Laura HillenbrandUnbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Resistance is by Laura Hillenbrand. This book is the story of POWs in Japan and about Louis Zamperani, an Olympic athlete and hero of World War II.Louis Zamperini was born to Albert and Louise Zamperini, Italian immigrants, in Olean, New York on August 26, 1917. Second child and second son. From time he could walk, he was constantly moving and in trouble. Family moved to California when he was two. He ran from one end of train to the other, his Mother was very worried and told him someone would fall off train if he wasn’t careful. To her chagrin, he did run off the end of the train. Then, he calmly walked along tracks until train returned for him. Told his Mother, he knew she would come back for him. He was a clever, resourceful, bold child and always optimistic.Louie idolized his older brother Pete, twenty months older. Pete was the “golden child”. He seemed to always do what was right, was respectful and courteous, and never in trouble, or so it seemed. Many times, he could be seen with Louis when he performed his pranks. He helped Pete look out for their sisters, Sylvia and Virginia.Louis got in major trouble in California. He took to stealing, just to get away with it. He gave away everything he stole. He always got away by running. He came face-to-face with the eugenics process of sterilizing those who were different or criminals (stealing was included) when a kid from his neighborhood was said to be “feebleminded, institutionalized, and faced sterilization”. Luckily the boy’s parents were able to keep this from happening. This incident scared Louie straight, or at least he tried.When he found a key to the gym, he sold “tickets” at a reduced price to get kids into the basketball games. When caught, the principal punished him by excluding him from sports the first year he was in high school. Pete talked to the principal and finally got him to allow Louie to play sports. This turned out to be good for Louie, he won 10 varsity letters in basketball, 3 in Baseball, and 4 in track as well as setting school records. After high school, he joined Pete at UCLA.Pete had coached him in high school in track and continued to do so in college. Louis just got faster. In one meet, he beat the other racers by ¼ mile. He began to look towards running in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. He had to run in four races to qualify for the Olympics. In two races, he did quite well, in the third, he didn’t do as well, and he barely made it in the fourth race due to a tie; but he was on his way to the Olympics. Although he didn’t win a medal in the Olympics, he did set a record for running the last lap in 56 seconds.When he returned to UCLA, he began training for the 1940 Olympics where it would be more than possible to win the Gold. However, the Olympics were to be held in Japan and Japan released them to Finland. Then, the Olympics were cancelled for 1940 due to WWII.He signed up on September 29, 1941 with the Army. They sent him to Houston where they were to train him to be a bombardier. Eventually, he was assigned to a crew which would stay together for a long time and they would become best friends. Finally, he and part of his crew were sent on a rescue mission in an old plane, the Green Hornet. The plane was not in ideal condition; but it was a rescue mission. The plane was destined to crash in the ocean and of the crew, only three were to survive the crash, the pilot Phil, Mac, and Louie. Phil and Louie had flown together from the beginning. Only Phil and Louie were to survive being adrift for 47 or 48 days before being rescued by the Japanese.Hillenberg goes on to describe in great detail Louie’s and Phil’s treatment by the Japanese during their capture and their time in the POW camps. For over two years, they languished in the camps, separated from each other. Their families were the only ones who believed they were still alive even though they never appeared on a POW list nor were allowed to write their families. Eventually, Phil did appear on a list and was able to write his family; but this was close to the end of the war. Louie was not. He had been picked out as a special whipping boy for one guard called “Bird”. Bird went out of his way to cruelly beat and pick on Louie as they went from camp to camp. She describes the POWs watching the bombing of Tokyo from their camp and the ordeal they lived even after liberation while waiting on the army to reach them. She goes on to describe Louie’s life after returning to the US and his family. She shows his problems as he attempts to return to civilian life and dealing with PSTD and his nightmares about Bird.This book was eventually made into a movie and a version of it designed for children is also in print. The book is well-researched and documented. It is one which should be read by anyone reading about World War II.

