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Summary and Reviews of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope

by William Kamkwamba
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (2):
  • Readers' Rating (5):
  • First Published:
  • Oct 1, 2009, 288 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Aug 2010, 320 pages
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About This Book

Book Summary

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is the immensely engaging and inspiring true account of an enterprising African teenager who constructed a windmill from scraps to create electricity for his entire community.

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.

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Reviews

BookBrowse Review

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William Kamkwamba's story is important, sad and beautiful. Despite the degradation of his and his people's suffering, his story reminds us - especially those of us in the West whose intellectual and physical appetites have been deadened by plenty - that being human is a constant striving for the possible and the wonderful...continued

Full Review (618 words)

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(Reviewed by Jo Perry).

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Beyond the Book



Moving Windmills Project
Inspired by William Kamkwamba's story, the Moving Windmills Project was founded in 2008 to support rural economic development and education projects in Malawi. The nonprofit group works with local leaders to provide food, clothing, shelter, sanitation, health, education and community-building.

Completed projects include:

  • wind and solar power for village homes
  • re-roofing village homes
  • protection from rain and fire
  • water sanitation and hygiene education
  • disease prevention
  • anti-malarial bed-net distribution
  • bedding distribution
  • warmth and pest protection
  • a water well and solar-powered water pump
  • drip irrigation
  • improved food supply with multiple maize crops and vegetable gardens
  • running water taps ...

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Read-Alikes

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