Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

Title: Three Cups of Tea
Authors: Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin
First published: 2006
Add it: Goodreads, The Book Depository

Mortenson was an alpinist, who wanted to conquer K2, the killer mountain in Himalayas. He failed and got lost while descending. People form a poor mountainous village helped him to recover and gave him food and shelter. He promised to build a school for them, as the children were studying in the open air in any weather. The problem was that back in USA he worked as a nurse and didn't even have money to rent a flat. So living in his car and working night shifts, he started his campaign to find money for the school.

It is a very powerful story of how a man can change the world with his enthusiasm only. Mortensen started with a bridge and a school for the village where he lived after the descent from K2, but he soon realized that there are hundreds of villages in need of a school, and so his charity foundation grew. During the war with Taliban he also realized that schools can be the only way to save the world from terrorism, as children end up in extremist Muslim establishments only because they don't have any chance to go to a secular school.

What surprised me most was that Pakistan was not included in any charity programs just because its citizens are Muslim. The neighboring Nepal is also a poor mountainous country, earning money mostly from alpinists, but they are Buddhist, and so after Hillary tons of good things were done for its education and health care. But nobody did it for Pakistan, as some people just think that Muslim = Terrorist.

The book gives a vivid picture of life, culture and nature of Pakistan, and the history of its exploration. The style of writing is journalist-like, as it is non-fiction, and the book includes quite some facts, citations and photos. A great introduction to the region!

UPD: Jenny mentioned in the comments that there was some discussion about whether the facts in the book are correct or not, so I'm a bit confused now about the whole thing. I will not change the review, but for justice's sake I'll add these links here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/business/media/david-oliver-relin-co-author-of-three-cups-of-tea-dies-at-49.html?_r=0
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/06/the-death-of-co-author-of-three-cups-of-tea-is-ruled-suicide.html

Historia Calamitatum (The Story of My Misfortunes) by Peter Abelard

It has been very quiet here, because it's exam time, and I really need all my free time for sleeping. And when I read, I am trying to chose something short and unusual to distract me. That's how I came across The Story of My Misfortunes, which is a medieval epistolary novella, and one of the first Western Europe autobiographies. Of course, I knew about Abelard and Heloise. Who doesn't? But I was really curious to know what really happened there and why it ended how it ended. So who better to tell this than Abelard himself?

The title reflects the mood of the book very well - it's a bit paranoid. Abelard describes himself as a poor genius, that is persecuted by everybody, because everybody else is plain and jealous of him. I don't know for sure, maybe medieval scholastic intrigues were that terrible, but I suspect he is exaggerating just a little bit ;)

Although he has a VERY good opinion of himself, he is also just, and I admire how he admits that the two most horrible things that happened with him - his emasculation and burning of his book- were well earned by him. He admits his lust and vanity and nearly thanks God for providing such an atonement. Abelard is quite earnest with his readers, and writes even the things he admits is difficult for him to write, so despite his opinion of himself, he is still somehow likable.

But all my sympathies are not with him, but with Heloise. Here is the strength of spirit! When everybody knows they had an affair (because she had a baby), Abelard is suggesting a marriage to make everything look proper. And she refuses. REFUSES a marriage, despite having a new-born baby and everybody's contempt! Her only concern is Abelard and his scholastic career, and marriage would have put an end to it. So she goes to a monastery and becomes a really good abbess. Unlike Abelard, she finally finds peace.

Although sometimes this reading is too full of citations and different abstract thoughts, it was really interesting to read a true (I think, it's the closest we have to truth) story of this. Recommended for those interested in famous love stories, especially in their "real" side.