#1 "NEW YORK TIMES" BESTSELLER - SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE - Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader's Circle for author chats and more. 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 ...
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#1 "NEW YORK TIMES" BESTSELLER - SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE - Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader's Circle for author chats and more. 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, Laura Hillenbrand writes with the same rich and vivid narrative voice she displayed in "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. Hailed as the top nonfiction book of the year by "Time" magazine - Winner of the "Los Angeles Times" Book Prize for biography and the Indies Choice Adult Nonfiction Book of the Year award "Extraordinarily moving . . . a powerfully drawn survival epic."--"The Wall Street Journal" " " "[A] one-in-a-billion story . . . designed to wrench from self-respecting critics all the blurby adjectives we normally try to avoid: It is amazing, unforgettable, gripping, harrowing, chilling, and inspiring.""--New York""" "Staggering . . . mesmerizing . . . Hillenbrand's writing is so ferociously cinematic, the events she describes so incredible, you don't dare take your eyes off the page."--"People" " " "A meticulous, soaring and beautifully written account of an extraordinary life.""--The Washington Post" " " "Ambitious and powerful . . . a startling narrative and an inspirational book.""--The New York Times Book Review" " " "Marvelous . . . "Unbroken" is wonderful twice over, for the tale it tells and for the way it's told. . . . It manages maximum velocity with no loss of subtlety."--"Newsweek" "Moving and, yes, inspirational . . . [Laura] Hillenbrand's unforgettable book . . . deserve[s] pride of place alongside the best works of literature that chart the complications and the hard-won triumphs of so-called ordinary Americans and their extraordinary time."--Maureen Corrigan, "Fresh Air" "Hillenbrand . . . tells [this] story with cool elegance but at a thrilling sprinter's pace."--"Time"
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Highly enjoyed this book! I know a lot of folks try to tell you the book is better than the movie or the other way, the movie is better than the book. I would say in this case that the book leaves the movie in the dust. The movie was great, but it can't hold a candle to all that had to be left out to make it fit within the time limits that we hold for movies. Page after page of great things await the reader. Once I read the first page I was hooked and couldn't put it down until I had finished it. My regards to a great author!
Grace W
Sep 28, 2014
A true story of survival
This book is the true story of one man's survival and triumph over incredible events. It is very well written and is soon to be released as a movie. No fictional account could compare with what actually happened to this man. His courage and will to live overcame obstacles that few of us could face. It is an unforgettable story.
FanOfTimeLifeBooks
Sep 19, 2014
A Taut Story of Survival in World War II
Unbroken is a dramatic and taut biography of Olympic runner, bombardier, and World War II prisoner of war Louie Zamperini. This fast-moving book tells of Zamperini's turbulent boyhood, experiences at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, his service on a B-24 Liberator in the Pacific, his survival epic on a raft in the Pacific, malnourishment and mistreatment in Japanese prisoner of war camps, and his recovery from alcoholism in the years after World War II. Author Laura Hillenbrand is unflinching in her portrayal of Japanese atrocities in the Asia/Pacific Theater. The book emphasizes the themes of courage, survival, and forgiveness. Though a thoroughly documented and meticulously researched historical biography, this book reads like an engrossing novel--once you get started on this book it will be very difficult to put down.
mel m
Sep 9, 2014
Soon to be a movie!
Amazing story about an amazing person! A must read.
barbara l
Aug 24, 2014
great story
This guy just died. What a life! USA lucky to have him.
