Leon Hesser

Dr. Norman Borlaug, one of the world's greatest heroes, is the most highly-decorated individual of our time. He is credited with saving over a billion prople from starvation. Dr. Borlaug is only one of five people in history to win the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. In addition, Dr. Borlaug received the Padma Vibhushan, the higest civilian award the government of India can present to a non-citizen. The Man Who Fed the World has won three nation book of the year awards: USA Booknews best Biography of the Year. The American Farm Bureau for Agriculture Best Book of the Year award, and Florida Publishers Association Best Book Award.

ZigZag Pass is a memoir of the author s chilling experiences as a teenage Infantryman in battles in the Philippines during World War II and later with the Army of Occupation in Japan. Interwoven is a love story. When he returned home to the girl he left behind, they married as soon as he turned 21. They had two children and farmed in Indiana until he was 30, when his wife convinced him to sell the farm business and enter Purdue University as a freshman. He and his wife both earned doctorates. They were drawn to careers that relieved hunger and poverty in many countries. The author attributes their climb to the world stage to his being fascinated by cultures in The Philippines and Japan that differed from those he had grown up with in the Midwest of the United States. The book offers a challenge to young people to set their sights high, to reach for the stars. Leon Hesser, the author, is an award-winning author of nonfiction books, including the best-selling biography of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Norman The Man Who Fed the World.

In describing the remarkable life journeys of these two vagabonds, this book offers a stimulating challenge: To inspire ordinary people to set goals and accomplish extraordinary things -- to make the world a better place, especially for the underprivileged. The book offers readers a first-hand, very personal look at the philosophy, experiences, education and influences that enabled the Hessers to accomplish all they did and raise a family at the same time. The book is part storybook romance, part how-to manual and part good old American initiative and can-do success story, all told within the very real, very dramatic, very touching life journeys of Leon and Florence Hesser.

This book is about the journey of Dr. Akinwumi Adesina and his mission to end poverty in Africa. Growing out of poverty and witnessing hardships of being poor, he set his life mission as giving hope to millions of the poor in rural Africa. A globally respected economist with decades of experience working in some of the worlds’ leading organizations including the Rockefeller Foundation and global agricultural research centers, Dr. Adesina’s work and passion continues to guide and shape global efforts on transforming Africa’s agriculture to create wealth for its farmers. As Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture, he led bold reforms that cut out corruption and helped to lift over 15 million farmers out of poverty within four years.Awarded the World Food Prize in 2017 for his work, Dr. Adesina is relentless and selfless, donating his $250,000 prize to support Africa’s youth to become global hunger fighters. As President of the African Development Bank - Africa’s premier development finance institution - Dr. Adesina is driving the Bank’s $25 billion investment to help Africa turn agriculture into wealth and achieve food security. The book is a palpable story of this man’s determination to help Africa feed itself, Against All Odds, following the footpath of his mentor, Dr. Norman Borlaug, Nobel Peace Prize Winner, the man who fed the world.