Born in a rural Kenyan village in 1940, Wangari Maathai was already an iconoclast as a child, determined to get an education even though most African girls then were uneducated. In her remarkable and inspiring autobiography, she tells of her studies with Catholic missionaries, earning bachelors and master's degrees in the United States, and becoming the first woman both to earn a PhD and to head a university department in Kenya. She tells of her numerous run-ins with the brutal government of Daniel arap Moi and of the ...
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Born in a rural Kenyan village in 1940, Wangari Maathai was already an iconoclast as a child, determined to get an education even though most African girls then were uneducated. In her remarkable and inspiring autobiography, she tells of her studies with Catholic missionaries, earning bachelors and master's degrees in the United States, and becoming the first woman both to earn a PhD and to head a university department in Kenya. She tells of her numerous run-ins with the brutal government of Daniel arap Moi and of the political and personal reasons that compelled her, in 1977, to establish the Green Belt Movement, which spread from Kenya across Africa, and which helps restore indigenous forests while assisting rural women by paying them to plant trees in their villages. Maathai's extraordinary courage and determination helped transform Kenya's government into the democracy in which she now serves as Deputy Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources and as a Member of Parliament. Eventually her achievement was internationally recognized in the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded in recognition of her 'contribution to sustainable development, human rights, and peace'. In "Unbowed", we are in the presence of a hugely charismatic yet humble woman whose remarkable story carries with it an inspiring message of hope. Hers is an extraordinary story, spanning different worlds and changing times, and revealing what the courage, determination, tenacity and humour of one good woman can achieve; how as small a thing as planting a seedling and watering it can made all the difference in the world.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good in Very Good jacket. Book. Signed by Author! Slight chip to one dust jacket corner, with small corresponding bend to cover corner. A sturdy, unmarked copy. SIGNED by Wangari Maathai on half-title pg. "Unbowed: A Memoir" by Wangari Maathai is a powerful account of the life of the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. The book follows Maathai's journey from her childhood in rural Kenya to becoming a renowned environmental and political activist. Through her organization, the Green Belt Movement, she empowers women by promoting environmental conservation, democracy, and social justice. Maathai's memoir is an inspiring tale of resilience, determination, and the transformative impact of grassroots movements in Africa.
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Seller's Description:
Near Fine in Fine jacket. Octavo. Signed and Inscribed By the Author 314pp. Black boards, embossed gilt lettering on the spine. Author inscription, "Robert, Alice and Matthew Davis-With Best Wishes! -----: Wangari Nairobi 02; 10/2006" on the half-title page. Very light tape ghosts (very slight because the endpapers are black), othewise an unread copy. Unclipped pictorial jacket is like new. in mylar sleeve."Maathai discusses her life from childhood until she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. She discusses her childhood, education in the United States and her return to Kenya, moving on to her life as an environmentalist and political activist, culminating with the victory of the opposition in the 2002, elections against the ruling KANU party and her election to parliament, followed shortly after by the Nobel Prize. Maathai stresses the connection between environmental conservation and good governance."