Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

This is an inspiring book that goes to show that one person really *CAN* make a change in the world, if only they persevere.

Mortenson's story begins with a failed mountain climb. After getting lost on the descent, he bumbles into the remote Pakistani village of Korphe, where he is warmly welcomed and nursed back to health. The whole experience is so life-changing for Mortenson that he makes a vow to return and build a much-need school for the village; which is all fine and dandy, except once he's back in America, Mortenson realizes he has no money and no idea where to begin.

This book details his progress. Obviously, he's successful at his mission (or why would we have a book), and this project eventually becomes much more than just the fullfillment of Mortenson's original promise.

I'll predict that this book will change the way you look at world politics, especially in our post-9/11 biases. I know that I'll be more interested now when the news covers these Central Asian world hot-spots.