Author Accused Of ‘Three Cups Of Deceit’

In this July 15, 2009 photo, author Greg Mortenson shows the locations of future village schools to U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen. (AP/Department of Defense)

In his bestselling book “Three Cups of Tea,” author Greg Mortenson described how he was rescued by the Pakistani villagers of Korphe when he wandered lost and exhausted while trying to climb a Himalayan peak.

But CBS’ 60 Minutes and Journalist Jon Krakauer allege that the story is made up. And Krakauer alleges the book is “Three Cups Of Deceit.”

60 Minutes and Krakauer also argue that Mortenson mismanaged his multi-million dollar charity, CAI, which Mortenson formed to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. We speak with Alex Heard, editor at Outside magazine who spoke with Mortenson about the charges.

Here & Now: Listen to our 2009 interview with Mortenson

We welcome comments from all of our listeners. Post below. Please stay on topic and be civil. Comments may be moderated by us, but you are solely responsible for the content of your comments.

Judy Strain

One wonders what Jon Kraukauer has accomplished in his own life – how much good has he done? What is his motivating goal here? Greg is a beautiful and big hearted person, who has done a great deal of good, and who is really bad at managing certain areas of his life. I prefer to give him the benefit of the doubt regarding all the accusations made against him.
Weighing everything, his good is much greater than his flaws. On the other hand, Jon’s heart seems to be, at present, tiny and his ill-will very great.

G.

It is VERY important to not allow ourselves to make “gods” and “saints” out of people who may be neither (even if they may accomplish some good). Even Mother Theresa wasn’t a “Mother Theresa” all the time! I think it is best to judge someone over the course of their entire lives and hold off judgments as to who is really good or really bad, until a clear picture can be had. I don’t think people like Mr. Mortenson, his publishers and, apparently, many of his readers, really like “clear pictures” all that much (it could be bad for the hero worship business). Perhaps not much different from any evangelical preacher – “pay no attention to that man behind the curtain … the great OZ…”. Remember James Frey? I bet a lot of the people defending Mr. Mortenson now, also bought (and liked) his books.

But this isn’t even as bad as what was done by all those hucksters on Wall Street (those are the guys we should throw in jail for a long time)!
Badabing

you really are a fucking idiot
Usufc

I think it is important to read both Greg’s book and Jon’s book. From there you can continue to investigate. True that the work of CAI is wonderful but Jon’s book opens people’s eyes to many deficients in the man and thus the organization. I am incredibly shocked that someone can continue to defraud millions of people through a non-profit charity.
Take the blinders off ….

Sounds rather naive to me. Thank you, but I’ll point my kids to Terry Fox, and not Greg Mortensen, for emulation. “Beautiful”?; “Big hearted”? Now, how on earth does one manage to really badly manage certain (key) areas of one’s life and come out a multi-millionaire? (Other than Tiger Woods, lol!)

“Benefit of the doubt” ?!? I generally see people pull that one out when they are beholden to their ignorance of the available facts. Read Krakaur’s (free) book and looks at the pictures therein. “Ill-will” is another reference borne out of ignorance; tell us where the MOTIVE is, please. “Ill-will” is not motive.

Valerie Smith

I really appreciate hearing Alex Heard’s comments and responses here; thank you for this interview.
The-truth-seeker

Unfortunately, there are many, many cases of both gross exaggeration, cheating and outright lying that are frequently used to selfishly advance the aims of certain people in our society. We, as a society, have as much to blame for this as the people using such unethical tactics (in order to get ahead of the rest of us), since our modern, attention deficient, minds, only seem to allow us to listen to wealthy people who are skilled self-promoters (like Donald Trump), or other such impressive “storytellers”. Our ability to question what we hear, has obviously not improved with time.
Job #12

the reporting has been atrocious. Krakauer goes on the air says a close friend told me … and that’s reported as fact.? Sorry Robin, CBS did not produce a single person who disputes the story WHO WAS ACTUALLY THERE! And, wrong as it seems, people very likely will deny they are Taliban!

Radheatsolutions

OK. Is it just me or is there a connection here……..Greg’s organization is called the CAI and our central intelligence agency is called the CIA.

I’m just sayin’……………….

JonG

It’s just you.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NTZPSD3UXV6GEV5YWADOS56IYQ Kar

Let us not demonize those who are questioning the veracity of Mr. Mortenson’s story. I would like to know whether the donated money is used for the intended purpose. Mr. Mortenson, on 60 Minutes, avoided answering questions regarding the facts in his books and how the money has been used to help Afghanistan children – and my antennae went up.
Private Sector Frog

CBS produced documents that said Mr. Mortenson’s organization spent 1.5 million in “advertising” and 1.3 million in travel in 2009 for a 23 million dollar organization. That seems excessive to me….and who knows what other questionable expenses are buried in that income statement? I’d be fascinated to see Mr. Mortenson’s personal tax return.

