Stones into Schools

August 04, 2010

Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea, brings us his newest novel, Stones into Schools, which picks up where his first book left off.  Three Cups of Tea, a best seller and book club phenomenon, was Mortenson’s account of how the Central Asia Institute worked to bring schools and educational opportunities to the Middle East.  Stones into Schools is a continuation of Mortenson’s pursuit to build schools in northern Afghanistan.

Mortenson, with his idea of using schools, not bombs, to promote peace in the heart of Taliban country, brings the reader into his experiences as he works to fulfill a promise made in 1999 to provide educational opportunities for the Afghan people.  Stones into Schools is the story of the most remote of all Mortenson’s projects. In the extreme northeastern corner of Afghanistan, Mortenson and his colleagues plan to prove that “young women are the single biggest agents of change in the developing world” when they are educated and make decisions for themselves and their families.  This “Girl Effect” spurs Mortenson into continuing towards his goal of building schools throughout Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Stones into Schools introduces the next chapter of Mortenson’s mission, which began in Three Cups of Tea, and is worth the read to see how Mortenson carries forward this undertaking.