40 chances : finding hope in a hungry world / by Howard G. Buffett ; with Howard W. Buffett ; foreword by Warren E. Buffett.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Buffett, Howard G.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Food relief--Developing countries.

Food relief.

Hunger.

Humanitarianism.

Developing countries.

Agricultural development projects--Developing countries.

Agricultural development projects.

Humanitarianism--Developing countries.

Hunger--Developing countries.

Physical Description:

xiv, 443 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Other Title:

Forty chances

Place of Publication:

New York : Simon & Schuster, 2013.

Summary:

If you had the resources to accomplish something great in the world, what would you do? Legendary investor Warren Buffett posed this challenge to his son in 2006, when he announced he was leaving the bulk of his fortune to philanthropy. Howard G. Buffett set out to help the most vulnerable people on earth--nearly a billion individuals who lack basic food security. And Howard has given himself a deadline: 40 years to put more than $3 billion to work on this challenge. Howard learned this lesson through his passion for farming: each farmer can expect to have about 40 growing seasons, giving him just 40 chances to improve on every harvest. This lesson applies to all of us, because we all have about 40 productive years to do the best job we can, whatever our passions may be. This book captures Howard's journey around the world as he seeks out new approaches to ease the suffering of so many.--From publisher description.

Contents:

Introduction: one shot at a warlord

1. The roots of "40 chances"

Story 1: The day I heard the clock tick

Story 2: Prague, 1968 : "The Soviet army eats first

"We just get what is left"

Story 3: From bulldozing dirt to planting soil

Story 4: Devon's gift

Story 5: Because "Al called"

Story 6: The ovarian lottery

Story 7: Reality has a nutty taste, especially when fried

Story 8: Where hunger hides

2. Bravery, courage, and hope

Story 9: Loved, but lost

Story 10: Empty calories

Story 11: Little Cromite

Story 12: Sex and hunger in Timbuktu

Story 13: Loss in Armenia

Story 14: Farming under fire

Story 15: Seeds of change

Story 16: Shakira

Story 17: A Franciscan padre in the Sierra Madre

Story 18: Gorillas versus guerrillas

3. Hard-learned lessons

Story 19: Can this village be saved?

Story 20: A complicated legacy

Story 21: For yields to go up, we have to look down

Story 21 1/2: Owners make better farmers

Story 22: Disconnects

Story 23: What does doing better look like? / Howard W. Buffett

Story 24: "Who came up with this crazy idea?"

Story 25: A six-beer insight

Story 26: Less than sparkling

4. Challenges we need to figure out

Story 27: Elephants and experts

Story 28: Can smarter carrots save soil?

Story 29: Chains that unlock potential / Howard W. Buffett

Story 30: Women may be key, but don't ignore men

Story 31: Souped-up yields from stripped down tools

Story 32: Does aid plant seeds of violence? / Howard W. Buffett

5. Reasons to hope

Story 33: Opening what once was Cerrado

Story 34: Chocolate-covered opportunities

Story 35: Fired up in Ghana

Story 36: Buy local!

Story 37: Hungry for data

Story 38: The power of a piece of paper

Story 39: Farmer of the future / Howard W. Buffett

Story 40: A new approach to governance

Epilogue: an optimistic pessimist returns to Prague.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781451687866

1451687869

9781451687873

1451687877

OCLC:

830352188