Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
(This is the young adult version of the book. North Carolina Battle of the Books title.)
Kamkwamba tells how he became a reader and inventor while growing up poor in Malawi.
What I love best about this book is how well Kamkwamba describes everything from his windmill to homemade electrical switches and outlets.
Kamkwamba tells how he became a reader and inventor while growing up poor in Malawi.
What I love best about this book is how well Kamkwamba describes everything from his windmill to homemade electrical switches and outlets.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
If I only had one word to describe this incredibly inspiring memoir, it would be "indomitable". It follows the story of a young man in Africa elevating his stature, and that of his community, through an outside the box approach to the world around him. I cannot help but think about all we could accomplish if we looked at the challenges in our life through eyes like William Kamkwamba's. I was also struck by how powerful a thirst for knowledge can be, and how much that thirst can accomplish with coupled with hard work and tenacity.
Narrated by Chike Johnson.
William Kamkwamba loved school but when he was just 14 years old, he could no longer attend because his family couldn’t afford the fees. William resorted to borrowing books from the small local library to continue his education. It was there that he discovered a book with a turbine on the front cover, and with the help of that book William began to build a windmill outside his home to get electricity in his home.
I learnt so much about Malawi and its history from The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. While I know there has been, and still is, drought and famine in various countries in Africa I’d never learnt about what happened in Malawi between 2001 and 2002. During those years, floods and then droughts caused an emergency in the country as everyone run out of food. The way the book is written gives you the factual information, like the causes of floods and drought and the different diseases that can plague the country, while also making the stark reality of the situations more affecting because of how they all relate to William and his family. William is the only son in his family, and he has six sisters so that’s a lot of mouths to feed and William never shies away from the dire situation they were all in when they were slowly running out of food. There are vivid descriptions of people losing an extreme amount of weight due to starvation and descriptions of people dying in the street. It’s shocking but never exploitative.
The book provides a lot of context about Malawi, its history, superstitions and the difficulties its people faces. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind follows William’s life as he grows up and gains fame at 19 years old for making a windmill that produces electricity for his family’s home. There is more of a focus on William growing up and the last third with him gaining fame and recognition for what he achieved unfortunately seemed a bit rushed. I did like how it was clear from a very young age that William was interested in finding out how things worked. He would take a part radios and ask people how cars engines would make cars move and was generally curious about everything.
William is an impressive young man. He never gives up and believes in what he was doing when it comes to collecting scraps to make a windmill. People in his village, and even some members of his family, think he’s crazy rummaging around in the scrapyard and saying he’s going to give his home electricity. The doubts people have about him never dents his determination or conviction, and its very satisfying when he’s able to prove people wrong.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is informative and inspiring. William Kamkwamba is a smart man who perseveres even when other people think he’s mad or is using dark magic. Hearing about how he made a windmill to provide electricity for his family, and how he also went on to build other solar or wind-powered devices to improve the lives of his family and the other people in his village was heartening. He’s an inventor and this autobiography captures his inquiring mind and his desire to make life better for his family and his village wonderfully.
William Kamkwamba loved school but when he was just 14 years old, he could no longer attend because his family couldn’t afford the fees. William resorted to borrowing books from the small local library to continue his education. It was there that he discovered a book with a turbine on the front cover, and with the help of that book William began to build a windmill outside his home to get electricity in his home.
I learnt so much about Malawi and its history from The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. While I know there has been, and still is, drought and famine in various countries in Africa I’d never learnt about what happened in Malawi between 2001 and 2002. During those years, floods and then droughts caused an emergency in the country as everyone run out of food. The way the book is written gives you the factual information, like the causes of floods and drought and the different diseases that can plague the country, while also making the stark reality of the situations more affecting because of how they all relate to William and his family. William is the only son in his family, and he has six sisters so that’s a lot of mouths to feed and William never shies away from the dire situation they were all in when they were slowly running out of food. There are vivid descriptions of people losing an extreme amount of weight due to starvation and descriptions of people dying in the street. It’s shocking but never exploitative.
