photo (c) 2009 Khyber MortensonGreg Mortenson is the co-founder and director of the nonprofit Central Asia Institute www.ikat.org and founder of Pennies For Peace www.penniesforpeace.org. He is the co-author of Three Cups of Tea www.threecupsoftea.com, which has been a New York Times nonfiction paperback bestseller for overfour years, and published in 49 countries, and also the author of Stones Into Schools, Promoting Peace With Books, Not Bombs in Afghanistan and Pakistan www.stonesintoschools.com.Since a 1993 climb of Pakistan's K2, Mortenson has worked in rural Afghanistan and Pakistan to promote education and literacy, to establish 178 schools, especially for girls, which provide education to over 68,000 students, including 54,000 females.Three Cups of Tea is required reading for senior U.S. military commanders, and U.S. Special Forces deploying to Afghanistan, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committe. The book has been a freshman or common book read in over 160 universities and colleges, and a 'One Book' read in over 400 communities.His second book, Stones Into Schools: Promoting Peace With Books Not Bombs in Pakistan and Afghanistan debuted at # 2 on the New York Times hardcover bestseller list.In 2009, Mortenson received the Sitara-e-Pakistan, which is Pakistan's highest civil award for his humanitarian efforts, While not overseas, Mortenson is a prolific reader, and enjoys being home in Montana with his wife and two children in Montana.More detailed biography on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_MortensonMortenson is on Twitter gregmortenson.