The Author (William Kamkwamba)

William is the book's central figure and narrator. His story of struggling with poverty, famine, circumstantial disadvantage and community beliefs and values is in many ways an inspiring one, his success resulting almost exclusively from an exercise of his will. He is a self made man, one whose determination and steadfast commitment is almost archetypal, or universal. His story has a great deal in common with that of some of the greatest entrepreneurs and inventors in human history. It, like so many other such stories, suggests that success does not have to be defined by how many lives are changed, but by the quality of change (i.e. lives genuinely improving) and by the motivation with which that change is pursued - not for power or for status, but simply to enable a better life for more people.

William is unfailingly positive, even during periods...