people who become heroes to the American public will get torn to shreds by the media or their own dark past. I really hope that doesn't happen with this man, he's an example to us all.
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I loved this book. I was a Peace Corps volunteer and Greg Mortenson represents the ideals of the organization even though he just "fell into the task" when he got lost and sick in Pakistan on a mountain climb, he could have been a PVC in a remote location. I shared this book with my daughter Becca who was a PCV at the time. She also has reviewed this book.
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This is my kind of book. I love reading about people who make a positive difference in the world. The writing style is not the most engaging, but the stories are miraculous.
May 08, 2008
Jenn
marked it as to-read
Jul 02, 2008
Misty
marked it as to-read
Aug 07, 2008
Sabrina
marked it as to-read
Jul 14, 2009
Jennifer Eklund
marked it as to-read
Oct 22, 2009
Catina Hadijski
marked it as to-read
Sep 29, 2010
Stormy
marked it as to-read
Aug 28, 2011
Jaime
marked it as to-read