The book provides a lot of context about Malawi, its history, superstitions and the difficulties its people faces. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind follows William’s life as he grows up and gains fame at 19 years old for making a windmill that produces electricity for his family’s home. There is more of a focus on William growing up and the last third with him gaining fame and recognition for what he achieved unfortunately seemed a bit rushed. I did like how it was clear from a very young age that William was interested in finding out how things worked. He would take a part radios and ask people how cars engines would make cars move and was generally curious about everything.
William is an impressive young man. He never gives up and believes in what he was doing when it comes to collecting scraps to make a windmill. People in his village, and even some members of his family, think he’s crazy rummaging around in the scrapyard and saying he’s going to give his home electricity. The doubts people have about him never dents his determination or conviction, and its very satisfying when he’s able to prove people wrong.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is informative and inspiring. William Kamkwamba is a smart man who perseveres even when other people think he’s mad or is using dark magic. Hearing about how he made a windmill to provide electricity for his family, and how he also went on to build other solar or wind-powered devices to improve the lives of his family and the other people in his village was heartening. He’s an inventor and this autobiography captures his inquiring mind and his desire to make life better for his family and his village wonderfully.
Engaging story about a young African man who, defying the odds, manages to build a wind power generating turbine to help his family and village. William grows up in the corrupted country of Malawi, in farming village and without education. His story of survival is no exaggeration: illnesses like malaria and aids are endemic in the region, famine is a common occurrence, poverty is the norm, with no help from the government William and his people are facing daily struggles just to survive.
It’s an inspiring story, like the other biography I read this month [b:Educated|37826561|Educated|Tara Westover|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575905585l/37826561._SY75_.jpg|53814228], it shows the power of one, a dreamer who can change his future and, in William’s case, his family’s too. I have rated this book lower because of the inclusion of superstitionand cruelty against animals which were a turn off for me, also I would have liked to know more about his long term plans to help his people beyond his success in the TED conference but overall it’s a worthwhile read.
It’s an inspiring story, like the other biography I read this month [b:Educated|37826561|Educated|Tara Westover|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575905585l/37826561._SY75_.jpg|53814228], it shows the power of one, a dreamer who can change his future and, in William’s case, his family’s too. I have rated this book lower because of the inclusion of superstition
Spoiler
(bizarre stories of wizards and witches with illogical evil powers)Spoiler
(e.g. leaving his dog tied up to die)
A meaningful read which adds additional meaning to the TED talk. Inspirational for all, but tricky for young, so try youth edition for kids.
(Obligatory discliamer that I listened to this audio book while driving on the highways of Florida, BUT this one held my attention much like a windmill in the desert can hold a current!)
Wow.
This is one of those stories that is so sweet-perfect you just know that Disney or the likes will one day pick it up to turn it into a Based on a True Story Motion Picture (you know the sort, that while the real story is amazing in and of itself some studio exec will inevitably play with the facts to make them more "fun", e.g., "That's great that his mother survived malaria, but how is filming it that way going to win us any awards?")
The author William Kamkwamba grew up in a mud hut in remote Malawi, Africa. He had no electricity or running water, and about the only advanced technology he talked about seeing were radios and bicycle light bulbs powered by dynamo. The country faced poverty, famine, and disease. William had to drop out of school because his parents could not pay the school fees, that money having been spent to pay back the creditors who lent his father money to plant crops so the family could survive during the famine.
The people in his village believed strongly in superstitions and magic, being quick to blame paranormal elements during the hard times, and often convicting people of wizardy and witchcraft. Imagine being thrown in prison because a neighbor supposedly saw you chanting spells, making you Prime Suspect #1 for causing mass starvation.
With circumstances like these surrounding you at all times, it would be easy to give up and accept the fact that life is and always will be terrible.
But William had a love for learning, and a desire to help his family during the tough times.
