Describe Regarding Books The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope
| Title | : | The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope |
| Author | : | William Kamkwamba |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 270 pages |
| Published | : | September 29th 2009 by William Morrow |
| Categories | : | Nonfiction. Cultural. Africa. Autobiography. Memoir. Biography. Science. Biography Memoir. Eastern Africa. Malawi |
William Kamkwamba
Hardcover | Pages: 270 pages Rating: 4.11 | 20132 Users | 3285 Reviews
Description During Books The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope
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, and a place where hope and opportunity were hard to find. But William had read about windmills in a book called Using Energy, and he dreamed of building one that would bring electricity and water to his village and change his life and the lives of those around him. His neighbors may have mocked him and called him misala—crazy—but William was determined to show them what a little grit and ingenuity could do.Enchanted by the workings of electricity as a boy, William had a goal to study science in Malawi's top boarding schools. But in 2002, his country was stricken with a famine that left his family's farm devastated and his parents destitute. Unable to pay the eighty-dollar-a-year tuition for his education, William was forced to drop out and help his family forage for food as thousands across the country starved and died.
Yet William refused to let go of his dreams. With nothing more than a fistful of cornmeal in his stomach, a small pile of once-forgotten science textbooks, and an armory of curiosity and determination, he embarked on a daring plan to bring his family a set of luxuries that only two percent of Malawians could afford and what the West considers a necessity—electricity and running water. Using scrap metal, tractor parts, and bicycle halves, William forged a crude yet operable windmill, an unlikely contraption and small miracle that eventually powered four lights, complete with homemade switches and a circuit breaker made from nails and wire. A second machine turned a water pump that could battle the drought and famine that loomed with every season.
Soon, news of William's magetsi a mphepo—his "electric wind"—spread beyond the borders of his home, and the boy who was once called crazy became an inspiration to those around the world.
Here is the remarkable story about human inventiveness and its power to overcome crippling adversity. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind will inspire anyone who doubts the power of one individual's ability to change his community and better the lives of those around him.
Define Books Conducive To The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope
| Original Title: | The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope |
| ISBN: | 0061730327 (ISBN13: 9780061730320) |
| Edition Language: | English URL http://www.williamkamkwamba.com |
| Setting: | Malawi |
| Literary Awards: | ALA Alex Award (2010), Corine Internationaler Buchpreis for FOCUS Zukunftspreis (2010) |
Rating Regarding Books The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope
Ratings: 4.11 From 20132 Users | 3285 ReviewsCriticize Regarding Books The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is an absolutely inspiring story. I was fascinated and amazed by the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the young Malawian boy who taught, equipped, and motivated himself to effect change amid his often brutal and demanding surroundings to better his life and the lives of those around him.More importantly, it was so refreshing to have a current-day perspective of a very real way of life outside the usual comforts of the United States. The true story, told from theThis book sat on my shelf for over a year mostly due to its unfortunate title. It certainly sounded boring! I only read it because it filled a challenge need. I was delighted to find, though, that it was far from dull, and I can honestly say that it's become one of my new all-time favorites. It's one of those books I want to hand to all my friends and say, "Read this. You'll love it!" Although the book is certainly about Kamkwamba creating a way to generate electricity, that part of his story
A wonderful story of innovation, persistence, curiousity, and heart.
"I try, and I made it!"That quote from William Kamkwamba pretty much sums up this book. It is an amazing, inspirational, and deeply humbling story of a teenage boy from an impoverished farming family in Malawi. The first part of the book gives you insight into Kamkwamba's life and struggles. His challenges are the type that you can already imagine in broad strokes, but Kamkwamba and co-author Mealer help you experience them in a visceral way. The description of the famine was nearly too much to
It's easy to say a book "isn't just about (insert subject)" but The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind really is not just about William Kamkwamba's windmill. The windmill doesn't even come to fruition until about two hundred pages in. The majority of the book is about William's life as a child and the culture of his homeland in Malawi (Africa), which at times is depressing - his family lives with the bare minimum, they survive a famine, and William wasn't able to attend school due to financial
I loved this book. I won't go into a summary of the book as many have but will simply say I was very much reminded of the difference one person can make in the world. Bryan Mealy the co-author was brilliant in writing in William Kamkwambe's voice. I found myself comparing this book to Three Cups of Tea which is also a book about one person setting out to do what he believed he could do without any goals of self aggrandizement. They both simply wanted to make life a little better for the group of
"If you want to make it, all you have to do is try."A very inspiring book. William Kamkwamba is from Malawi and grew up in the countryside where his father worked as a farmer. Right before the start of his secondary education, a drought and then floods destroyed the family's and much of Malawi's crops, sending the country into a terrible famine. The family didn't have money to pay for William's school fees, so he had to drop out. After the terrible famine, William tried to catch up with his
0 Comments