Reader in Philly

Charities typically spend 15% on advertising. 7% looks pretty good.

Arizona3

My father-in-law gave me the book, Three Cups of Tea, and I found the story captivating. Learning that the story is not entirely true is disappointing, but not surprising, unfortunately.
When finished reading the book in my “office” I accidently dropped the book into the toilet. I was horrified as I felt the book was highly spiritual, based on the near death experience of crawling into Korphe and the change in direction of Mr. Mortenson’s life.
It seems that Mr. Mortenson has mastered self-promotion and championed what all would agree is a worthy cause.
Certainly the organization CII and Mr. Mortenson’s new role as as fiction writer, and speaker should be clearly separated.
I am certain that Mr. Mortenson has accomplished more good in one of the worlds worst regions than I have accomplished with all of my efforts.
DMayhue

Greg Mortenson does not have a deceitful bone in his body. His only aim is to help change the cycle of violence by increasing the education of women and mothers who are caretakers of children and can influence the future of their children as well as their country. While Greg may not be good with money (and he should, of course, enlist the help of a good accountant/personal trainer so he can learn to take care of the little things in his organization), his influence in a very rugged and contentious region of the world gives people hope, access to education, and generally produces change over time. This will take at least a generation or more before seeing the long-term impact of his work. Offer to help him rather than tossing stones.

My Two Cents

Perhaps.
Badabing

you are a fucking idiot

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_P77KFQYHSZISX6SVWONDR5FNN4 John

Oh my gawd …some people are actually defending Mortensen, why ?? Because it shatters this White Man’s burden of saving human civilization , cute story of cutting violence with education enabled by this obviously unscrupulous deceitful man! No its all about Mortensen larger than life Malignant Narcissism which is America’s Malignant Narcissism. Mirror mirror on the wall who is the most beautiful, righteous, free of them all ?!?! lol…..

Anakin007

“Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the most beautiful, righteous, free of them all?”

LOL. I love that.

Louise Pascale

I recently spent 2 1/2 months in Afghanistan working on my own education project (and by the way there are many equally heroic people in Afghanistan not making millions and just getting the job done). I’ve been involved in this project well over 7 years. NEVER is Greg or his schools mentioned. While in Afghanistan I found this very curious. No one knew about them, where they were, if they even existed. The red flag went up. I was working with educators across the country. Greg might have a humanitarian spirit but it’s not OK to use others. More to the point, he’s not the only one out there. I fear Greg’s fame and his incapacity for managing himself and others, got the best of him. Reading his book is convincing enough that he doesn’t have an organized bone in his body. The media is also at fault. They fail to cover stories about what’s going on that’s good or they get create a false “hero” out of one person. Go deeper folks. There are hundreds of Afghans, Afghan-Americans and Americans quietly doing work that far exceeds Gregs. They’re actually getting the work done without the hoopla or millions of dollars of support.

G.

Very good points Louise. The MSM news media is a large part of the problem. They often just follow along with the latest hero worship and look for the easiest and quickest stories to do that will get the most attention. What’s easier than tagging along with someone who is very adept at self-promotion? Remember the Segway scooter story and ABC’s coverage of that “revolutionary product” which was sure to “change the world forever”? I assume you already have a couple of those, right ;-)

My two cents

“Three Cups of Deceit” – excellent!!!

Whenever people are found out to have done this, we need to call them out to explain themselves, instead of helping them to cover it up. Remember Hillary Clinton and her, bravely, “coming in under machine gun fire”???
My Two Cents

Clearly he needs to provide regular updates, accurate accounts and an accounting for every dollar spent and every school that he claims to have built. Many seem to now have been “re-purposed”, or never even built. It would be in his best interest, as a non-profit, to provide an accurate accounting, including with regards to his own earnings each year.
http://profiles.google.com/mclartygarrett garrett mclarty

Compensation and literary license aside, if what Jon Krakauer reports is true, Greg Mortenson is no longer effectively promoting education in Pakistan or Afghanistan.

As is reported by the ex-staff of CAI and also Ted Callahan, Mortenson’s well intentioned efforts have become ineffective due to poor management and communication both within CAI and in the regions where he is trying to promote education.

The issues that must be validated or proven false are whether or not CAI and Greg Mortenson are building effective schools, supporting those schools, and meeting the educational needs of the people in the region. It is clear that Mortenson has done much to educate people in the West about the needs of the people of Afghanist and Pakistan, but has opposing accountability, transparent accounting, and the recommendations of his previous board members, lead to Greg delivering what is needed to raise money instead of what is needed to educate the children he is advocating for.

I do not question Greg Mortenson’s motives or intentions, however if the facts presented by Krakauer and substantiated by the many ex-CAI staff who truly do believe in the mission of CAI are true, we must hold Greg and CAI responsible if we are to advocate for the education of the children themselves.

