'Three Cups of Tea' author finds new mountains to climb

His hard-earned advice: Travel light (he spends about four or five months a year in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan with little more than a battered L.L. Bean carry-on). Don't be afraid to make mistakes and get out of your comfort zone. And carve out a few unscheduled days to interact with residents, such as sharing family stories and a cup of tea with mountain porters or stopping at a local school.

"When Gen. Petraeus read Three Cups of Tea," Mortenson says, "he sent me an e-mail with three bullet points of what he'd gleaned from the book: Build relationships, listen more, and have more humility and respect. And you can put that all into a travel context, too."