"Three Cups of Tea"

I had the pleasure to meet Greg Mortenson here in Naples last winter when he appeared for a WGCU interview and books signing at Mina Hemingway's* bookstore (which, let me add, I highly recommend.)

I met Greg and then I read his best-seller, "Three Cups of Tea," about his adventures building schools in the most remote Pakistani and Afghan villages.

I'm thunderstruck by this humble man's world-shaking accomplishments. So much so that I proudly nominated him for an Ashoka Fellowship just last week (http://www.ashoka.org/). "Dr. Greg," as he is often called in the Himalayas, is on track for a Nobel Peace Prize. You read it here first.

To learn more, read this Op-Ed Column in The New York Times by Nicholas Kristof:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/opinion/13kristof.html?_r=2&th&emc=th&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Excerpted from the NYT piece:

"So a lone Montanan staying at the cheapest guest houses has done more to advance U.S. interests in the region than the entire military and foreign policy apparatus of the Bush administration."

Militarily, I'm no dove. But this article - and the book itself - makes you think. It seems Mortenson has found a more effective way of keeping us safe from terrorism.



*Yes, that's Earnest's granddaughter. Welcome to Naples.