When was unbroken written

If you're old enough to remember the s and early s, you may enjoy these chapters for the sake of reminiscence. Beginning with Chapter 12, the book becomes more strongly focused. Louie's story sweeps itself along, and the author's presence becomes less noticeable. I can't call the story "inspiring," because I honestly think death would have been preferable to what these men endured. Louie himself stated: "If I knew I had to go through those experiences again, I'd kill myself.

Such ingenuity, persistence, and unwillingness to be broken by their captors is impressive and difficult to fathom. They continued to suffer upon return to the U. Final Analysis: Astoundingly thorough research, serviceable writing, and, sorry to say, apparently no editorial oversight. From Chapter 12 to the end, it's a four-star offering well worth your time. Louie the man is ten-star material! Read it for sure, just know that my less-than-exceptional rating concerns a need to cut a great deal of material from the book.

View all 7 comments. Jul 27, Steve rated it really liked it. Gaining 12 pounds as a result and losing race fitness. With a hard punch in the snout, a shark will usually turn tail. Getting singled out as his favorite target. Drinking to forget. She suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome that, for the most part, keeps her in the house and inactive. But she had this to say about her writing, particularly her subjects.

I can't have it physically, so I'm going to have it intellectually. It was a beautiful thing to ride Seabiscuit in my imagination. People at these vigorous moments in their lives - it's my way of living vicariously. And one that was very well-told. View all 63 comments.

Mar 08, Jason rated it really liked it Shelves: wine-club , for-kindle , reviewed , Remember when we used to have live TV and stations would air previews for a program they were trying to promote? Have you ever then gone and watched that program only to discover that the preview was kind of misleading?

Well, the previews for this book are wicked misleading. Everything about it—the jacket cover, the book description And yes, there is certainly a Remember when we used to have live TV and stations would air previews for a program they were trying to promote? And yes, there is certainly a section of the book that chronicles the experiences of a few Army Air Force personnel who become stranded on a raft in the South Pacific following the crash of their bomber, but the scope of the narrative encompasses much more than that.

So what gives, Random House? Why you be unnecessarily deceitful? In other words, Hillenbrand knows how to tell a story, and this book, a biography of Olympic runner Louis Zamperini, which focuses on his life in a Japanese POW camp, is a prime example. View all 26 comments. Jun 25, Dem rated it really liked it Shelves: war. This is a inspiring and educational read. This is a story of five parts and I really enjoyed the first three parts.

Part one deals with the protagonist Louis Zamperini's childhood and running career and I really enjoyed this introduction to Louis as I felt I really understood this man and knew how he survived the horrors of war and the physiological and physical pain h This is a inspiring and educational read. Part one deals with the protagonist Louis Zamperini's childhood and running career and I really enjoyed this introduction to Louis as I felt I really understood this man and knew how he survived the horrors of war and the physiological and physical pain he endured.

Part 4 of the book was bit of a letdown for me only in the sense that I found it quite repetitive and very dragged and at times I found myself losing interest in the story but however the pace picked up in the last part of the novel. This is a book where you really see the full horrors of war on all sides and what these soldiers and their families went through and the strength and courage they showed.

A tale of unbelievable endurance, hardship and heroism this book is not only an education but a wonderful read and a book that you ponder long after you have read it. I would have rated this book 3. View all 8 comments. Jun 18, Dr. Appu Sasidharan rated it it was amazing. What I learned from this book 1 The importance of dignity in our life.

This book shows us the importance of dignity in our life. The author says that maintaining dignity is the real coup that will help a person survive even in the toughest Regular Review Laura Hillenbrand tells us the extraordinary story of Louis Zamperini, who participated in the Berlin Olympics, worked as an air corp, a bombardier in the Pacific after the Pearl Harbor attack, POW after the Japanese captured him. The author says that maintaining dignity is the real coup that will help a person survive even in the toughest conditions.

The stubborn retention of it, even in the face of extreme physical hardship, can hold a man's soul in his body long past the point at which the body should have surrendered it. Forgiveness is one of the vital qualities that a human being should possess.

The author is thoroughly discussing the importance of forgiveness in our life in this book. In seeking the Bird's death to free himself, Louie had chained himself, once again, to his tyrant. During the war, the Bird had been unwilling to let go of Louie; after the war, Louie was unable to let go of the Bird. PTSD is a corollary that many war veterans face after the war. Their concept of dignity and self-worth might be shattered due to the extreme physical hardships that they had to endure during the war.