I finished this one a few days ago, but have put off writing a review. Part of me wants to rate this 5 stars because the story of everything Louis Zamperini went through deserves 5 stars. Unfortunately, I found myself really not enjoying the writer's writing style on quite a few different parts throughout the book. Honestly, while it was a really good book, I think it could have been even better in the hands of another writer. (Example: I have no interest in sports whatsoever. However, The Boys In the Boat was one of my favorite books that I read last year. Author Daniel James Brown was able to take a subject I have no interest in and make it enthralling.) There were times when I felt the author was unnecessarily vulgar in her writing.The subject matter of the book was interesting and definitely won't be leaving my mind for a long time to come. However, it won't rank up there as one of my all time favorite nonfiction reads simply because there were times when I didn't care for the writing itself. It's definitely one worth reading, though, because they things that bothered me may not bother other readers. I do recommend checking out the Young Adult edition as well simply for the extra photos it offers. I do not recommend this for younger readers as much of the subject matter is quite brutal and horrific. I would say 4.5 stars, but I may round up as I see how the story follows me after finishing.*Spoilers Ahead*Anyway, back to the subject of the book. Louis "Louie" Zamperini definitely lived an interesting life. Raised in a very loving and supportive family, he was a wild child who was constantly into mischief that progressed into stealing as he got older. I think he was very lucky that his older brother, Pete, helped steer him towards running as a healthier outlet for his energy. He was a natural and, with training and hard work, he made it to the 1936 Olympics and would likely have medaled at the 1940 Olympics if war had not broken out.He ended up as a bombardier in the Air Corps. Unfortunately, the US government treated their soldiers as they have in many other wars in that they were easily dispensable. They gave them planes that were quite unsafe to fly and then filled them inadequately with supplies in the case of crashes. Many, many men died in training with never having even seen any combat. After Louie had been stationed for two months, several dozen men from his bomb group, 1/4 of his barracks had been killed and many of those were a result of plane crashes. Between 1943 and 1945, 400 AAF crews were lost en route to their theaters. Oftentimes, no one ever knew what happened to the planes or their crews. Unfortunately, Louie's plane, sent out on a rescue mission, ended up being one of those planes that simply vanished (ie. crashed, but no one knew where).Louie and his pilot and friend, Phil, miraculously survived over 40 days on the ocean with little to no supplies. They managed to create something to catch rain water and subsisted on the few fish and birds they were able to catch. After enduring sharks, starvation, dehydration, the sun bearing down on them, and being shot at by enemy planes, they were taken as POWs by the Japanese.I don't even know how to describe the treatment of POWs by the Japanese. It was beyond horrific. I can't even grasp how one is able to do those types of things to a fellow human being even in the atmosphere of war. Sadly, Louie was singled out by one particularly horrible monster nicknamed "The Bird." He made Louie's life hell on earth. I found myself often cringing and horrified by what the POWs were subjected to. Thirty-seven percent of Allied POWs died in Japanese camps versus one percent in Nazi camps and we all know how awful the Nazis were.The devastation Louie and Phil's families felt when they found out they were missing was so horrible. I can't even imagine what they went through. I honestly sobbed through the entire chapter talking about their families when they found out and everything they went through not knowing, but still believing that they were still alive. They never gave up on them.Even after the end of the war and the POWs were rescued, the Pacific POWs suffered through PTSD and the things they endured often followed them their whole lives. It was no wonder that so many of them had a hard time coping and some turned to alcohol or suicide as their only way out. It was interesting following Louie's life after the war and seeing him finally triumph over his abusers even going so far as to forgive them. (I don't think I could be that strong.)I was personally disgusted that the American government treated the Japanese war criminals in much the same way they did the Nazi war criminals in the 1950s. Many of the Japanese war criminals were tried and executed or imprisoned after the war, but the American government chose to take a "forgive and forget" style when it came to the atrocities committed against the POWs with the Cold War approaching. They decided to release many who had been preciviously convicted and halted the trials of many more. Unfortunately, this meant "The Bird" was never tried even though he ranked up there was one of the most terrible men in the war in the Pacific.I'm glad that Louie found happiness in the end after all he endured. It's sad that so many others didn't. The camp he set up in the wilderness to helped troubled youth sounded like a great program.

