Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

At first, I was not going to buy this book/digital essay. Greg Mortensen has been one of my heroes for many years. When Jon Krakauer started attacking him on 60 minutes, and other news organizations jumped on board, I was very angry and determined to defend him. But then I decided that I could not really defend Greg Mortensen if I did not know what he was being accused of. The 60 minutes program was scant on details and not very well done. So I put down my $2.99 and bought the book. I was also encouraged by Mr. Krakauer's statement that "100% of Jon Krakauer's proceeds from the sale of Three Cups of Deceit will be donated to the "Stop Girl Trafficking" project at the American Himalayan Foundation." That was very noble and generous of him, but as it turns out, Jon Krakauer is a director of the American Himalayan Foundation (AHF), an international charity organization that competes for the same scarce donations as does the Central Asia Institute, Greg Mortensen's organization. That is one fact Mr. Krakauer did not disclose in his essay or when he offered to give 100% of his earnings to the AHF. In this regard, I guess he is not unlike Greg Mortensen. He writes books and donates some of his earnings to his favorite charity. I do not think AHF will make much money on this effort; certainly not as much money as Greg Mortensen has earned for CAI in selling and promoting his books. Nevertheless, I think Mr. Krakauer should have at least offered a disclaimer indicating that he was a director of AHF before he started attacking Greg Mortensen and promoting his own book and charity. Most reputable journalist think it is necessary to disclose their affiliations in such cases to ensure their objectivity and the integrity of their work.