(NY), (Viking), (2006). The first edition of this highly praised account of a young Westerner who, in response to kindnesses bestowed on him when he was lost in the mountains of Pakistan after an unsuccessful ascent of K2, vowed to return to that village and build a school -- a project that led to his founding the Central Asia Institute and to initiate an ongoing effort that has resulted to date in the building of more than 90 schools in impoverished regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The first edition has a subtitle that the author did not like and that was changed, at his insistence, on later editions. The book became a bestseller and has spent nearly three years on The New York Times Book Review bestseller list. It has also been adapted to a version for young adults and one for children. A remarkable, moving account of one man's commitment to changing the world for the better, and a remarkable story of a book that began in obscurity and has since become a cultural touchstone -- required reading for U.S. (and other) military leaders, as well as inspiring reading for millions of others, over three million copies having been sold. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Scarce in the first printing. [#027966] SOLD