Comments on: Follow Up on Three Cups

By: Liz B

Liz B — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:34:18 +0000

Liz, thanks for letting us know. Especially now as time has passed and more has been made aware of what was/ was not happening. Also, the reminder of the best sources for current topical info.

By: Liz Mabey

Liz Mabey — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 21:20:35 +0000

I am pulling all three versions of the book from my elementary school library. If Mortenson ever redeems himself, and someone sees fit to publish a second round that explains his ups and downs, I’d consider buying it. But I really can’t see the benefit to kids learning about Mortenson’s story before it is complete. It’s not just the inaccuracies in the books, it’s the whole stealing millions of dollars thing too. Things move fast in developing nations and NGOs, and perhaps this is one area where books are not the best medium to keep up with what people are doing to improve the world while they’re still doing it. Periodicals and websites may be more timely.

By: Liz B

Liz B — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:30:01 +0000

Colleen — yes, some of the allegations are not fabrications (like with Angel Girl) but are rather exagerations, it seems, to add polish to make a story more story-worthy (if that makes sense): i.e., something like instead of saying 3 new schools saying 30 even though 3 was great to begin with. What I like about INTO THE WILD is that even though Krakauer was more into the romanticism of McCandless life and death, what I got out of it was that McC was foolish/arrogant (IMHO). So K gave enough to reach those conclusions even if they weren’t his own.

By: Colleen

Colleen — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 03:45:35 +0000

I wonder about this also as it is not a clear cut case. Schools have been built in Afghanistan which is a worthy and wonderful thing. So to dismiss the books as purely fiction seems wrong. And yet, and yet…of course the irony is not lost on me that Krakauer brought Mortenson down when he pointedly left incorrect information about Chris McCandless’s cause of death in INTO THE WILD. (He claimed McCandless was poisoned even though he knew prior to publication that was not true.)

SIGH.

By: Liz B

Liz B — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 22:44:32 +0000

Kathe, one difference with Angel Girl: the publisher pulled the book. Penguin hasn’t pulled any of the Mortenson books: http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Search/QuickSearchProc/1,,Author_1000065104,00.html

And, I hate to say it, but I’m not sure how many librarians are aware enough of some of these controversies to then get to the point of evaluating when to pull a book.

By: Kathe P

Kathe P — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 22:09:22 +0000

I had a similar issue with a book that proported to be an actual Holocaust memoir – Angel Girl. These people were even on Oprah talking about their “true love story.” The publisher offered refunds on the book. Many libraries still have the book on the shelf as non-fiction, biography, or as a picture book. I feel the whole book is sullied by the fabrication. I called one library to ask what they were doing, and the director got very defensive and asked if I was challenging the book. Another person told me to relax – the book would probably be weeded in the near future.

I guess I was full of righteous indignation that people were lying to kids, but it seems to happen a little too frequently.

By: Liz B

Liz B — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:53:45 +0000

Melinda, that’s a good question. In terms of the books, it’s my understanding that some of the facts are disputed; so is that enough to remove an item from the collection? Is it best to move it from nonfiction to fiction? According to the byliner website, there is a current lawsuit that is more about the representations in the books. So maybe wait until further resolution?

By: Melinda Buterbaugh

Melinda Buterbaugh — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:52:58 +0000

I would like to know if any school librarians have deleted Mortensen’s books from their collections. I have both “Three Cups of Tea” Young Reader’s Edition and “Listen to the Wind,” the picture book version.

My inclination is to delete the books–people should not pass off events as true that didn’t happen. I remember Herman Rosenblatt’s Holocaust story “Angel Girl,” written by Laurie Friedman, was passed off as true but then later unveiled as fabrication. I pulled this book, but not before I had unwittingly read it to a library full of children for story time. Junior Library Guild had sent us the book as part of our monthly subscription. They sent us another book to replace if for free. It would be nice if the publisher of “Three Cups of Tea” would send offer purchasers another book upon the sending in of the false memoir.