Three Cups Author to Speak at Freshman Dinner

The annual Freshman Dinner at the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum on Sept. 9 will feature David Oliver Relin, co-author of Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time. A New York Times Bestseller, the book tells the story of Greg Mortenson, who built 78 schools in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan to promote peace, education, and community involvement, and to divert local attention and effort away from violent groups. Three Cups has won multiple awards, including the 2007 Kiriyama Prize, 2007 Pacific Northwest Bookseller's Book of the Year, and Time Magazine Asia Book of the Year.
Students in the Class of 2014 received copies of the book in June to facilitate a common reading experience before their arrival on campus. The book reading and Athenaeum event are designed to introduce freshmen to the experience of the Athenaeum and the intellectual community at CMC.
A graduate of Vassar College, Relin received a Teaching/Writing Fellowship at the Iowa Writer's Workshop, and won a Michener Fellowship. He also has reported on human rights issues and their effect on children in Pakistan and various East and South Asian countries.
This Athenaeum event will be open to other students and the public via overflow seating and a video feed in McKenna Auditorium. Relin will hold a book signing after his talk. Relin's Freshman Dinner visit is cosponsored by the Athenaeum and the President's Office. --Carlton Rueb '11