It's weird to think that you often hear folks saying things like "I suck at math", "My teacher / school wasn't that good so I didn't learn anything", "science is so boring and uninteresting", "what good is learning any of this stuff if I'll never use it in real life?", when a hardly-educated kid in Africa can go to the library, teach himself physics using old donated books, then dig around in a junk yard until he has all the parts necessary to build A WINDMILL THAT CAN PRODUCE ELECTRICITY AND IN TURN SAVE THE PEOPLE OF HIS TOWN.
I imagine those who first hear of his story might think "well that's a born genius the likes of Albert Einstein in a third world country". But it is obvious that William worked very, very hard to accomplish his goals, especially when the whole town and his mother were making fun of his seemingly time-wasting pursuits. His father and best friends deserve a lot of credit, too, for encouraging him to keep at his project if it meant so much time and sacrifice.
I think Carl Sagan would have greatly appreciated this book, it definitely has that "science as a candle in the dark" vibe to it.
My only complaint I'd say is that the narrator takes a little getting used to. It's not the author, as I suspect he required a lot of help writing the story in English, but (after some light Googling detective work) is the actor Chike Johnson employing an African accent. I found it to be more distracting at first but eventually found myself immersed.
But man. Do your homework, kids. You might just save the world.
Wow.
This is one of those stories that is so sweet-perfect you just know that Disney or the likes will one day pick it up to turn it into a Based on a True Story Motion Picture (you know the sort, that while the real story is amazing in and of itself some studio exec will inevitably play with the facts to make them more "fun", e.g., "That's great that his mother survived malaria, but how is filming it that way going to win us any awards?")
The author William Kamkwamba grew up in a mud hut in remote Malawi, Africa. He had no electricity or running water, and about the only advanced technology he talked about seeing were radios and bicycle light bulbs powered by dynamo. The country faced poverty, famine, and disease. William had to drop out of school because his parents could not pay the school fees, that money having been spent to pay back the creditors who lent his father money to plant crops so the family could survive during the famine.
The people in his village believed strongly in superstitions and magic, being quick to blame paranormal elements during the hard times, and often convicting people of wizardy and witchcraft. Imagine being thrown in prison because a neighbor supposedly saw you chanting spells, making you Prime Suspect #1 for causing mass starvation.
With circumstances like these surrounding you at all times, it would be easy to give up and accept the fact that life is and always will be terrible.
But William had a love for learning, and a desire to help his family during the tough times.
It's weird to think that you often hear folks saying things like "I suck at math", "My teacher / school wasn't that good so I didn't learn anything", "science is so boring and uninteresting", "what good is learning any of this stuff if I'll never use it in real life?", when a hardly-educated kid in Africa can go to the library, teach himself physics using old donated books, then dig around in a junk yard until he has all the parts necessary to build A WINDMILL THAT CAN PRODUCE ELECTRICITY AND IN TURN SAVE THE PEOPLE OF HIS TOWN.
I imagine those who first hear of his story might think "well that's a born genius the likes of Albert Einstein in a third world country". But it is obvious that William worked very, very hard to accomplish his goals, especially when the whole town and his mother were making fun of his seemingly time-wasting pursuits. His father and best friends deserve a lot of credit, too, for encouraging him to keep at his project if it meant so much time and sacrifice.
I think Carl Sagan would have greatly appreciated this book, it definitely has that "science as a candle in the dark" vibe to it.
My only complaint I'd say is that the narrator takes a little getting used to. It's not the author, as I suspect he required a lot of help writing the story in English, but (after some light Googling detective work) is the actor Chike Johnson employing an African accent. I found it to be more distracting at first but eventually found myself immersed.
But man. Do your homework, kids. You might just save the world.
The story of the boy is amazing, and goes to show you what people can do. The book is not so well written and is lacking fluency.
This is a great read for all ages about the power that comes with dreaming big and refusing to be limited by your circumstances.