Three Cups of Tea

Greg Mortensen is an incredible man with a great heart and an inspiring mission. I am glad there are people out there like him to take on challenges and do something that really needs doing. You can check out more about the Central Asia Institute here.

I enjoyed the adventure and honesty in this book. It is very obvious that much of what Mortensen shares in the book is still raw emotion and comes across as impulsive. There were a few things that bothered me that seemed really contradictory. The one that really ground on me was his criticism of the US government for failing to build Afghanistan back up after the invasion, but then when the military offers him over $2 million to build schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan he turns it away because it would make him lose credibility. I am not saying the USA doesn't make plenty of mistakes, but you can't hurl criticism and then turn away money to assist you when they see you are the most effective program in the area to get the job done.

All in all I think this is a good read which helps to understand the real underlying issues which drive terrorism. Education and improvement of social circumstances will always be the answer to a real lasting peace in the world.

Pres. Bush - Decision Points

I recently finished Pres. George W. Bush's book Decision Points. All in all a pretty good read. I was intrigued by his candor and honesty, he readily admits to mistakes made and details lessons learned. He also takes responsibility for his decisions and even some mistakes others made.

The one thing that has always struck me about Pres. Bush, and this book reconfirms, is that he may not be perfect, but he surrounds himself with intelligent talented people and ultimately every decision he made while in office he truly felt was in the best interest of the country and people he loves. I don't know that you can say the same for every politician.

I would recommend this book to anyone.