Pakistan

Although American Greg Mortenson grew up on a Lutheran mission field near Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, a different mountain would determine his future. In memory of his sister Christa, he set out to carry her amber necklace up the formidable Himalayan peak, K-2 in Asia, wanting to leave it on the top of the world. The attempt failed. Then he lost his way during the descent. What seemed a disaster began a dramatic detour for Greg's life. Helped by the hard-working Muslim people who live in Korphe, a remote village among the jagged heights, Mortenson decided to adopt a compelling new goal - build schools in order to educate the underprivileged Muslim children of northern Pakistan and Afghanistan, especially Muslim girls.

Later, while he was in the Zuudkhan region of far NW Pakistan visiting one of his many construction sites, Mortenson heard the tragic news of 9-11 on a Muslim friend's shortwave radio. Instead of destroying his dream, the attack on America urged him to press forward with his efforts. He was and remains convinced that providing a well-rounded education is the way to counter the radical madrassas that recruit and train naive, impoverished children for military jihad. Thus, the book's subtitle, "One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time."