Now a Netflix Film, Starring and Directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor of 12 Years a Slave
William Kamkwamba was born in Malawi, a country where magic ruled and modern science was mystery. It was also a land withered by drought and hunger. But William had read about windmills, and he dreamed of building one that would bring to his small village a set of luxuries that only 2 percent of Malawians could … only 2 percent of Malawians could enjoy: electricity and running water. His neighbors called him misala—crazy—but William refused to let go of his dreams. With a small pile of once-forgotten science textbooks; some scrap metal, tractor parts, and bicycle halves; and an armory of curiosity and determination, he embarked on a daring plan to forge an unlikely contraption and small miracle that would change the lives around him.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is a remarkable true story about human inventiveness and its power to overcome crippling adversity. It will inspire anyone who doubts the power of one individual’s ability to change his community and better the lives of those around him.
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Wow! Super book. The book was inspirational, informative and heart-wrenching at times. I thoroughly enjoyed this non-fiction story of a young man in Malawi. The book reopened my eyes to the plight of so many people in Africa. The book also made me realize(once again) just how fortunate I am to be born in the USA; and in particular to be a …
It was one of the most inspiring memoirs that I have ever read. I highly recommend it for preteens, teens, and adults.
Who could have ever thought that this boy, with almost zero resources
could create from descriptions in books, this ingenious “Windmill”. ….
and fast forwarding, end up with gratitude and recognition from his
peers, the villagers. Amazing book. There are some technical areas
I avoided wanting to just read of the success of his ideas. He …
William Kamkwamba is a Malawian boy who is fascinated by science. His farming family wants him to continue his education past roughly the elementary level but they just don’t have the tuition money after a famine spreads across the country. As the famine worsens, families who have even a few bites of food each day are considered fortunate. Life …
Great arm chair travel to Malawi and the real life of village people. The main character is inspirational to say the least. The writing is clear and understated, more powerful for the simple descriptions of drought and farming, inventing with junkyard materials, and a strong family.
This is a wonderful, true story about how, step-by-step, he managed to cobble together all the components needed for him to build a wind generator out of odd bits & parts scavenged from all sorts of places! And I was especially pleased to hear how this invention led to his being offered an education! I would recommend this book to everyone!
A true story of a boy with unique intelligence and self-taught engineering skills raised in Africa. Just a great, inspirational read.
William is pretty remarkable. As I read, I kept telling my husband that he should have had schools knocking down his door trying to get him to attend their institution. When I read books like this, I am shocked that, even in the year 2000, thousands, even millions, of people are living without electricity, or running water, or have never even used …
I read this book to go along with a topic I was teaching at school. I was immediately drawn in as I learned a little about William Kamkwamba’s life is Malawi. I was moved by the fact that William wanted to learn so badly, but did not have the funds to continue his education, so he read to educate himself. Through his self study, William created …
The book got a little too much into detail which slowed me down but the story of this amazing young man and what he accomplished is well worth the time and effort.
First of all, this is not a book that would normally appeal to me if I was browsing in a book store. The subject matter is not a genre I would read. But with that said, I must say the story captivated me from the very beginning and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
It was an easy read and I was intrigued right away. I loved how the book put me smack bang …
Incredible tale of determination and success despite incredible obstacles! VERY INSPIRING!!!
Loved this true story. Most of us have it so easy compared to the rest of the world.
Every young child needs to read this book to learn what perseverance can do and how fortunate they are to be able to attend school.
This is a true story about the author’s life growing up in Malawi. William faced many hardships growing up in a small, poor village in East Africa. The biggest source of income in the area was farming maize. Due to dry weather, and long droughts, there were many instances of hunger in the village. One year it got so bad, and the government …
A wonderful idea of how one can do anything with almost nothing.
The author William Kamkwamba, tell his story in poverty stricken Malawi, how his family suffered famine because of drought. William had to drop out of school because his father could not afford school fees. However, this boy did not give up. He went to the library daily and got books on science and taught himself how to build a windmill, built …
A good book. A true story of a smart boy with very little resources who had the vision and the imagination to do the impossible.
Simply an amazing story of determination!!!
This book is a fantastic book!