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Start discussion for here for The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba.

About the Book (from LitLovers)

A windmill means more than just power, it means freedom.

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 he became an inspiration 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. (From the publisher.)

About the Author

William Kamkwamba is a Malawian secondary school student and inventor. He gained fame in his country when, in 2001, he built a windmill, to power a few electrical appliances in his family's house in Masitala, using blue gum trees, bicycle parts, and materials collected in a local scrapyard.

Since then, he has built a solar-powered water pump that supplies the first drinking water in his village, and two other windmills (the tallest standing at 39 feet) and is planning two more, including one in Lilongwe. After leaving school due to his family inability to afford the tuition, he took up self-education by going to his village's library. There, he found the book Using Energy and in it discovered a picture and explanation of windmills.

His story, told in The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, was written with journalist Bryan Mealer and published in 2009. Kamkwamba took part in the first event celebrating his particular type of ingenuity, called Maker Faire Africa, in Ghana in August 2009.

When the Daily Times newspaper in Blantyre wrote a story on Kamkwamba's windmills in November 2006, the story circulated through the blogosphere, and TED conference director Emeka Okafor invited Kamkwamba to speak at TED Global 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania, as a guest. His speech moved the audience, and several venture capitalists at the conference pledged to help finance his secondary education. His story was covered by Sarah Childress for the Wall Street Journal. He became a student at African Bible College Christian Academy in Lilongwe, but is now on a scholarship at the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg, South Africa.

I finally finished this and while I liked it, I wasn't able to rate it as highly as some other reviewers. But having said that, I am glad I read it as the good parts outweighed the parts that bored me. And the insight in Malawian culture was fascinating.

Here is my review

Didn’t understand any of his mechanical explanations but he seemed to do a good job of it. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I am reading this right now. I like it more than I expected I would. I thought it was going to be more like a young adult book since he was young when he built the machine, but it isn't really. I also wasn't expecting so much of the book to be about hunger issues. I have also learned quite a bit about Malawi from this book. I haven't gotten to the part where he starts building the windmill, so I'll have to wait and see if this affects my enjoyment of reading this book.

I am almost finished with this book now and have read the parts about the windmill. I also didn't understand much about the science of it, but what I did get from it was his journey of discovery of how things worked, what to use, and how to fix the issues. He was very creative. It wasn't too much of a turnoff.

For me, this is a good story. He might have had some lofty ambitions, but he didn't seem too much like a do-gooder sort. He was mostly he was just a kid who liked to learn and tinker, then used his skills to help his family and expand his own mind. It worked out well for him in the end. The barriers to his education and his drive to continue despite those difficulties are also noteworthy.

I read this book a couple of years ago when I as reading one book per country. It was truly one of my favorite books, because we heard a native voice, not an aid worker or a traveler. I was very impressed that he wanted to educate himself, despite the obstacles. Mostly I was impressed that he understood what his government was doing, and didn't shy away from telling the truth about the famine.