People seem stuck on whether or not Greg is a good person or whether or not he has done anything good in the AF/Pak region, that is not the question.
http://profiles.google.com/mclartygarrett garrett mclarty

Compensation and literary license aside, if what Jon Krakauer reports is true, Greg Mortenson is no longer effectively promoting education in Pakistan or Afghanistan.

As is reported by the ex-staff of CAI and also Ted Callahan, Mortenson’s well intentioned efforts have become ineffective due to poor management and communication both within CAI and in the regions where he is trying to promote education.

The issues that must be validated or proven false are whether or not CAI and Greg Mortenson are building effective schools, supporting those schools, and meeting the educational needs of the people in the region. It is clear that Mortenson has done much to educate people in the West about the needs of the people of Afghanist and Pakistan, but has opposing accountability, transparent accounting, and the recommendations of his previous board members, lead to Greg delivering what is needed to raise money instead of what is needed to educate the children he is advocating for.

I do not question Greg Mortenson’s motives or intentions, however if the facts presented by Krakauer and substantiated by the many ex-CAI staff who truly do believe in the mission of CAI are true, we must hold Greg and CAI responsible if we are to advocate for education and developemnt in the AF/Pak region.

People seem stuck on whether or not Mortenson has done any good or if he is a good or bad person, this is not the question. The question is, has CAI become ineffective in promoting education in the AF/Pak region and are the monies being given to CAI being used to build, support, staff schools or to simply promote a noble idea. Krakauer and many others truly believed in the mission of Mortenson and CAI and thus were truly saddened as I am to learn of the gross mis-management that appears to have occurred.

Don’t give up on CAI or the work of providing education to those in the world who have none, yet also do not let dollars that could go to a good cause be squandered by even a well meaning person such as Mortenson.
Anonymous

To he who tells the best tales go the spoils! Pretty sad, but Americans must like it like that.
Syed Ahmed

I’m a Pakistani college student, and I’ve read Greg Mortenson’s books. I’ve been a big fan of him, and was really inspired by his humanitarian goals. In fact so much so that I’ve been thinking of ways to exploit a humanitarian idea myself, in the future. But at the same time I highly respect Jon Krakauer, although I know much less about him I know he’s a fantastic writer. If any voices accuse Mr. Mortenson of infidelity, then he should address them and I think it would help us all breathe easier too. However if Mr. Mortenson has been doing fraud, which I am increasingly beginning to believe, then he must be stripped of due respect and donations.
AFShaughnessy

This story illustrates the problem with “narrative nonfiction” — the narrative takes precedence over the nonfiction. Look “behind the curtain” of any narrative nonfiction book, especially one with a point of view (Gladwell, Pollan) and, by checking the references you will find that the facts are not really as presented. The stories they tell, however far they stray from fact, are still good, though.
AM

I THINK THERE SHOULD BE MORE LENIENCE IN THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE WORD “MEMOIRE” (IT SHOULD BE ALLOWED ALL THE RANGE OF MEANING AS ITS ROOT – MEMORY= THAN IF THE SUBTITLE WOULD HAVE CALLED IT A STRICT FACTUAL AUTO-BIOGRAPHY.

HUMAN MEMORY IS BY DEFINITION CONSTANTLY EMOTIONALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY EDITED ( OUR BRAINS DO NOT SIMPLY ‘STORE INFORMATION AS IF WE WOULD BE THROWING IT INTO AN INERT REFRIGERATOR DRAWER, FROM WHERE WE CAN EXTRACT IT LATER, IN THE SAME FROZEN SHAPE” WE PUT IT THERE- OUR BRAINS CONSTANTLY REVISIT AND REVISE MEMORIES, BASED ON OUR “LIVING AND LEARNING”EVERY MOMENT OF OUR LIVES-EVENTIUALLY WE REMEMBER ONLY THE THINGS WE ALLOW OURSELVES TO REMEMBER, AS A SURVIVAL AND SELF PROTECTIVE MECHANISM AGAINST BEING OBERWHEMED BY THE MANY TRAUMAS EXPERIENCED DURING OUR LIVES- THE ONES WHO DO NOT COMMIT TRAUMAS TO FORGETFULLNESS, DEVELOP PTSD AND BECOME EVENTUALLY CLINICALLY DEPRESSED…

I THINK THE ONES WHO ARE TRYING TO ATTACK THE AUTHOR ARE SO INEPT IN THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF HUMANITY THAT THEY WOULD FIND IT MORE REWARDING TO READ A COLLECTION OF ACCOUNTING SHEETS COMPILED BY A COMPUTER INSTEAD OF THE LITERARY WORK OF ANOTHER HUMAN BEING…

AM

triso

Thanks, AM, for jamming all that into three long run-on sentences. It is so much easier to read.

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