The Man Who Fed the World: Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Norman Borlaug and His Battle to End World Hunger (Hardcover)

by Leon Hesser (Author)
Key Phrases: world food prize, wheat revolution, wheat scientists, Norman Borlaug, Green Revolution, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Winner of the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for the remarkable efforts begun 30 years earlier, and which continue to this day, agriculturalist Norman Borlaug most recently joined Jimmy Carter working in Africa and in recent years tackled successful projects in China. But his earliest claim to fame was his painstaking fieldwork in Mexico during the 1940s, when the prairie-raised Iowan developed strains of disease-resistant wheat, training local scientists to spread his breakthrough methods to other countries. Working over the years with the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations, he was later responsible for averting famine in Pakistan and India, where hope for feeding their huge populations was almost nonexistent; characteristically, Borlaug maintained his sense of humility and wonder throughout: "The enthusiasm everywhere bordered on mania. I have never seen anywhere in agriculture such euphoria...." Author Hesser, an old friend and colleague of Borlaug, is well versed in the food production revolution that Borlaug helped create (encompassing wheat, rice and maize, and still branching out), and an able writer whose direct voice evokes the Midwest spirit of its subject.
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Product Description
The Man Who Fed the World provides a loving and respectful portrait of one of America's greatest heroes. Nobel Peace Prize recipient for averting hunger and famine, Dr. Norman Borlang is credited with saving hundreds of millions of lives from starvation-more than any other person in history? Loved by millions around the world, Dr. Borlang is recognized as one of the most influential men of the twentieth century.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 297 pages
• Publisher: Durban House; First Edition edition (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930754906
• ISBN-13: 978-1930754904
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #416,301 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Scientist Who Rightfully Deserved the Nobel Peace Prize, September 5, 2006

By	Norman Goldman "Editor of Bookpleasures.com" (Montreal) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In 1970 Dr. Norman Borlaug was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his extensive work and dedication in the fields of agriculture and food. As Leon Hesser author of The Man Who Fed the World: Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Norm Borlaug and His Battle to End World Hunger, points out, "there is no Nobel Food Prize. Consequently, the Nobel Committee chose Dr. Borlaug for his brilliant breakthroughs and wheat production technology that led to the relief of hunger in much of the world." Hesser first met Borlaug in 1966 in Pakistan, where Hesser and his crew of agricultural advisors helped in the introduction of Borlaug's high-yielding wheat varieties and technology. The results were unbelievable as Pakistan doubled its wheat production and achieved self-sufficiency in food grains by 1968. A similar program was carried out in India with the same amazing results.

In the introduction to The Man Who Fed the World Hesser states "writing the life story of this great man is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done." After reading this intriguing authorized biography, I can well-understand how Hesser must have felt to have been able to know and work with this brilliant scientist who is "hailed as the person who saved the lives of more people-hundreds of millions-from starvation than any person in history."

Hesser manages to cover a lot of ground as he traces Borlaug's early years growing up on a farm in Iowa, where he developed his work ethic. His first eight grades of school were in the same one-teacher, one-room schoolhouse. Despite economic hardships during depression times, his grandfather Nels encouraged him to attend college and he enrolled at the University of Minnesota. Unfortunately, as Borlaug candidly admits, he "flunked the entrance exam beautifully." However, this did not deter him and he eventually found his way into the university's College of Agriculture. It was also during his college years where he met his future wife, Margaret Gibson who has been a great inspiration to him during his entire life.

As a college student, Borlaug was disturbed by the human misery that existed at the time in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul and where he witnessed both hunger for food and hunger for work. No doubt, this had been the catalyst that encouraged him to follow a path wherein food shortages would be combated.

As Hesser points out, Borlaug's first challenge came about when, as a thirty-year- old scientist, he was offered a post with the Rockefeller Foundation to join a team of scientists to lead a conquest against endemic hunger in Mexico. It was the result of this venture in Mexico that there was a dramatic reversal from widespread starvation to self-sufficiency in basic food stuffs in India, Pakistan, Asian sub-continent and a number of other countries as well as in Mexico. As Hesser states, "Norman Borlaug had embarked on three innovations that formed the foundation of a wheat revolution in Mexico and ultimately fostered the Green Revolution in Asia."
Moreover, in addition to his scientific breakthroughs, Borlaug was also instrumental in reaching out internationally in the training of young scientists in research and production methods.

In just over 219 pages Hesser takes a swift tour of the legacy of Norman Borlaug portraying a vigorous and practical humanitarian whose modus operandi has always been "don't tell me what can't be done, tell me what needs to be done-and let me do it." He adopted, as he termed it, "the kick-off approach," which rejected the hypothesis that agricultural development of necessity has to be slow.

Hesser conveys meaningful insight in the life of probably one of the greatest humanitarians who ever lived, as we are provided with a wealth of background detail that will be of interest to readers not familiar Norman Borlaug. Moreover, this is an absorbing tale that it renders one virtually speechless as to the amazing accomplishments of this great scientist!

Norm Goldman, Editor Bookpleasures

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Quiet Heros, November 16, 2006

By	John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In Jimmy Carter's introduction to this book he points out the Norman Borlang has the distinction as one of the 100 most influential individuals of the 20th century.

Dr. Borlang was the 1970 recipient of the Nobel Peace Price. This was awarded for his work in saving the lives of more people - hundreds of millions, perhaps over a billion - from starvation than any person in history.

He, as much as any other individual deserves the title, The Father of the Green Revolution. In the late 1960s, most experts said that global famines in which billions would die would soon occur. Biologist Paul R. Ehrlich wrote in his 1968 bestseller The Population Bomb, 'The battle to feed all of humanity is over... In the 1970s and 1980s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now.' Ehrlich also said, 'I have yet to meet anyone familiar with the situation who thinks India will be self-sufficient in food by 1971,' and 'India couldn't possibly feed two hundred million more people by 1980.'

Thanks to Dr. Borlaug, Paul Erlich was wrong.

Note that this doesn not mean that the problems are over. The Green Revolution plants take more water, more fertilizer (made from oil) than the older plants. There is an ongoing debate about biotechnology and food supplies. And of course, population growth cannot continue forever. But without Dr. Borlaug there would have been a lot more dying. And besides this just might sound like Paul Erlich.

Dr. Borlaug (now 91) lived a life filled with satisfaction, awards, and the knowledge that he has helped to feed millions.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A life-changing read, March 24, 2007

By	Marsha A. Johnson (www.marshajohnson.net) "Au... (Tulsa, Ok) - See all my reviews

The Man Who Fed The World an authorized biography by Leon Hesser

Norman Borlaug's life, written by Leon Hesser, is more than magnanimous. It is impressively humble.
Hesser's remarkable, well-written book, is a wonderful story of the simple life of an Iowa farm boy whose extraordinary determination led him on a lifelong journey to feed a starving world. A young Norman Borlaug, scarred by the effects of the Great Depression witnessed, first hand, how food changes peoples lives.

The Man Who Fed The World is an inspiring book of one man's hope, vision, and the intestinal fortitude to relentlessly pursue his goal to relieve human suffering. And for the millions of the world's starving who were unable to personally express their gratitude Norma Borlaug, on October 20, 1970, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

A huge thank you to Leon Hesser for bringing the world this book!


Marsha is a writer, speaker, and author of Emerald's Garden How to grieve, mourn and recover from loss. See [...]