Three Cups of Reality? Another Freycident?

Whose side are you on? I loved, loved the book and what Mortenson claimed to be doing for the Afgan children. But, has this turned into another Freycident?

I am holding my opinion until more info is in. I would hate to judge Mortenson knowing the spin the media can put on a story. If you have not read the book, do so now! Then you can get involved in the discussion. I am posting what I feel is a great charity - School Supplies for afgan Children - and their blog post for today:

School Supplies for Afgan Children
This past week my class was informed that Greg Mortenson and his Central Asia Institute was being investigated by CBS News “60 Minutes”. It was horrifying to find out that the television news program had uncovered evidence that some of the compelling stories depicted in his book, Three Cups of Tea, were possibly untrue.
When the semester first started, my classmates and I began reading Three Cups of Tea. We were captured by his stories and his perseverance to make the lives of the children in Pakistan and Afghanistan better through education. This book opened our eyes to the specific cause we were striving for and made Greg Mortenson’s work into an example for us to emulate. It is unimaginable that someone who is doing so much good for the world would take advantage of the proceeds and would lie about various other aspects dealing with his organization, which is what “60 Minutes” published in its report on Sunday night.
I honestly did not believe all of the accusations against Greg Mortenson initially. It did not make sense to me that someone who was willing to dedicate his life to helping others would act out of greed or act in the wrong way in relation to his beloved organization. However, in light of recent revelations by 60 Minutes I am starting to change my mind.
I am usually not swayed by what the press says because I know that there are at least three sides to every story: one person’s side, the other person’s side and the truth is found somewhere in between their two versions. For example, Greg Mortenson spoke about a village called Korphe that took him in and practically saved his life on his mountaineering trip to K2. Yet, producers at 60 Minutes spoke with the specific people in Korphe that had allegedly saved his life and they assured the renowned news magazine show that no such events occurred. These people were shown in the news report as saying that Mortenson had never been to Korphe during that time, that it was a year later when Mortenson arrived in Korphe and eventually built a school there.


Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer was one of my favorite books in high school because it revealed the struggles and dangers of mountaineering to me. I built up a lot of respect for the mountaineering world and specifically for Krakauer after I finished the book. Krakauer’s interview against Mortenson was very strong considering that he talked about Mortenson’s former employees to attack Mortenson’s inappropriate use of the donations. I was shocked to find out figures such as $1.5 million was used for advertising Mortenson’s books and $1.3 million was used for domestic travel some of which was in private planes. The final evidence that took me by surprise was when 60 Minutes surprised Mortenson at a book signing and with a look of terror on his face Mortenson refused to talk to them at all; then he gave one of his men a look translating into “Get that guy out of here.”
The 8 boxes of school supplies I packed and brought in today!
While I still think Mortenson’s work is valuable and very important, I am a little worried that the Central Asia Institute is not everything I thought it was. I genuinely feel that his overall message is more important than the specifics of his book; after all, whether it was all true or not, it got me to believe and understand his cause more than I could before reading it. I am hoping that now the funds will be allocated correctly and that all of the schools will receive what they were promised since the Central Asia Institute will have to be careful of everything they do.
Here is a link to the CBS 60 Minutes report:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/04/15/60minutes/main20054397.shtml
And here is a link to a rebuttal from Greg Mortenson and CAI:
http://www.ikat.org/
On a happier note, today in class we also started writing thank you letters to everyone who has helped us along this journey to promote education in Afghanistan. I also brought in the 8 boxes of school supplies I packed alone that a fellow student in my science course went out and raised. Our last piece of the puzzle for now is to get all of our money in which should be coming together within the next couple of weeks. Zoe and I have plenty of people to thank so we are definitely going to start our thank you letters today! If you want to help send our boxes to the children in Afghanistan and want to promote education, go to http://schoolsuppliesforafghanchildren.wordpress.com/donate-to-our-shipping-fund/ and support our shipping fund! (Editor’s note: This class and the School Supplies for Afghan Children project are run in cooperation with Holland & Knight Charitable Foundation, a registered 501c3 nonprofit. The donations are shipped to US troops in Afghanistan and distributed as part of humanitarian missions. A full 100% of the money donated to the shipping fund is used for shipping. For more information click the link below: http://afghanistanmylasttour.com/school-supplies-for-afghan-children/)

New Releases in Fiction April 19

An interesting week in the publishing world. Steve Berry is releasing The Devil's Gold - an ebook short novella - that I hope is as great as his last one. James Frey, one of our most controversial writers, is coming out with his new book on April 22 - The Final Testement of the Holy Bible. You can scroll below the new releases for a description of these 2 books.

A sampling of other books released this week includes:

Body in the Gazebo by Katherine Hall Page
The Coffins of Little Hope by Timothy Schaffert
Eve by Iris Johansen Guilt by Association by Marcia Clark
Leaving Van Gogh by Carol Wallace
Now You See Her by Joy Fielding
The Priest's Graveyard by Ted Dekker
Quicksilver by Amanda Quick
The Sixth Man by David Baldacci
Stolen Lives by Jassy Mackenzie
The Tragedy of Arthur by Arthur Phillips







Do you know of a book not listed? Please let me know and I will add it.

The Devil's Gold
Steve Berry
From the publisher:
The New York Times bestselling author of The Jefferson Key brings you a short story that takes readers on a perilous hunt for . . . The Devil’s Gold
Once he was called the Sphinx, a man so inscrutable that neither his adversaries nor fellow intelligence operatives could predict his next move. Now a contract agent with a secret mission, Jonathan Wyatt has gone rogue. For eight years he’s been plotting. Waiting. Scheming to kill Federal agents Christopher Combs and Cotton Malone, whom he blames for the loss of his career. But as Wyatt prepares for a final confrontation in a remote South American village, he makes a discovery that stretches back to the horrors of World War II, to the astounding secret of a child’s birth, to Martin Bormann and Eva Braun—and to a fortune in lost gold.


