heartening follow-up to the bestselling Three Cups of Tea (2003).

Mortenson and his NGO Central Asia Institute (CAI) have been committed to building schools in the most remote corners of Pakistan and Afghanistan for the last 16 years. Here he resumes where he left off in his previous book and spotlights the extraordinary efforts to make good on a promise he made in 1999 to villagers of the Wakhan Corridor, a rugged, isolated area of northeastern Afghanistan. The Wakhan is occupied by the Kirghiz, who had been forced out of their land with the coming of the Soviets before returning to restricted migratory patterns, and are cut off from basic, life-sustaining government services. For Mortenson and his well-meaning, multiethnic crew he calls his “Dirty Dozen,” the village of Bozai Gumbaz proved to be “the definition of our last-place-first philosophy.” By enlisting the help of the local leaders and supplying the Kirghiz with necessary building materials (hauled by yak), the CAI fulfilled one of its main goals: to get the people to build a school on their own. Based in Bozeman, Mont., Mortenson tells the remarkable story of how his group operates. He travels America giving talks, raising awareness and enormous sums of money ($900,000 poured in after a 1993 Parade article), considering proposals about where next to build a school (it must be at least 50 percent girls) and courting local commandhans, or warlords. The organization had to contend with threats of kidnapping, Taliban violence, the Kashmir earthquake of 2005 and ingrained injunctions against educating girls. In his humble, winning style, the author writes of making peace with the U.S. Army, whose bombing caused enormous civilian bloodshed. Three Cups of Tea is now required reading for counterinsurgency officers, and Mortenson effectively demonstrates the “cascade of positive changes triggered by teaching a single girl how to read and write.”

Inspiring evidence of the tsunami effects of a committed humanitarian.

- Kirkus Review

A lovely continuation of the "Three Cups of Tea" story by Greg Mortenson and the work of the Central Asia Institute. I particularly enjoyed the first-person narrative that Greg provides - as hard it surely was for him to deliver he did so splendidly. The stories are balanced, compelling and thoughtfully presented. Ms. Leoni as the narrator was a little formal for the personal nature of the stories shared and I found her delivery of Greg's poignant humor flat. Wonderful stories from a part of the world I have yet to visit outside of my own imagination. Much like "Three Cups" it has only motivated me more to take on my own adventure along the Silk Road. ( )

Whether you know Stones into Schools because of the phenomenon that was Three Cups of Tea or because Stones into Schools became a best seller in its own right, there is no denying its impact. The fast paced we-must-build-schools story picks up right where Three Cups of Tea left off. Mortenson has established himself as humanitarian extraordinaire, but he wants to do more, more, more. He makes a solemn promise to a band of Kirghiz horsemen to build schools in a remote area of Afghanistan called Bozai Gumbaz. This is the dramatic retelling (and lots of humble bragging) of how he barely kept that promise.
If you read beyond the endless list of accomplishments and focus on the efforts of the people around Mortenson, inspiration can be easily found. Especially after the events of October 8th, 2005 in northern Pakistan when an earthquake rocked the landscape into rubble.
Confessional: I got a little weary of all of the "I talk" Mortenson did throughout both Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools. I did this, I did that. I am this. I am all that. I couldn't get the image of him riding around on a camel wearing a cape and mask out of my head. But, for all of his avarice I appreciated the exposure to the culture, operations, and obsessions of the Taliban. When you are held hostage by American news organizations you only get one side of the story and as they always say, there are three sides: your, mine, and the truth. ( )

This story was enjoyable, educational, and inspirational, but not quite as much so as Three Cups of Tea. ( )

some truly great and inspiring stories in this book, and I can only imagine the difficulties faced in building all these schools "at the end of the road", especially seeing how difficult it is to make a change here in Afghanistan the accomplishments are certainly commendable. Also I think the concept as a whole, of education being the answer is spot on.

However, a large majority of the book felt like "look at me, look at me", "x number of meetings in less than x number of days", only 3 hours of sleep, working to the point of collapse... Could of done without all that.