Of such amazing human beings!!I would have thought the film too unbelievable, if I hadn't read this book.It is a fantastic book, definitely up there with the best books that I have ever read.Louie had to suffer things that very few people would be able to withstand.I shall read this book again, to fully absorb its magnitude and incredible bravery.I am so thankful to Laura, she is an author who writes for the story, not the money that she gets from it. I am going to read Seabiscuit next.This book has taught me how lucky I have been in my life, not to have experienced the brutality of war. I am not worthy to be in the same room as these many brave people.Pain stings our bodies and makes us realise how frail we truly are. It also shows us that the real strength comes from within.This book will never be forgotten.

The story of the life of Louie Zamperini is remarkable by any standards. There are four broad phases, unequal in duration but equally absorbing. These comprise: his early life and running career; the time adrift in a small raft for more than forty days; internment in Japanese prisoner of war camps; and the long life of peace and Christian commitment initiated by a Billy Graham rally. Through each phase the zest for life and dogged determination of Louie Zamperini are writ large. I have rarely read a book as quickly as this one.The events are remarkable enough but these are complemented by a riveting style of writing that draws the reader along at pace. The factual description is supplemented by a delicate reflection on the humanity of the main character, his companions and captors. This blend makes the book far more than an adventure story. We see the extremes of humanity in Zamperini and “The Bird”, his jailor and tormentor. Towards the end her tale Hillenbrand writes just two or three paragraphs which in their economy, insight and compassion capture the unimaginable burdens of a liberated but abused man. She tells us, “Their dignity had been obliterated, replaced with a pervasive sense of shame and worthlessness”. Their struggle henceforth was to find their individual peace. Hillenbrand introduces us to a remarkable man but also lays out before us the full unsettling range of behaviour of which mankind is capable. Expect much more than a book about a hero.

Captivating, shocking, inspiring, thrilling true story. We owe much to those heroes who fought for our freedom. Their bravery, courage, humour in adversity & their personal battles post war (conflict legacy) teach us much. I never realised why they didn't talk much on return from the war ( I thought they just didn't "share" stuff like people do now) but the searing brutal honesty of Louie helped me see this war differently. In many ways Louie gives a voice to those who came home & the thousands who never made it.Recommend not just for the younger generation but anyone post WW11. It is a must read!

This was the best and most outstanding biography I have read. Loved and was gripped by every page and could not wait to return to it each time. Excellently researched and written making it easy to read and yet so detailed. So good to get the facts and background to both the Unbroken movies.

I very much enjoyed Sea Biscuit by Laura Hillenbrand, but this one is way ahead of it in every way. The life of a young Italian American tear away saved from a life of crime by a loving brother and the discovery of a talent for and love of running. In his teen years he breaks all the age group records for middle distance running and makes the US Olympic team for the 1936 Berlin games.He does well in the 5000 metres ,but his target is the 1940 games 1500 metres and the strong possibility of being the first to run a sub 4 minute mile. Alas the war takes over his life.He ditches in the Pacific and with 2 others drifts with virtually no rations for 47 days. The irony is that he was not shot down , but was on a search and rescue flight in an unairworthy plane that failed.After his heroic survival he is picked up by the enemy Japanese and so begins years of absolute hell at the hands of sadistic guards who beat and starve their captives without mercy . In particular a masochistic , pervert , the Bird who by unrelenting torture tries and almost succeeds in breaking Louis' spirit.The war over Louis can not adjust to freedom and domesticity and descends into alcoholism to escape his demons and the ever present nightmares haunted by theBird. He is too good a man to perish in booze and remembers his vow to God back adrift on the Pacific to serve Him if he is allowed to survive.His running days are alas over and the dream of the 1948 London games dashed due to the recurrence of a Japanese inflicted injury ,but he is still a young fit man and dedicates the rest of his life to helping young delinquents back to a decent way of life and lecturing about his captivity and the recovery of his life.This is a special man heaped with honours for his good humanitarian work and amazingly full of forgiveness for those who tried to destroy him. He lives to a busy, happy old age without resentment or fear.Laura Hillenbrand's descriptions of the dire conditions are well researched and bring the horrors of his captivity to life. The book moves at a fast pace and is rich in facts and details of a hellish time not so long ago.What a fine example of a decent human being. If only we could all be half the man Louis Zamperinii is.