24 Jul Unbroken
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand
(2010) Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption is the full name of this book by Laura Hillenbrand. Louis Zamperini was a tough Italian kid growing up in Torrence, California. He discovered that he could run, competed in the 1936 Olympics, and his name became known all over the world.
He was known even by the Japanese who captured him 47 days after his B-24 crashed into the Pacific. I won’t go into the details of his horrific journey on the raft nor his nightmares in the prison camps. You need to read that for yourself.
If the book weren’t so meticulously researched it would be hard to believe. The best news is that Louis is still alive today. He was one of the lucky ones. As the author states on page 315, “of the 34,648 Americans held by Japan, 12,935–more than 37 percent–died. By comparison, only 1 percent of Americans held by the Nazis and Italians died.”
And she gives us the grim statistics of what our veterans suffered after they were liberated from their Hells. Fortunately for Louis, he was able to purge his demons after his wife literally dragged him to a Billy Graham tent revival in 1949. Graham was younger even than Zamperini but his words that week turned Louis’s life around.
Now for some personal thoughts. As I got into the book I began to feel overwhelmed by the volumes of research I knew that Hillenbrand had to do. Then I learned that it took her seven years to write this story, and honestly, that made me feel better. She deserves every accolade she has gotten for putting into words the life of this WWII veteran and for her acknowledgment of what our POW’s suffered and continue to suffer.
I would like to thank my neighbors Jeanne and Bill Giddens for giving me Unbroken. Jeanne called me one day and said that he husband had read this book about World War II and asked her if she knew anyone who might also want to read it. Jeanne knew just the right person. THANKS!
Update: Louis Zamperini passed away on July 2, 2014.
Italia
Posted at 06:10h, 02 JanuaryThis book was captivating; I read it from cover to cover in two days, and when I wasn’t reading it I was thinking about it. I found the entire book intriguing. Hillenbrand did an amazing job; the way the book is written only adds to this unbelievable true story. Reading it near the anniversary of Pearl Harbor only added to the weight of the story; this unforgettable reminder of the thousands of lives that were lost during World War II is, in my opinion, a must-read.