Books
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
“Here we drink three cups of tea to do business: the first you are a stranger, the second you become a friend, and the third, you join our family; and for our family, we are prepared to do anything – even die.” –Haji Ali, Korphe Village Chief, Pakistan.
This astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his remarkable humanitarian campaign in the Taliban’s backyard was a #1 New York Times Bestseller and winner of the Kiriyama Prize. It beautifully illustrates how struggling with cultural differences and overcoming cultural divides can achieve great results like peace, education and unity.
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Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Journey to Change the World... One Child at aTime
(The Young Reader's Edition) (Paperback) by Sarah Thomson (Adapter), Greg Mortenson
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Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Greg Mortenson to be released December 1, 2009
Over the past sixteen years, Greg Mortenson, through his nonprofit Central Asia Institute (CAI), has worked to promote peace through education by establishing more than 130 schools, most of them for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The story of how this remarkable humanitarian campaign began was told in his bestselling 2006 book, Three Cups of Tea. Mortenson’s philosophies about building relationships, empowering communities, and educating girls have struck a powerful chord. Hundreds of communities and universities, as well as several branches of the U.S. military, have used Three Cups of Tea as a common read.
Just as Three Cups of Tea began with a promise—to build a school in Korphe, Pakistan—so too does Mortenson’s new book. In 1999, Kirghiz horsemen from Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor rode into Pakistan and secured a promise from Mortenson to construct a school in an isolated pocket of the Pamir Mountains known as Bozai Gumbad. Mortenson could not build that school before constructing many others, and that is the story he tells in this dramatic new book. Picking up where Three Cups of Tea left off in late 2003, Stones into Schools traces the CAI’s efforts to work in a whole new country, the secluded northeast corner of Afghanistan. Mortenson describes how he and his intrepid manager, Sarfraz Khan, barnstormed around Badakhshan Province and the Wakhan Corridor, moving for weeks without
“What Greg understands better than most—and what he practices more than anyone else I know—is the simple truth that all of us are better off when all of us have the opportunity to learn, especially our children. By helping them learn and grow, he’s shaping the very future of a region and giving hope to an entire generation.” —Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
“This week . . . I watched Greg Mortenson, the famed author of Three Cups of Tea, open one of his schools for girls in this remote Afghan village in the Hindu Kush mountains. I must say, after witnessing the delight in the faces of those little Afghan girls crowded three to a desk waiting to learn, I found it very
“Mortenson’s story serves as a reminder of the power of a good idea and the strength inherent in one person’s passionate determination to persevere against enormous obstacles.” —Marilyn Gardner, The Christian Science Monitor
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Listen to the Wind by Greg Mortenson and illustrated by Susan Roth
Inspirational story, gorgeous artwork, January 22, 2009
Reviewed By Julie Neal "The Complete Walt Disney World" The subhead is "The story of Dr. Greg and Three Cups of Tea," and so it is. This is a child's picture book that tells the inspirational true story of Greg Mortenson and his tireless efforts to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Mortenson's book about the experience, Three Cups of Tea, is a worldwide bestseller. Since the topic is about kids, this picture book and the newly published Three Cups of Tea: The Young Reader's Edition, should resonate with children.
In 1993, Mortenson got lost in the mountains of Pakistan after turning back from a failed attempt at climbing K2. He stumbled into Korphe, a poor village, where the townspeople nursed him back to health. As he was recuperating, Mortenson was shocked to learn the village's children had no school, with lessons taught outside just three days a week. Kids learned to write using sticks in the dirt. To repay the village's kindness, the Montana native promised to return, and help build a school.
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The Seamstress by Frances de Pontes Peebles
A brilliant new talent makes her fiction debut with an incandescent saga of family and loyalty set in 1930’s Brazil. Over the course of the book, readers are taken on a deeply satisfying journey that brings to life a faraway time and place. This adventure intricately depicts lush and exotic locales while delving into universal themes and uncovering the mysteries of the human heart. An enthralling novel of love and courage, The Seamstress is impeccably drawn, rich in depth and vision, and heralds the arrival of a supremely talented new writer.
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Sigrid Undset Biography – first time translated into English
For the first time ever, a Sigrid Undset biography has been translated into English. The translation by Tiina Nunnally is entitled "Inside the Gate: Sigrid Undset's Life at Bjerkebaek" and recently won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction in the category of translation. The original biography about the Norwegian author and Nobel Prize laureate was written by Nan Bentzen Skille under the title "Innenfor gjerdet. Hos Sigrid Undset på Bjerkebaek". Skille has actively engaged in disseminating information about Sigrid Undset's literary production for many years.
Presenting the book, the publishers, Aschehoug write,
- “It is the connection between the successful and the difficult sides of the Nobel Prize winner's life that Nan Bentzen Skille conveys as she steps inside the gate at Bjerkebæk and enters Undset's home. Combining the utmost probity and earnestness with a lively narrative and sense of humor, Bentzen Skille offers the reader a portrait of Sigrid Undset that has never been seen before.”
- “Behind her reserved exterior, Sigrid Undset was a person with an intense emotional life and a rich creative disposition. Concealed inside the gate at Bjerkebæk in Lillehammer were a luxuriant garden and a home filled with books and children, hard work, sorrows and joys. Especially striking is the story of the children at Bjerkebæk, which presents an unforgettable portrait of a mother who felt the greatest concern for her offspring but was also burdened by despair.”
Overseas readers of The Norway Post may order the book at www.norli.no
The Languages of the World by Kenneth Katzner
The Languages of the World is an indispensable handbook on the subject of languages, peoples, and language families. Its user-friendly style and layout, original passages and exotic scripts will delight anyone doing business with non-English speaking clients or having an interest in languages and cultures.
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Gestures – TheDO’s and TABOOSs of Body Language Around the World by Roger W. Axtell
As featured in the New York Times and Reader’s Digest "An eye-opener into the pitfalls awaiting the unaware traveler." —Washington Post "Can save the innocent abroad from great gobs of serious trouble." —Chicago Tribune Before you raise your hand to signal the waiter, extend your thumb to hitchhike, or flash the "O.K." sign with thumb and forefinger, Stop! Think of where you are and exactly what you are trying to say—otherwise you could create an international incident. Remember when President Bush thought he was flashing the "V" for Victory sign to cheering Australians? (See inside.) Exploring the ins and outs of body language from head to toe, this newly revised and expanded edition of Roger Axtell’s indispensable guide takes you all around the world of gestures—what they mean, how to use them, and when to avoid them. This latest edition includes:
- Updates about the 200 most popular gestures and signals—and dozens of new examples
- New sections covering special gestures—from American Sign Language and tai chi to flirting and kissing
- Information to guide you through gestures country by country—from Switzerland to Japan, Nigeria to the Netherlands
- Amusing anecdotes and helpful hypothetical scenario
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