Book Review: Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

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AppId is over the quota

'Three Cups of Tea' is a remarkably interesting and unbelievably honest tale of Mortenson's mission to build schools for the children of the most remotest villages of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Honouring the memory of a deceased sister landed Mortenson at the foot of king K2 (the second highest mountain) in northern Pakistan where a failed attempt and an injury led him to a small village at the foot of the mountain. Inspired by the hospitality of the simple village people and their simple life, Mortenson promised to build a school for the children of the village. After a year spent in collecting donations and resources, Mortenson returned to Khorpe to fulfill his promise and ended up building not one but more than 55 schools in the cold northern terrain of Pakistan. Building schools for children who have never seen a school is like fulfilling a dream of generations of people dwelling at the highest valleys of the world.

Mortenson's simple and straightforward approach towards building Khorpe School instills a new vision and a new hope in readers. As much as Central Asian Institute (CAI's) work is impressive, Mortenson's attitude towards fulfilling his first promise with the Khorpe people and transforming this single promise in to life long CAI's goal is deeply inspiring.

It is admiring to get a different glimpse of Afghanistan and the Afghan people. It is surprising to read that a country worst affected in the aftermath of 9/11 and the rough Afghans who have become accustomed to guns and fighting after living through decades of warfare could welcome a person from their 'enemy country' and support him with their lives.

In spite of all the criticisms and allegations that surrounds the book and its author, this book is worth reading especially with reference to the culture of education especially girls education in Pakistan...it describes the importance and the logic behind promoting girls education where educated boys move to cities for good jobs and educated girls remain inside home to nurture and polish lives of future generations...it will inspire you to redefine your attitude towards impoverished people...it will inspire you to reach out and make a difference into their lives

I hope that we each do our part to leave them (children of Pakistan and Afghanistan) a legacy of peace instead of the perpetual cycle of violence, war, terrorism, racism, exploitation, and bigotry that we have yet to conquer".

The author works for the Aga Khan Foundation Pakistan in its aim to promote education especially girls education and Early Childhood Development for the ultra poors of the society.

International Affairs Is An Excellent Information Source

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Anyone who likes to keep up with world affairs and America's international relationships with the other countries of the world will find International Affairs by Davis K. Thanjan to be a fascinating read. The volume combines interesting facts about the countries it discusses with an astute eye towards how they influence the United States and vice-versa. It's part an a book of facts, and in part a political analysis of how much influence other nations have upon America and the reasons why they do. If you're looking for an excellent reference tool to help you research information about the U.S. foreign policy and the role it plays in shaping international politics, trade, and war and peace around the globe, then International Affairs is a book made especially with you in mind.

The book begins with a chapter on the world as a whole, and then each of the following chapters focuses on the various world and government organizations and the different countries as individual entities and as they interrelate with the U.S.A. So, you can read about such facts as how the world's countries rank in their oil consumption and production, GNP, and their coal reserves. How many nuclear bombs have been detonated since 1945? More than 2,000. How many nations are in the Arab League? 21. Which nation was suspended from it in 2011? Libya. Who owns the sea beds, if anyone? Read the book to find out!

Do you know which countries make up the Euro Zone? What is the European Economic Area (EEA)? Did you know that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) "is one of the largest international security organizations"? But, despite this, they have largely failed to provide much of a degree of security. Thanjan's book mentions several instances of times it has failed in its stated aim to provide security, which makes the organization's relevance "questionable."

The organization of the chapters of International Affairs makes it very easy to look up wichever region or country you'd like to read information about. Sometimes, as you skim through the book, your eye will be attracted to other information about some region of the planet that you might not have though you'd be interested in reading about, only to discover fascinating facts that make you want to stop and read them.

One of the many examples of this that I encountered was when I was reading the chapter on "Eastern Europe." I hadn't expected to read about some of the reasons why "Russia is retreating from the democratic process," but I did, and learned that there are really several reason why. For instance, the election of 2007 "was corrupt, unfair and failed to meet the international standards." Also, there's been a crackdown on religious freedoms, and human rights violations are mounting. According to the author: "The rule of the law and the legal system is manipulated by the government." Could Russia be heading back down the road to being regarded as one of the most oppressive countries of the world?

International Affairs by Davis K. Thanjan is one of the most excellent reference books I've encountered to give you facts about the countries of the world and how they relate to the U.S.A. It's not necessarily a book that you will read cover-to-cover, as it deals with tons of facts and figures that may not pertain directly to what you might want to know; but, it does give one a broad general knowledge about international affairs. It's invaluable to discover the numerous ways the different countries of the world interrelate with each other and America. If you are interested in world politics, and the U.S.A.'s role in international affairs, then International Affairs by Davis K. Thanjan is a book I'd highly recommend.

