Is The Alleged Fabrication In Three Cups Of Tea Beside The Point?

Laura Miller: “The evidence of Mortenson’s financial improprieties [with respect to his non-profit] is solid; just how much he may have lied about the recuperation and kidnapping stories in [his book] is both murkier and a bit irrelevant. It’s worth asking: Would it matter much whether either anecdote were true if Mortenson’s charitable work were above reproach and impeccably conducted?”

‘The Godfather Of Grunge,’ Jesse Bernstein

“Born in Los Angeles and diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic when he was in his teens, he was committed to Camarillo State Mental Hospital, escaped to the hippie scene of the Esalen Institute, hooking up with Ken Kesey’s magic bus and … before migrating to the Seattle music scene,” where he gave poetry readings as an opening act for Nrivana and Soundgarden.

Why Classic Arts Philanthropy Sucks

“It’s worth restating that private philanthropists are less minded to give away their money at a time of economic penury, that the government has so far failed to create anything approaching a favourable tax system to generate a more fulsome culture of giving, and that individuals would rather give their money to sure-fire successes rather than as start-up cash for innovative new projects.”