The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope

Like many, my introduction to William Kamkwamba came in the form of a slightly awkward but similarly fascinating speech that he gave as a young man to the TED Conference in Africa. Speaking before a collection of billionaires and entrepreneurs, William spilled out what little he could of his story in short fragmented answers to the interviewers questions. One such fragment, simple in its constructions, resonating throughout the hall and amongst the net when he spoke about building his first windmill: "And I try and I made it".That he made it is not simply a battle against the wind, but a battle just to survive long enough to get to that point. Much of the book, most of the book takes place before William has ever even heard of TED and the story since then. The prejudices of his community, the superstitions that held back so many, and most notably, the terrible famine that struck his village. You may have seen photos of a starving kid in Africa but you've probably never heard their stories in such a conversational style. William relays the details of the famine as a blogger would telling the story of his day. It's simply a gripping read, a story not heard often in the West, and makes his eventual triumph all the more amazing.The overall book itself is a quick read. I plowed through it in a few days with a smile often on my face, an occasional chuckle and a few moments in which I said to myself "they'll put this part in the movie for sure". It's a good story from a land where happy endings are far too few and far between. I would recommend it for those who are seeking an inspirational tale or who have an interest in science and the learning process.I would also recommend a quick review of the TED video and a few others that exist on the net to get some visuals in your head of what William looks and sounds like so you can put a face to the name and a sound to the voice.

I read this book each night with my 12 year old son. It was a brilliant choice and really quite eye opening for a 12 year old to hear about how he was lucky to be able to go to school. It was interesting for my son and I to talk about what life might be like for people who are denied an education. We also tried to imagine what it wold be like to have no electricity, to have to go to bed simply because it was dark and you could not see anything. The story is very well written and I loved the photos of the windmill that the author built. It was fantastic to see how William managed to salvage parts from the junk yard to build his creation. You can also watch the author's presentation on TED. This is a wonderful book to read as a family. It is great when someone's life story ends up happy and is inspirational. I love it when we as humans do the right thing for a change.If you have not read this book then you really need to. It is a book that works for any age group or gender who would enjoy reading a book about personal triumph over adversity. We read it for a special event at our local book club. We chose to do a "bring a teenager" with you to discuss this particular book. It worked well as it brought a different perspective to our discussion and it was a great way of including children in a hobby that I hope they will all preserve as they grow older.

This was a very interesting read. I didn't know what to think about it at the beginning. I know I have said this before, but I don't usually read book like this. I read to escape reality, not read about it. This was so interesting though.While reading this book, I thought to myself over and over "how spoiled am I?". This young man was poor, and wanted to go to school so bad, but had to give it up because his family couldn't pay for it. Again, I thought, "man how lucky! I HATED school". Well, after reading this book, I am ever so grateful for the opportunity that I had to attend school.William was an amazing young man. He worked hard, and did things he had to to make things better for himself and his family. He studied books in the library that he was interested in, and learned things on his own. Sometimes by trial and error, but isn't that how we all learn things?This reference may offend some, but this young man made me think a lot about some people in the scriptures. He built something, and all the while people made fun of him. It wasn't until they saw the result of his windmill, that people started to respect the work William was doing. It made me think of Noah, and Nephi. Why is it so hard for people to accept that others may have more inspiration than others? Anyway, just a thought.I love the story in this book about how his parents met. It is so sweet and so innocent. Then when William meets his wife it's kind of the same thing. It's sweet, and super cute.This young man was such a great example of not giving up. He wanted to learn, he wanted to build, and he wanted to make things better for his people.To me it doesn't seem like all that long ago that this book took place. So, I was just a little blown away, at how different Williams life was compared to mine. While his country was in a famine I was comfortably sitting in my house with plenty of food to eat, and water to drink. It really made me reflect on all the blessing I have.While William, was building his windmill and having so many problems with it, all I could think is "man, this young man should see Palm Springs, CA". Well, in the book he gets invited to Palm Springs, to see the windmill farms. While he was struggling to build ONE, we in America had thousands. It was so eye opening to me on so many levels.This young man went through a lot of hardships in his life, yet he always worked hard, and never gave up. I love William. I think he is the kind of man, that I would like my son to become. He is intelligent, kind, inventive, loving, and a hard worker. All great qualities.I really enjoy reading, and learning from this book. It was enlightening, and so what I needed to read right now. I will have to remember this book, and many others I have read, when I start to feel "down" about what I have and what I don't have. After reading this book, I have absolutely no room to complain. I am blessed beyond measure. I am so thankful for all the good things that happen to William because of his hard work. I am sure even today he is an amazing man. He is the perfect example of "you can do anything, if you put your mind to it"!Source: I purchased this book from Amazon for myself. I am not affiliated with Amazon, and was not compensated for this review. These are my own PERSONAL thoughts on the book.

A mio figlio di 11 anni è piaciuto moltissimo. Ogni tanto mi raccontava qualcosa della vita di tutti i giorni o delle invenzioni fatte dal protagonista. L’ha colpito molto, tanto che poi ha voluto vederlo anche in foto, insieme alla famosa pala eolica

Quelle belle aventure. émouvant, inspirant. Une histoire vraie, un cheminement que l'on suit pas à pas, au rythme du narrateur.

Una historia real sobre cómo la magia de la infancia y el poder de la curiosidad pueden abrir paso a la esperanza en el más desolador de los entornos.Una lectura emotiva y personalmente enriquecedora.Muy recomendable.

Talk about rising above your environment, your life, your entire circumstances! I'm sure all inventors have had obstacles to overcome and that inner knowing of `this will work' keeping a person stepping forward and creating. I read this book while I was in Malawi, just to appreciate where he was coming from and the idea of creating something so useful from the trash and waste left behind is awesome! A place where duck tape is common and many things are in disrepair... to turn that around in a land where they still accuse people of witchcraft, takes a bright light!

We are so used to a predominance of bad news from Africa that a good news story is rare, but this story is utterly unique on so many levels. Not only is this book 'unputdownable', but it educated me on several things I thought I knew something about, like the struggle for survival in Africa, ingenuity in the face of adversity, and hope. But you haven't truly understood any of these things properly until you read this book and experience it through William Kamkwamba's eyes - a person with less than nothing of the comforts we're used to, but who did something quite extraordinary with very little. It should be a set work in every school, and stocked in every library not just because it's well written, but because there are so few books out there with a truly African voice.Not only did I gain enormous respect for William as a person, but he inspired me to get off my rear, buy a small portable solar panel that doesn't require wiring into the mains, and just make some kind of start at living 'off grid' not because I have to, but merely in honour of the author and because I can do so at the click of a button. Turns out another looming energy price hike justified the outlay, an added bonus!But this book's lesson runs much deeper - Africa is not a black hole of hope, but is our teacher. We need to relearn the basics and ask ourselves to look again at the way we live, and at how we use resources. We have forgotten how to take care of ourselves, and how to take responsibility and stop blaming others. William had no such luxury supporting him, he had absolutely nothing but the waste tip down the road and what he taught himself, and he just quietly got on with the job. So if this story inspires you too, and if you have any school textbooks going spare, send them to Malawi where books are prized beyond measure and kids LOVE to attend classes, with or without school buildings, because they can and because they love to learn!