Author Greg Mortenson spread an inspirational message about helping the poor in Pakistan and Afghanistan in his book, "Three Cups of Tea." Now Mortenson's book and the multi-million dollar organization he founded to help educate the poor have come under scrutiny following claims that parts of the book were fabricated.
In the 2006 bestseller, the former mountaineer recounted his travels to northern Pakistan in 1993, where he set out to climb K2 -- the world's second highest mountain.
Events lead Mortenson to a small village named Korphe, where the physically exhausted climber was cared for by locals. As a gesture of gratitude, Mortenson promised to build a school for the impoverished villagers. That promise led to the start of the Central Asia Institute, an organization which has raised funds to help build schools in the region.
But Mortenson's do-gooder image has taken a serious hit thanks to a segment aired on the CBS news show, "60 Minutes."
According to the "60 Minutes" investigation, enough allegations have surfaced to suggest that Mortenson may have fabricated the stories in his bestselling memoir.
The "60 Minutes" piece carried claims from mountaineer and writer Jon Krakauer, who said Mortensen had lied in his book.
According to Krakauer, Mortensen had not visited the remote village until 1994. Two porters who were with Krakauer corroborated his version of events.
A further claim that Mortenson was kidnapped by Taliban on a visit in July 1996 (also related in "Three Cups of Tea") was also said to be untrue.
More damning, still, were the allegations that Mortenson may have used Central Asia Institute as his own "private ATM."
Did Mortenson lie? Not so, says the author
On Monday, Mortenson issued a statement denying the allegations broadcast by CBS's 60 Minutes, claiming the program had not given a "fair, balanced or objective representation" of his work.
Mortenson also went on to say that some factual errors in the book likely stemmed from his lack of journalism experience and note-taking, and the collaborative effort behind writing the book, which he co-authored with "book writer" David Oliver Relin.
"When you re-create the scenes, you have my recollections, the different memories of those involved, you have his (Relin's) writing, and sometimes things come out different. In order to be convenient, there were some omissions. If we included everything I did from 1993 to 2003 it would take three books to write it. So there were some omissions and compressions," Mortenson said in a statement to Outside magazine.
In his defence, Mortenson complained about the manner in which "60 Minutes" first contacted him; by calling his wife, he said.
"Most professionals would call my office or publicist first and not my wife at home," Mortenson told Outside.
The fall-out has certainly sent ripples through the publishing world, rekindling memories of the scandal that arose in 2006 when author James Frey came under attack for fudging the facts in his bestseller, "A Million Little Pieces."
Viking, Mortenson's publisher, issued this statement: "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."
