In the past few days, 60 Minutes and Jon Krakauer have called into question Greg Mortenson and his book, Three Cups of Tea. I read the book several years ago and heard Mr. Mortenson speak just last year. It was quite an evening. He was dynamic, articulate and passionate about education in Pakistan and Afghanistan and upon entering the event, envelopes were passed out should you wish to make a donation to the Central Asia Institute to further the cause. Whether he has experienced or accomplished all that he claims in his books is now under question as is the financial management of his nonprofit. I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt and think that there are minor discrepancies to clear up, but when interviewed about the allegations he commented that he is not a journalist, did not take a lot of notes and places the blame on his coauthor.
So now what?
Somebody somewhere is teaching a kid to read and opening a door to an exciting world. We’ll never know their name and hundreds of people aren’t likely to go out in the evening to hear their story. That is grace and should they wobble or fall from it, nobody will even notice.