life in africa Archives - Tina Hogan Grant

Book Review The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba. This was my book clubs read last month and it was discussed last week. Unforchantly I was sick the night of the meeting and was unable to attend. But I did receive feedback and wanted to share our review with you.

About the Author

Kamkwamba was profiled on the front page of The Wall Street Journal December 8, 2007, as well in major articles in The Malawi Daily Times, The Sydney Morning Herald, La Repubblica, and myriad blog posts such as Boing Boing, and his blog has been featured on the front page of news aggregators such as Digg and Reddit. He is featured in a special Africa issue of L’Uomo Vogue.
Find William’s blog at http://www.williamkamkwamba.com

The Synopsis of the Book

William Kamkwamba was born in Malawi, a country where magic ruled and science was a mystery. It was also a land withered by drought and hunger. But William had read about windmills and he dreamed of building one and it would bring to his small village a set of luxuries that only 2 percent of Malawians could enjoy: electricity and running water. His neighbors called him misala – crazy. But William refused to let go of his dreams. With a small pile of once-forgotten science textbooks, some scrap metal, tractor parts and bicycle halves; and an armory of curiosity and determination, he embarked on a daring plan to forge an unlikely contraption and small miracle that would change the lives around him.

Our Review

I’m going to give you mainly my review of this book because I wasn’t at the meeting. First of all, this is not a book that would normally appeal to me if I was browsing in a book store. The subject matter is not a genre I would read. But with that said, I must say the story captivated me from the very beginning and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It was an easy read and I was intrigued right away. I loved how the book put me smack bang in the middle of Africa. I felt like I was right there with William. We’ve all heard about the struggles and the horrific stories of starvation affecting all ages in Africa. Well, this book opens your eyes to just how devastating the conditions are. Every day these people live to survive and will do anything to accomplish it including eating goatskin which really grossed me out but made realize just how little these people have and what desperate measures they are willing to take to simply stay alive.

The book was sad in many ways, reading about the many deaths of children and the sufferings many endured on a daily basis. But it was also very uplifting when William set out on a dream to make his and his family’s life better. He didn’t give up and succeeded and to my surprise and joy, the rest of the world soon learned about his amazing achievements. I love how he now travels the world and gives back to his small town and many of the other struggling communities in his country. He is a great inspiration for many.

The only time I found my mind wandering was when he went into details about how he made the windmill and what parts he used and what each part did. I learned a little about electricity, but most of it went over my head. I understand why it was included in the book because it’s the root of his story.

The book was well-received by the rest of the group. I believe there was one person who did not enjoy it and gave it a low score.

Since reading the book I’ve watched some clips of him on YouTube and the videos are very uplifting.

here’s one that you may enjoy. https://www.ted.com/talks/william_kamkwamba_how_i_harnessed_the_wind?language=en

The author is currently on tour and will be visiting my part of the world on October 30th in Bakersfield which is only forty-five minutes away so I may attend. Here is a link if any other locals are interested in going.

https://www.facebook.com/events/california-state-university-bakersfield/author-visit-book-signing-the-boy-who-harnessed-the-wind/2231500180473985/