The Final Testement of the Holy Bible
James Frey

From the publisher:
For two thousand years people have spent their lives waiting, praying, fighting, begging, and going to war for the Messiah. They continue to do so, every minute of every day, every day of every year. And yet, as far as we know, the Messiah has never come.
How would a man like Jesus be perceived if he appeared today? How would he live, what would he say, what would he preach and believe? How would society react to him, and what would they to do him? And though he may be the Messiah, he is not the man that has been prayed for over the course of the last two thousand years. He believes religion is a fraud, government is a sham, and that love should be a choice, regardless of gender. He is, as Christ was, everything that religious leaders and government officials fear, what they speak against, and what they destroy. He did not burn books, or picket doctor’s offices, or spend his time in religious institutions. He simply preached a message. Love your fellow man.
Written from the perspective of his family, friends, and followers, in the same way the story of Jesus Christ was told in the New Testament, The Final Testament of the Holy Bible is the story of Ben Zion Avrohom, also known as Ben Jones, also known as the Messiah, also known as the Lord God.

New Amazon Kindle $114: How Do You Feel?

How do feel about the new Kindle Amazon will begin shipping in May that retails for $114? To get the low price point buyers will agree to advertisements and promotions on the Kindle's homescreen and screensaver. I am still not sure...I always want to share the Kindle love so I am glad more people will be able to afford the new Kindle. However, will the ads be distracting? Amazon promises they will not be placed on book pages - they will be only on screen savers and the homescreen. I could deal with that.

Here is what Matt Hamblen has to say about the new Kindle, to be shipped on May 3, 2011:

Amazon.com announced a new Kindle with "special offers" for $114, priced $25 less than the bestselling $139 Kindle but still above the magic $100 price tag that analysts say will make e-readers affordable to most consumers.

The $114 model is the same as the $139 Kindle, except users will see ads and sponsored screensavers. It's available for pre-order now and will be shipped on May 3. This type of deal is not new: It's not uncommon for on-screen advertising and promotions to be used as trade-offs for lower prices on consumer wireless products.

Several analysts last year predicted that the prices of black-and-white e-readers, including the Kindle, would drop below $100 by now. Amazon seems to be moving in that direction, while some of its competitors are adding color displays and other new features to their devices but keeping their prices roughly the same.

"We're working hard to make sure that anyone who wants a Kindle can afford one," said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

The "special offers" that Amazon is touting will likely be promotions from advertisers that appear on screensavers or at the bottom of the home screen. Buick, Olay, Visa and Chase's Amazon.com Rewards Visa card are the first sponsors. Amazon said that examples of the promotions include an offer of a $20 Amazon.com gift card for $10 and a deal through which customers will receive a $100 Amazon.com gift card when they get an Amazon Rewards Visa Card.

Amazon seems confident that its new advertising model will generate interest among potential customers. In addition to the new Kindle, the online retailer introduced a free Kindle app and a website where customers will vote to choose the most attractive display advertisements that will later become Kindle screensavers. The app is called AdMash.

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I guess we will have to wait until the Kindle is in the hands of Kindle owners to see how it actually operates. Let's get ready to welcome a whole new slew of Kindle lovers to joy of ereading! Mandy

New Fiction Releases April 12

Lots of hot new releases again this week. One of my favorite authors has a new release and I can't wait to get reading...Michael Lee West releases Gone with a Hansomer Man today. You can download it now and enjoy a little southern hospitality. As with all of her books, recipes are included!

Here are some releases:

After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn
All the Lives He Led by Frederik Pohl
The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen
Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts
Deadly Threads by Jane Cleland
Field Gray by Philip Kerr
A Hard Death by Jonathan Hayes
Hiss of Death by Rita Mae Brown
A Kingdom Besieged by Raymond Feist
The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry
Minding Ben by Victoria Brown
Nightshade by P.C. Doherty
One Was a Soldier by Julia Spencer-Fleming
The Pale King by David Foster Wallace
Save Me by Lisa Scottoline
Slugfest by Rosemary Harris
Toxicology by Jessica Hagedorn

New Great Fiction Released Today

Wow! They always release great fiction at the beginning of the month and April is no surprise. Tonight I am falling into Elizabeth I, the big historical novel by Margaret George...how wonderful is it that I can instantly download it on my Kindle?

Well, now you know that I will be reading all week - except for my Wednesday and Thursday date nights with Steven Tyler lets get to the new releases:

Charles Street by Danielle Steel
Drawing Conclusions by Donna Leon
Elizabeth I by Margaret George
The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly
Friendship Bread by Darien Gee
Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz
I'll Walk Alone by Mary Higgins Clark
The Love of My Youth by Mary Gordon
Miles to Go by Richard Paul Evans
Miss Julia Rocks the Cradle by Ann B. Ross
Mobbed by Carol Higgins Clark
Mourning Gloria by Susan Wittig Albert
Once Upon a Time There Was You by Elizabeth Berg
Please Look After Mom by Kyung-sook Shin
Red on Red by Edward Conlon
Say Her Name by Francisco Goldman
The Silver Boat by Luanne Rice
Swim Back to Me by Ann Packer
Treason at Lisson Grove by Anne Perry
The Uncoupling by Meg Wolizter
The Wedding Promise by Thomas Kinkade