Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Relin has been selected as the featured read of the One Book One Community program for 2009-10, according to the organization's executive committee.

The book, with its setting in Pakistan and Afghanistan, chronicles Mortenson's adventures in tiny mountain villages, which have resulted in the building of more than 130 schools in the rural areas of those countries. Mortenson's humanitarian attempts were not always met with open arms and the book presents a fascinating view of life "in the trenches," including confrontations with Islamic leaders and tribal chiefs.

The book has been on the New York Times bestseller list for more than two years and has sold more than 3 million copies. It is reported to be mandatory reading for all senior United States military officers in counter-insurgency training, and for all U.S. special forces deploying to Afghanistan.

This year's read will coincide with the recent announcement by Mount Union College that Mortenson will present the Schooler Lecturer at 8 p.m. March 23 at the college.

Three Cups of Tea was selected from among dozens of books that were nominated by members of the Alliance community, according to Pat Stone, director of Rodman Public Library, who chairs the executive committee. Stone said the committee waited a little longer than usual to make its decision because word had surfaced that the college was attempting to get Mortenson to give the 2010 Schooler Lecture. "We thought the ideal situation would be to bring the subject and author of the book to the community but we knew we might not have the resources to accomplish this task," Stone said. "Thanks to Mount Union College, we have the best of all worlds."

"An added plus," Stone said, "is that Three Cups of Tea was the freshman book at the college this year so that in addition to our usual community and high school readership, we will have another large group of community members who will be familiar with the book."

This is the seventh year for One Book One Community in the Alliance area. The selected books for the past six years have been The Color of Water by James McBride, Riding the Bus with My Sister by Rachel Simon, Real Time by Pnina Moed-Kass, Beyond the River by Ann Hagedorn, Plenty by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon, and Blood Done Sign My Name by Timothy Tyson.

Stone said the usual programming leading to the author's appearance is still to be determined but she anticipates a book review and at least two lively discussions prior to Mortenson's appearance in March. One Book One Community is a joint effort of Rodman Public Library, Mount Union College, the Greater Alliance Foundation and The Review. The selected book is taught each year by a number of teachers in Alliance, Sebring, Marlington and West Branch school districts.

Members of the One Book One Community executive committee, in addition to Stone, are Sandra Giese, Harry Paidas, Cheryl Paine, Diane Thomas, Ken Faye, Libby Patterson, Nicole Edwards and Michael Zerbe.