"It's a beautiful story, and it's a lie," Jon Krakauer said on CBS's "60 Minutes" on Sunday, April 17. Krakauer, bestselling author of "Into Thin Air" was referring to Greg Mortensen's book, "Three Cups of Tea."
The New York Times bestseller, published in 2006, is a retelling of Mortensen's adventures and experiences in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and CBS and "60 Minutes" recently aired exposes claiming that much of the book is a lie.
The controversy surrounding the book reached Auburn University, as it was the selected reading for Auburn's Common Book program in the fall of 2010.
The program's purpose is to promote a shared academic experience among students, especially incoming freshmen, according to the Auburn's website.
The Ralph Brown Draughon Library carried copies of the book, according to Jayson Hill, marketing and communications for the Auburn Libraries.
In addition, the library held a two-day reading of the book, held by Auburn University Provost Mary Ellen Mazey.
The University also paid Mortensen $28,000 to speak at a function organized by the Division of Student Affairs October 26.
"The payment was a joint effort on behalf of the Division of Student Affairs and the Office of Academic Affairs," said Keri Anne Davis, coordinator of special events for the Division of Student Affairs.
Local bookstores, including the Auburn University Bookstore carried "Three Cups of Tea."
"We sold so many copies," said AU Bookstore employee and senior Ben McCullough. "I don't even know how many."
More than 1,200 books were sold for $12 new and $8 used at the bookstore last year. That number includes both textbook copies, or required course readings, and general book copies.
In the book, Mortensen is on a mountain-hiking adventure when a member of his party becomes endangered, and the path strays to accommodate the climber.
Mortensen claims to have been separated from the group and accidentally stumbled across a small farming village called Korphe, where he was taken to the chief elder. It was in Korphe that Mortensen vowed to build schools for the Pakistani people.
Mortensen also co-founded the Central Asia Institute, a charity dedicated to erecting schools throughout the Middle East.
Krakauer, once a supporter of Mortensen and his work, now has an e-book dedicated to revealing the alleged lies within the pages of "Three Cups of Tea."
An investigation by CBS news revealed that Mortensen's CAI charity spent more on ads for the book in the New York Times than it did on actual school construction.
CBS also paid a visit to thirty of the claimed 141 schools that CAI was supposed to have built, only to find half of them being used for storage or completely empty and falling into ruin.
Aside from the spending issues with the charity, sources have come out claiming that many, if not all, of the stories in Mortensen's book are untrue.
"I have spoken to one of his companions, a close friend, who hiked out from K2 with him and this companion said, 'Greg never heard of Korphe until a year later,'" Krakauer said on "60 Minutes."
He went on to say that Mortensen did eventually build a school in Korphe, but it's immediately noticeable that the first few chapters of "Three Cups of Tea" are a lie.
There is another debate over a different claim Mortensen makes.
In one of the many stories in "Three Cups of Tea," Mortensen relates the tale of his kidnapping in 1996 by the Taliban, and published a photo of the kidnappers in a different book titled "Stones into Schools."
The reporters of "60 Minutes" managed to contact three of the men in the photograph, and all said they were Mortensen's tour guides and protectors, not abductors.
"There were close to two dozen classes in which the book was used," said Rusty Weldon, textbook manager at the AU Bookstore. "From English classes to political science to social work classes, many instructors chose to have the book be part of their classes this year."
McCullough said that for every Camp War Eagle session last Summer, hundreds of copies were sold.
"I remember my professors coming to class talking about how good it was," said Michael Behel, senior and AU Bookstore employee.
Since the book is no longer the Common Book, no instructor has required the text for the summer or fall semesters.
"He might have made a difference," said Kristina Escobar, senior. "People believed him, and he was lying. Instead, he's just a scumbag."
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
