Greg Mortensen's Memoir Under Scrutiny Following 60 Minutes Investigation

Posted on April 20, 2011

The latest scandal plagued memoir is Greg Mortenson's 1993 bestseller, Three Cups of Tea. In the memoir, Mortenson alleges he got lost after a failed bid to climb K2 and stumbled into a remote Pakistan mountain village named Korphe, where the local villagers kindly nursed him back to health.

Mortenson founded the non-profit charity, the Central Asia Institute (CAI), to help build schools in region. President Obama donated $100,000 to the group from the proceeds of his Nobel Prize winnings.

The 60 Minutes report found porters that were on the failed expedition who say Mortenson never got lost on the descent from K2 and that he did not visit the village until an entire year later. The 60 Minutes report also found the a large amount of CAI's funds are being used to promote Mortenson's books. Some of the schools the CAI was supposed to have built are also empty or were built by another party.

Greg Mortenson's publisher Viking is reviewing the materials. Viking released a statement that said, "Greg Mortenson's work as a humanitarian in Afghanistan and Pakistan has provided tens of thousands of children with an education. 60 Minutes is a serious news organization and in the wake of their report, Viking plans to carefully review the materials with the author."

The Montana attorney general has launched an inquiry into Mortenson's charity, the Central Asia Institute, according to The Billings Gazette.