Disgraced author James Frey provided the answer to that question when he was outed as a fraud. The book he sold as a memoir turned out to be a work of fiction.
Just like Frey's blockbuster release, Greg Mortenson's tale of his charity work in Pakistan and Afghanistan has sold millions of copies. Three Cups of Tea was an inspirational blockbuster in its own right, touting the author's dedication to building schools in remote mountain areas that are little changed since the Stone Age.
Those who found Mr. Mortenson's memoir to be too good to be true are speaking openly of their doubts.
One of those questioning whether the memoir is really a work of fiction is acclaimed author John Krakauer, who knows a thing or two about mountain climbing and doesn't believe Mr. Mortenson's assertions that he got lost while climbing and so began his improbable journey.
However, Mr. Mortenson has noted that the people Mr. Krakauer spoke to are making up stories of their own in an attempt to discredit his efforts to educate girls. He has a point.
Mr. Mortenson has been applauded for improving female access to education, and there are many who would disparage his efforts if it helped end it. To take anyone in the area at their word, that schools said to have been built weren't, is a serious mistake.
The truth as we Westerners know it is far more fluid in non-Western places.
The only way to judge the veracity of Mr. Mortenson's contentions is to travel to the places where his efforts met success, and verify that either a school is there, or was there until pro-Taliban forces destroyed it.
Sixty Minutes is on the case. We'll soon see if Mr. Mortenson wrote a memoir, or followed in James Frey's shadow and wrote a novel that would only sell if he said it was real.
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