'Tea' author's fall from grace ripples through Sonoma and Lake counties

<p>A man whose book instilled hope and inspired thousands of children to donate their pennies to a cause was accused of falsifying stories and misusing funds, leaving Sonoma County fans and supporters confused and saddened at his apparent fall from grace.</p><p>The accuracy of Greg Mortenson's account of his travels to Afghanistan and Pakistan, chronicled in his best-selling book “Three Cups of Tea,” was challenged on CBS' “60 Minutes” on Sunday, and in an in-depth online account by author and one-time supporter Jon Krakauer.</p><p>That sent shock waves not just through the publishing industry, but into military circles and down school hallways where reactions to the accusations ranged from flat-out disgust to sympathy.</p><p>Students at Santa Rosa's Ursuline High School have been buzzing about the scandal for days, said Jennifer Gray, English teacher. She said most juniors and seniors there have read Mortenson's books.</p><p>“The lesson is, all of his good work will be negated, because he felt the need to pump up the narrative,” Gray said. “It's really sad, because we tell our kids, ‘Don't lie.'”</p><p>Just where the truth ends and the fiction begins is now the latest chapter in Mortenson's story, which includes millions of dollars raised through the creation of the Central Asia Institute, Mortenson's organization that builds schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan.</p><p>Krakauer challenged the accuracy of the book, and said that only 41 percent of the $23 million the Institute raised last year went to building schools abroad. Additionally, Mortenson's use of the charitable funds is now in question and the institute he founded under investigation.</p><p>Mortenson defended his story in an interview with Outside Magazine, saying his co-author encouraged some “omissions and compressions” in the narrative.</p><p>That answer did not satisfy Skip Engle of Cloverdale, whose daughter will be deployed to Afghanistan this year with the California Army National Guard. The book is required reading for soldiers heading to Afghanistan in order to better understand the people.</p><p>“Our soldiers stake their lives on the words in his book. Now we learn it is an unreliable work of fiction,” Engle said. “The idea that this is fabricated, it's just an outrage. Is anything real?”</p><p>Thomas Graham, the manager of Copperfield's Books on Santa Rosa's Montgomery Drive, said the bookstore sold 200 copies of “Stones into Schools,” Mortenson's second book, last year and regularly sells both books. But they had not sold a single copy since Sunday night's “60 Minutes” broadcast. The bookstore hosted Mortenson for a speaking engagement in 2009.</p><p>“If you're writing a factual non-fiction book, I think it should be factual. It shouldn't be stretching the truth, that's for fiction,” Graham said. “He became a consultant to the Army, and a confidant to the president. ... I don't think he would have received those if he had put down that this was a fictional account, or a compression of events.”</p><p>Graham Keith Hotaling, owner of Treehorn Books, said he will withhold judgment on Mortenson until more information is released.</p><p>“He's got some explaining to do,” Hotaling said. “We have to wait until the dust settles.”</p><p>Mortenson had donated 650 copies of the book “Three Cups of Tea” to Lake County Schools District, and Superintendent Wally Holbrook said district officials have not yet decided what they're going to do with the books.</p><p>“It's disappointing ... that someone that we've all looked up to and seen as a real positive role model, that that's being questioned,” Holbrook said. “I think all of our students and adults too need positive role models.”</p><p>But the author still did good work and should be appreciated, said Ruthanne Young, 47, of Cloverdale.</p><p>“There's questions about everyone's integrity,” Young said. “The way that we live in this world right now, we've got to start giving people recognition when they've done something good.”</p><p>Montana's attorney general has opened an investigation into the financial dealings of Mortenson's institute, which is based in that state. </p><p>"Three Cups of Tea" was released in 2006 and has sold more than 3 million copies.</p>