Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan is a new work of non-fiction by Three Cups of Tea author Greg Mortenson. In this work, Mortenson continues his story of the Central Asia Institute's quest to bring education to the girls of Pakistan and how they expanded into Afghanistan in a time when the country needed hope the most. Mortenson began CAI with the intention of bringing a school to a tiny village that opened its doors to him when he needed it most. Several years later, Mortenson is sought out by a tiny, mythical group of horsemen from an area so remote it is referred to as the roof of the world. It takes ten years and a great deal of heartache, but Mortenson brings a school to even this remote place, fulfilling the dream of one unique leader. Stones into Schools is a touching story of good will and selflessness that will inspire all who read it.

Greg Mortenson was in Pakistan with an acquaintance near the southern entrance of the Irshad Pass when they were surprised to find a group of Kirghiz horsemen riding toward them. The leader of the Kirghiz horsemen told them that they were searching for Dr. Mortenson, the man who builds schools. Their leader wanted him to build a school in their remote village in the Wakhan Corridor. Mortenson made them a promise despite the fact that Afghanistan was under Taliban rule at the time and movement over the border by foreigners was nearly impossible.

After the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, the American military began to invade Afghanistan in the war on terror. This caused the Taliban to relinquish control of the government and made it possible for Mortenson and his NGO, Central Asia Institute, to cross the border and begin the process of building a school for the Kirghiz. This began with a trip to Badakshan Province to get the approval of the local mujahadeen. Not only did Mortenson win him over to the idea of building schools in Afghanistan, he found himself committed to building a school for his village. This would be the first of many schools to be built with CAI support in Afghanistan.

Mortenson and CAI would continue to move closer to the Wakhan Corridor, building schools as they went, until tragedy struck in 2005 in Pakistan. The earthquake that hit the Azad Kashmir in Pakistan was so devastating that entire villages were leveled and whole families perished in the debris. CAI was overrun with donations from people wanting and expecting CAI to help. Mortenson, unsure of how his NGO could help, sent his project manager in Afghanistan, Sarfraz Khan into Kashmir—even as he was continuing to keep an eye on other projects throughout remote areas of Afghanistan—to see what might be done.

Sarfraz met with teachers, parents, and children throughout the most remote villages of Kashmir and learned that many were attempting to restart schools in tents, under trees, anywhere they could. Sarfraz also learned that while these areas would be more than happy to welcome CAI in to build schools, they were concerned that the school buildings would simply fall down again in the event of another earthquake. For this reason, Sarfraz found a Chinese design that would withstand an earthquake stronger than the one that leveled the area months before and arranged to have these designs put into action in remote Azad Kashmir.

Finally Mortenson and his team found their way into the Wakhan Corridor and were able, ten years after the promise was made, to begin gathering construction supplies to build the school for the Kirghiz people. However, due to the remote area in which the village stood they found it almost impossible to get the supplies to the area. On top of this, the leader of this remote village was old and began to suffer health problems. When the people of his village began coming to visit the old man's death bed, he chastised them for impeding what they had waited so long to gain and urged them to help bring in the supplies. Not only did they bring the supplies, they helped construct the school, finishing it in a record amount of time.