Customer Reviews

Norman Borlaug: Hero in a Hurry

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Delightful, colorful, informative and inspirational. Beautiful photos to accompany well-written text. Teacher Lora Swanson researched and wrote this especially for young people. An enjoyable read for adults as well. A must for every school library and public library. A wonderful gift for any occasion.

The book is interesting and easy to read. Especially the final chapters are very heart-taking: they show you how bad-intentioned publicity or narrow-minded lobbies can hurt science-based decisions and even stop research gthat aims to alleviate poverty and human suffering. However, I found this book surprisingly short in pages. I was prepared to read a much longer biography (almost every other page only contains a photograph).

Occasionally one receives a very pleasant surprise. Such was the mail that brought me a copy of Ms. Lora Swanson's copy of "Norman Borlaug: Hero in a Hurry". This is that rare book that is so inviting, one puts other books on hold, pending the reading of what promises to be an exceptionally good read. "Norman Borlaug: Hero in a Hurry" is an account of an Iowa farm boy's ambition to feed the world. His goal was to assist poor countries to become self sufficient in the production of wheat. This book is a brief, but lucid account of what came to be known as the Green Revolution. A revolution led by Borlaug who believes "it is the moral right of everyone born to have food". This is a rare book in that it shows us a man who not only overcomes every obstacle in his way, but continues to be a decent, unassuming human being, true to his Iowa farm boy roots.

NORMAN BORLAUG: HERO IN A HURRY is a great way to let young people know that greatness comes in many forms. One of the greatest men of the 20th Century did not fight on any battlefields or win any championship rings in professional sports. Borlaug was, none the less, one of the most successful and powerful men of the century.

All that said, this is a 40 page children's book. For a more definitive adult version of this story you may want to take a look at THE SEEDS WE SOW, KINDNESS THAT FED A HUNGRY WORLD.
The Seeds We Sow, Kindness That Fed A Hungry World