The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: A Memoir

一個十四歲男孩，靠一本圖書館舊書，改變了他自己與整個村莊的命運——真人真事改編電影《風之子》的真實故事。

當時馬拉威正面臨嚴重飢荒與貧困，William Kamkwamba 因家境無法繼續學業，只能務農維生。但他不願放棄夢想，從圖書館借書自學，一本關於風力發電的書啟發了他，用廢鐵、自行車零件與樹枝打造出屬於自己的風車。

這個風車，點亮了家中燈泡，為村莊帶來希望與未來。

這是一本關於勇氣、創造力與堅持的感人故事，見證知識如何照亮最黑暗的角落，鼓舞每一個渴望改變命運的靈魂。

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When William Kamkwamba was just 14 years old, his family told him that he must leave school and come home to work on the farm - they could no longer afford his fees. This is his story of how he found a way to make a difference, how he bought light to his family and village, and hope to his nation.

Malawi is a country battling AIDS, drought and famine, and in 2002, a season of floods, followed by the most severe famine in fifty years, brought it to its knees. Like the majority of the population, William's family were farmers. They were totally reliant on the maize crop. By the end of 2001, after many lean and difficult years, there was no more crop. They were running out of food - had nothing to sell - and had months until they would be able to harvest their crop again.

Forced to leave school at 14 years old, with no hope of raising the funds to go again, William resorted to borrowing books from the small local library to continue his education. One day, browsing the titles, he picked up a book about energy, with a picture of a wind turbine on the front cover. Fascinated by science and electricity, but knowing little more about the technology, William decided to build his own. Ridiculed by those around him, and exhausted from his work in the fields every day, and using nothing more than bits of scrap metal, old bicycle parts and wood from the blue gum tree, he slowly built his very own windmill.

This windmill has changed the world in which William and his family live. Only 2 per cent of Malawi has electricity; William's windmill now powers the lightbulbs and radio for his compound. He has since built more windmills for his school and his village.

When news of William's invention spread, people from across the globe offered to help him. Soon he was re-enrolled in college and travelling to America to visit wind farms. This is his incredible story.

William's dream is that other African's will learn to help themselves - one windmill and one light bulb at a time - and that maybe one day they will be able to power their own computers, and use the internet, and see for themselves how his life has changed after picking up that book in the library.