The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

A very good and inspiring book.

Really wonderful book about a boy from Malawi who built his own windmill to provide electricity to his home. I learned a lot about the politics of Malawi and the famine that resulted from agricultural mismanagement. Highly recommended.

What an inspiring story. William is a true scientist and a great storyteller!

Probably closer to 2.5.

Malawi Book around the World.

This is such a powerful/inspiring/infuriating story, wow. I was on the verge of tears through most of it. The intense odds William Kamkwamba overcame–near starvation during a famine, being forced to drop out of school, having access to only an extremely minimal library of books that weren't even in his own language–to be able to build a working electrical windmill... and also a radio station... like, damn, son.

This is written in a pretty straightforward way, but careful to contextualize concepts that might be stumbling blocks for American/younger readers. I think it does a pretty good job also of contextualizing things like... even though in America you have pre-made toy cars and we make ours of out garbage, it doesn't mean we didn't have super fun childhoods also. IDK, it's a good tone. William is a good narrator of his own life–this book really captures a sense of curiosity and wonder that make all of his small discoveries along the way so exciting.

I think I might be giving this 5 stars because I want to give William Kamkwamba 5 stars as a human being? But it was a really great, inspiring read and I think he and his co-author Bryan Mealer did such a good job getting his story across... so, yeah, 5 stars.

I also think this would be so good for use in a classroom, maybe paired with a STEM activity... like have kids try to build their own windmills so they can see how impressive it is, LOL.

oh also, warning: THE DOG DIES AND IT'S HORRIBLE

This was a truly wonderful read. I read it for a course I was taking this term and was truly moved. An engaging and inspirational read!

WONDERFUL. Very, very inspirational. I would recommend this book for anyone who has every felt discouraged or worthless. You can achieve anything if you put your heart and soul into it.

There is hope in the world. This is the story of hope. William Kamkwamba tells the story of his life growing up in a tiny African country where most people struggle, now and then, with obtaining enough to eat. No electricity, no water, no amenities. Kamkwamba's family hasn't enough money during the famine to send him to school so he hangs out at the small library and there he learns how to use wind power to make electricity. Amazing story.