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

This book was recommended by my friend Marissa, and after reading a few reviews, I spent the last of my Christmas gift card from Christmas to buy it.  I present to you The Boy who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba.

Without giving too much away...

The first third comprises mostly of William's early life.  The son of a trader and farmer, the family learned to use its resources wisely.  Even compared to the cultures of other third-world countries, the life of those who live in Malawi is full of struggle.  Uncooperative government, famines and witchcraft are only three of the difficult trials that await the 15 million people living Malawi today.  Through episodes and experiences of his own life, William highlights how he and his family choose to deal with all three of these.

In the middle of the book, the plot begins to pick up as William deals concurrently with the two largest conflicts in adolescent years - famine and education.  After a single season of bad weather, the harvest is ruined and the entire country of Malawi literally struggles to survive.  Meanwhile, because of his family's low income, William is forced to leave school because of insufficient funds.  This frustrates him because he knows education is the only way for him to move up in a severely uneducated country.  However, William finds a reprieve at his public library and through a series of books becomes fixated on the idea of creating electricity for his home.  Not without great difficulty and personal losses, William succeeds in creating his dream: a functioning wind turbine (also known as a wind mill).

The last chapters explain how his invention, called "electric wind," brings him from his small village to giving a presentation on it in America.  In a fortunate turn of events and the persistence of a handful of people to get William recognized for the brilliant scientist an inventor he had become, a path to education was finally made accessible for him.

I can safely say that I wasn't disappointed and you won't be either.  This fantastic, real-life account of William Kamkwamba provides vivid narration, amazing insights to the culture of Malawi, persistence against real struggle and adversity, and strokes of keen ingenuity combined with sheer determination.  If you enjoy culture studies, autobiographies or applied science, I give this book a heavy recommendation.

Bacon Rating: 4.5 out of 5