Book Review: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

I was determined to read as many books as possible while I was on school break. It didn't happen, but I did get through two books. One book worth reviewing was Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.

"On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood.  Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane’s bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard.  So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.

The lieutenant’s name was Louis Zamperini.  In boyhood, he’d been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent, breaking into houses, brawling, and fleeing his home to ride the rails.  As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics and within sight of the four-minute mile.  But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown.

Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater.  Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.

In her long-awaited new book, seven years in the making, Laura Hillenbrand writes with the same rich and vivid narrative voice she displayed in her blockbuster bestseller, Seabiscuit.  Telling an unforgettable story of a man’s journey into extremity, Unbroken is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit." -retrieved from http://laurahillenbrandbooks.com

This book was truly an amazing account of one man's experience during WWII. The book has three main parts: Zamperini's life as a boy and journey to become a great Olympian, his military career during WWII and his accounts lost at sea and a POW, and his journey to healing after his rediscovery and newly found freedom. I could not put this book down. I think I went through all the possible emotions while reading this book: intrigued, saddened, joyful, grateful, inspired, confused. You MUST read this book. You won't be disappointed.