Reviewed by Douglas R. Cobb for http://www.bestsellersworld.com/

The True Story of Catch-22

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AppId is over the quota

In 1944, as the Allied Forces in Italy press toward the War's European resolution, the U.S. 488th Bomb Squadron is keeping doggedly to its mission. The lives of these men of this 488th are following the dictates of the war; there are skills to learn and hone, fears to conquer, and, of course, missions to fly. What they are unaware of is that, as they focus on their daily lives, one of their members is focusing upon them. He is absorbing a different type of information; information that is to serve him well years after the war claims its last son and daughter. Keeping all of his senses alert to his surroundings, 488th bombardier Joseph Heller is absorbing impressions that will later astonish the literary world when he pens a phenomenal novel that explodes across the planet in the 1960's. Welcome, world, to Catch-22!

This richness of memories, of knowledge that he has absorbed fuels his pages. In varying degrees his war-mates morph into wildly factitious characters trapped in the chaos of Catch-22 while deadly missions become... well, still, deadly missions.

While Heller usually chooses to deny similarities between his clever fictional characters and his war-mates, to the men of the 340th Bomb Group, of which Heller's 488th is a part, Heller's offspring are instantly recognizable. In a wild and imaginative frenzy, characters such as the hard-drinking, vengeful, and disillusioned Chief White Half Oat, young, sliced-in-half Kid Sampson, shrieking, frenzied Hungry Joe, and a slew of others blast skyward from the solid roots of their real life counterparts.

It is now more than half of a century since Catch-22's publication. Currently, the surviving men of the 57th Bomb Wing, who comprise the 310th, 319th, 321st, and Heller's 340th Bomb Groups, will still chuckle or grimace as they discuss or deride this book while celebrating at their annual WWII reunions. It is a book that has become an American classic as it pokes huge fun at a circumstance that took a monumental toll on the lives of these men. While they acknowledge and can even respect the profound impact of Catch-22, still, it is at too great an expense of those who steadily have put their lives on the line, as has Joe Heller, mission after mission, for a cause of such magnitude. They find it difficult to embrace this levity even decades after the fact.

Now nearly all the characters upon whom Heller drew for his masterpiece are gone - Cathcart-Chapman, Dreedle-Knapp, Piltchard-Dyer, Daneeka-Marino, Havermyer-Myer, Major Major Major Major- Major Major, Tappman-Cooper, and the rest. All have passed now.

All but one: Wells-Wren Catch-22's sole survivor.

It is Captain George L. Wells, an extraordinary pilot, who weaves throughout a new book by Casemate Publishing, The True Story of Catch-22, is due to be released this Spring, From his first mission, October 26, 1943, to his last on March 19, 1945, George kept a small black mission book, now well-thumbed. Every one of his historic 102 missions is accurately recorded and, with the regularity of almost daily flights, each of these missions will keep step with the pages of this book. True-life George, Bill, Bob and, creator Joe funnel into the loopy, rogue, and ripe-to-bursting factitious personalities of the humble, capable CAPT. WREN, the naked-in-the-ranks Lt. Yossarian, the 'Black-Eye' or 'Feather-in-my-Cap' Col. Cathcart and the arbitrary, unpredictable Gen. Dreedle. Even though Heller's fully developed characters stand solely, solidly, and uniquely on their own merits, still it must be acknowledged that any resemblance to persons living or dead is, in fact, actual.

The True Story of Catch-22 is divided into thirds. Part 1 highlights four solid Air Force officers who Joseph Heller blindsided when he creatively massaged them into four of Catch-22's heavy hitters. But to paraphrase slightly, "Truth is as fascinating as fiction." Part 2 rewards our brain's right side with full-color illustrations of Catch-22's factitious spawn contrasting strongly, on facing pages, with our actual WWII heroes brought to life in previously unpublished photos and accompanied by first person narratives. Lastly, Part 3 goes to the heart of this book as twelve men of the 340th relate twelve true tales. In miniature, here lies the true story.

George speaks for all of these aging warriors, these passing threads of our history, when he says,

"I am surprised at being among the last of these men standing. I am being allowed to bid a respectful and loving farewell to each of these brave, honorable, and dedicated men, these friends and brothers with whom I am forever bonded.

And that, of course, includes you, Joe."

Patricia Chapman Meder is an author and a nationally and internationally exhibiting artist. She combines her artistic skills with her current literary focus centering on a segment of the Second World War. She holds a BA in Fine Arts from the University of Colorado with post-graduate studies throughout Europe.