LISNews: Librarian News

Greg Mortenson responds to '60 Minutes' questions about his 'Three Cups of Tea' story

Did Three Cups of Tea Author Greg Mortenson Fabricate Much of His Memoir (and Charity Work)? (NY Magazine)

So what if he didn't build so many schools or didn't do what he said he's helped thousands of peopel read etc. Not realising that by admitting he hadn't done those things he hadn't helped thousands of peeople!

Fairly easy to see if schools exist I would have thought.

One: Were there schools built in Afghanistan and Pakistan?
Two: If there are schools built in Afghanistan and Pakistan, did Mortenson build them?
If the answer to both questions is "yes", then what is all the fuzz about?
I personally object to one statement made in the interview. The one where they accuse Mortenson of spending more money in outreach than actually building schools. It could be very true, but what many people don't realize is that it is very expensive to do outreach here in the US and very cheap to build a building in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The problem is that, even though it is cheap to build a school there, the residents of these towns don't have enough funds to build them by themselves. Just by comparing the cost of living in both the US and in the Afghan-Pakistani region explains the spending disparity.
What if the story he uses to raise money for schools is exaggerated or even fictitious? I can bring at least one example (does anyone remember James Frey) in which a fictitious story is passed as real solely for the purpose of personal monetary gain and fame. At least Mortenson has built schools with some of the proceedings.