From the day he was born in 1914, Norman Borlaug has been an enigma.  How could a child of the Iowa prairie, who attended a one-teacher,  one-room school; who flunked the university entrance exam; and whose  highest ambition was to be a high school science teacher and athletic  coach, ultimately achieve the distinction as one of the one hundred most influential persons of the twentieth century?  And receive the Nobel Peace Prize for averting hunger and famine?  And eventually be hailed as the man who saved hundreds of millions of lives from starvation--more than any other person in history?

What is it that made Norman Borlaug different? What drove him?  What can we--especially our youth--learn from his life?

Those questions are answered in Leon Hesser's authorized biography, The Man Who Fed the World:  Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Norman Borlaug and His Battle to End World Hunger (Durban House Publishing, September 2006, hardcover, $24.95)

In the book's foreword, Dr. Borlaug's good friend and fellow Nobel laureate Jimmy Carter wrote, "Since 1986, I have had the distinct pleasure of working with Norman Borlaug in sub-Saharan Africa where, in spite of AIDS, endemic malaria and other maladies, populations are increasing faster than food supplies.  I have witnessed first-hand the reverence that thousands upon thousands of Africans have for Dr. Borlaug's untiring efforts to relieve their hunger. © I commend Leon Hesser for making more people aware of the remarkable life and achievements of this American hero."

In addition to an earned Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, Dr. Borlaug has been awarded more than fifty honorary doctorates from institutions in eighteen countries.  At age 91, Borlaug made three trips during 2005 to Africa and one each to India and Argentina in his continuing efforts to relieve hunger.  During each fall semester, he serves as Distinguished Professor of International Agriculture at Texas A&M University.

To request a copy of The Man Who Fed the World or to schedule an interview with Leon Hesser, please contact Diana Oleskow, publicist, at (239-293-1585) or dianabob2.at.comcast.net