Recommendations based on Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Timeby Greg Mortenson

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Stones Into Schools: Promoting Peace With Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan

    by Greg Mortenson
    True story of a man's determination to promote peace and education in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

    From the author of the #1 bestseller Three Cups of Tea , the continuing story of this determined humanitarian's efforts to promote peace through education. In this dramatic first-person narrative, ... (Goodreads)

  2. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

    by Barack Obama
    An exploration of the Obama family history, tracing the threads of identity and race.

    In this lyrical, unsentimental, and compelling memoir, the son of a black African father and a white American mother searches for a workable meaning to his life as a black American. It begins in New ... (Goodreads)

  3. Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World

    by Tracy Kidder
    A story of one man's journey to fight poverty, illness, and injustice around the world.

    At the center of Mountains Beyond Mountains stands Paul Farmer. Doctor, Harvard professor, renowned infectious-disease specialist, anthropologist, the recipient of a MacArthur "genius" grant, ... (Goodreads)

  4. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life

    by Barbara Kingsolver
    A family's journey to eat locally grown, sustainable food.

    Author Barbara Kingsolver and her family abandoned the industrial-food pipeline to live a rural life—vowing that, for one year, they'd only buy food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it ... (Goodreads)

  5. Same Kind of Different as Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together

    by Ron Hall
    A story of unlikely friendship and redemption, set in the backdrop of racial and economic divides.

    A dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery. An upscale art dealer accustomed to the world of Armani and Chanel. A gutsy woman with a stubborn dream. A story so ... (Goodreads)

  6. Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

    by Nicholas D. Kristof
    Examining the global struggle of women and how to empower them in the face of oppression.

    From two of our most fiercely moral voices, a passionate call to arms against our era’s most pervasive human rights violation: the oppression of women and girls in the developing world. With Pulitzer ... (Goodreads)

  7. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail

    by Bill Bryson
    A humorous account of a man's attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail, reflecting on the beauty and history of the American wilderness.

    The book starts with Bryson explaining his curiosity about the Appalachian Trail near his house. He and his old friend Stephen Katz start hiking the trail from Georgia in the South , and stumble in ... (Wikipedia)

  8. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster

    by Jon Krakauer
    A gripping narrative of the 1996 expedition on Mount Everest that resulted in tragedy.

    When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. ... (Goodreads)

  9. Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World's Worst Dog

    by John Grogan
    A heartfelt journey of a family and their beloved, but mischievous, dog.

    John and Jenny were just beginning their life together. They were young and in love, with a perfect little house and not a care in the world. Then they brought home Marley, a wiggly yellow furball of ... (Goodreads)

  10. Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books

    by Azar Nafisi
    Memoir of a professor's struggle in Iran, using literature to find freedom.

    The book consists of a memoir of the author's experiences about returning to Iran during the revolution (1978–1981) and living under the Islamic Republic of Iran government until her departure in ... (Wikipedia)

  11. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals

    by Michael Pollan
    Exploration of the modern food chain, examining the impact of food choices on our health and the environment.

    What should we have for dinner? The question has confronted us since man discovered fire, but according to Michael Pollan, the bestselling author of The Botany of Desire , how we answer it today, at ... (Goodreads)

  12. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

    by Ishmael Beah
    A gripping tale of a child soldier's journey to survive and reclaim his humanity.

    My new friends have begun to suspect I haven't told them the full story of my life.,"Why did you leave Sierra Leone?","Because there is a war.","You mean, you saw people running around with guns and ... (Barnes & Noble)

  13. Half Broke Horses

    by Jeannette Walls
    A novel based on the life of the author's grandmother, Lily Casey Smith, a resilient and adventurous woman who overcomes numerous obstacles in the American West.

    Jeannette Walls's memoir The Glass Castle was "nothing short of spectacular" (Entertainment Weekly). Now, in Half Broke Horses, she brings us the story of her grandmother, told in a first-person ... (Goodreads)

  14. Infidel

    by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
    A memoir of a woman's journey of faith, identity, and self-liberation.

    One of today’s most admired and controversial political figures, Ayaan Hirsi Ali burst into international headlines following the murder of Theo van Gogh by an Islamist who threatened that she would ... (Goodreads)

  15. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

    by John Berendt
    A journalist's exploration of a mysterious murder in Savannah, Georgia.

    A sublime and seductive reading experience. This portrait of a beguiling Southern city was a best-seller (though a flop as a movie). ~ Shots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty, ... (Goodreads)

  16. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

    by Christopher McDougall
    A thrilling exploration of the Tarahumara tribe and their superhuman running abilities.

    Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does ... (Goodreads)

  17. Seabiscuit: An American Legend

    by Laura Hillenbrand
    An inspiring story of the rise of champion racehorse Seabiscuit and his unlikely jockey.

    There's an alternate cover edition, here, Seabiscuit was one of the most electrifying and popular attractions in sports history and the single biggest newsmaker in the world in 1938, receiving more ... (Goodreads)

  18. Strength in What Remains: A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness

    by Tracy Kidder
    A young man escapes genocide in Burundi and arrives in New York City with nothing. His journey to rebuild his life is a testament to the human spirit.

    Strength in What Remains is a wonderfully written, inspiring account of one man’s remarkable American journey and of the ordinary people who helped him – a brilliant testament to the power of will ... (Goodreads)

  19. The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

    by Barack Obama
    A political memoir that explores Obama's vision for America and his hopes for the future of the country.

    The Audacity of Hope is Barack Obama's call for a new kind of politics—a politics that builds upon those shared understandings that pull us together as Americans. Lucid in his vision of America's ... (Goodreads)

  20. It's Not about the Bike: My Journey Back to Life

    by Lance Armstrong
    A story of resilience and courage, detailing Armstrong’s fight against cancer and recovery.

    In 1993 , 21-year-old Lance Armstrong becomes World Cycling Champion . In Austin, Texas, four years later on October 2, 1996, at age 25, Armstrong is diagnosed with testicular cancer with metastasis ... (Wikipedia)

  21. Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust

    by Immaculée Ilibagiza
    True story of a woman's faith and resilience in the face of the Rwandan genocide.

    Immaculee Ilibagiza grew up in a country she loved, surrounded by a family she cherished. But in 1994 her idyllic world was ripped apart as Rwanda descended into a bloody genocide. Immaculee’s family ... (Goodreads)

  22. Under the Tuscan Sun

    by Frances Mayes
    A woman's journey of self-discovery and renewal through a move to Tuscany.

    The story details the trials that Frances and her husband Ed had to go through to renovate their Tuscan property, an abandoned villa ( Bramasole ) in rural Cortona in Tuscany . As university ... (Wikipedia)

  23. The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom

    by Corrie ten Boom
    A remarkable testament to faith and courage in the face of unfathomable odds and unspeakable horrors.

    The book begins with the ten Boom family celebrating the 100th anniversary of the family business; they sell and repair watches under the family's elderly father, Casper ten Boom . The business takes ... (Wikipedia)

  24. Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

    by Atul Gawande
    An exploration of the human experience of mortality and the importance of end-of-life care.

    In, Being Mortal, author Atul Gawande tackles the hardest challenge of his profession: how medicine can not only improve life but also the process of its ending Medicine has triumphed in modern ... (Goodreads)

  25. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

    by Maya Angelou
    Autobiographical account of a Black woman's journey to find her identity in a prejudiced society.

    Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide. Her life story is told in the documentary film And Still I Rise, as seen on PBS’s American Masters. Here is a book as ... (Goodreads)

  26. The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century

    by Thomas L. Friedman
    An exploration of the rapid globalization of the world, and the implications of this shift.

    When scholars write the history of the world twenty years from now, and they come to the chapter Y2K to March 2004 , what will they say was the most crucial development? The attacks on the World ... (Goodreads)

  27. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal

    by Eric Schlosser
    An exploration of the industrial food system and its effects on U.S. society.

    Fast food has hastened the malling of our landscape, widened the chasm between rich and poor, fueled an epidemic of obesity, and propelled American cultural imperialism abroad. That's a lengthy list ... (Goodreads)

  28. Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality

    by Donald Miller
    A Christian's exploration of faith and spirituality, navigating its relevance in the modern world.

    The runaway New York Times bestseller that became a cornerstone of Christian nonfiction, Blue Like Jazz is a fresh and original perspective on life, love, and redemption. ,"I never liked jazz music ... (Barnes & Noble)

  29. Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

    by Brené Brown
    An exploration of vulnerability, courage, and the strength to embrace imperfection.

    The #1, New York Times, bestseller. More than 2, million copies sold!,Look for Brené Brown’s new podcast,, Dare to Lead, as well as her ongoing podcast, Unlocking Us,!,From thought leader Brené ... (Barnes & Noble)

  30. John Adams

    by David McCullough
    Biography of the second President of the United States and his contributions to the founding of the nation.

    The enthralling, often surprising story of John Adams, one of the most important and fascinating Americans who ever lived. In this powerful, epic biography, David McCullough unfolds the adventurous ... (Goodreads)