The ripple effect of PTSD and its after-effects in personal, family, and social life is devastating. It caused the development of a lot of Psychological, cardiac, neurological abnormalities. Substance abuse, domestic violence, suicides caused due to it is also very high in number. To many sailors who have stood on the threshold of death, lost in the agony and mind-altering effects of starvation, it has seemed a reasonable, even inescapable solution.

It will take some time for some readers to get acclimatized to the author's third-person narrative writing style, and it will be difficult to construe at times due to the cursory writing in some parts of this book.

Shelves: history , nonfiction , world-war Amazing story, and well told - kept me up late at night! Louie Zamperini truly went through hell and came back - and it's inspiring to read a story of such willpower and determination.

It was also interesting to me to learn more about Japan and their role in the war. One big takeaway was just how cheap human life is in war.

It was pretty eye opening to read the stats about how they pretty much massacred hundreds of thousands of POW's. And of couse, as the story details, they also did not follow Geneva Conventions and pretty much treated POW's as slaves. One of my favorite points the author made is best illustrated by this quote about Dignity is as essential to human life as water, food, and oxygen. This is a fundamental truth of humanity that the author really drew out well - if you take a persons dignity away you take everything away.

I loved all the stories of POW's being defiant; stealing food, supplies, playing jokes, etc. The little bits of defiance were enough to let them take back their dignity, and I think thats what makes them so compelling; because while we haven't all been POW's, we can relate to that basic need. Jan 02, Diane rated it it was amazing Shelves: holocaust , survival , nonfiction , audiobooks , history , war. Unbroken is an amazing survival story, but this book is also so grim that it took me five years to finish it.

I had loved Hillenbrand's previous work, Seabiscuit , and had bought a copy of Unbroken back in as soon as it was released. I started reading it, and admired the writing, but the more I learned about what Louis Zamperini suffered during World War II, the less I wanted to read the book.

I mean, here was an Olympic athlete who served as a bombardier during the war. His plane crashed whi Unbroken is an amazing survival story, but this book is also so grim that it took me five years to finish it. His plane crashed while on a rescue mission, and he was stranded in the Pacific Ocean for 47 days.

Only two of his crew mates survived the crash, and they had to battle hunger and dehydration, and fight off sharks while in that tiny raft. And then he was picked up by the Japanese and became a prisoner of war. For two years, he was tortured and starved and abused and enslaved. This story is beyond depressing, you guys. And so, the book gathered dust on my shelf, my original bookmark still in the pages. I decided to finally pick it up again after seeing the movie which is also grim.

Since I'm years late to this discussion, all I can say is that the writing and reporting are excellent, and this truly is an incredible story of resilience, survival and forgiveness. I especially liked that Hillenbrand didn't end the story when Zamperini was released from the POW camp; instead, she continued to follow what happened to the men, and even to the Japanese prison guards, some of whom were prosecuted as war criminals.

Zamperini ended up living a long and full life, and his story is inspiring. Highly recommended for fans of history and survival stories.

Hillenbrand is a remarkable writer, and whenever her next book comes out, I'll immediately order that, too. I just hope it's a more joyful subject. Favorite Quotes "From earliest childhood, Louie had regarded every limitation placed on him as a challenge to his wits, his resourcefulness, and his determination to rebel. The result had been a mutinous youth.

As maddening as his exploits had been for his parents and his town, Louie's success in carrying them off had given him the conviction that he could think his way around any boundary. Now, as he was cast into extremity, despair and death became the focus of his defiance. The same attributes that made him the boy terror of Torrence were keeping him alive in the greatest struggle of his life.

This is likely one of the reasons why Japanese soldiers in World War II debased their prisoners with such zeal, seeking to take from them that which was most painful and destructive to lose.

On Kwajalein, Louie and Phil learned a dark truth known to the doomed in Hitler's death campus, the slaves of the American South, and a hundred other generations of betrayed people.

Dignity is as essential to human life as water, food, and oxygen. The loss of it can carry a man off as surely as thirst, hunger, exposure, and asphyxiation, and with greater cruelty. In places like Kwajalein, degradation could be as lethal as a bullet. View all 11 comments. It took me a year rather, 11 months exactly to listen to this audio I started the first half while I was painting last year and never got the opportunity to finish it. Months later, when I had it on my phone, I continued listening to it but got bored.

B-9 and B planes sadly did not interest. Nor the details on his military service. I honestly know nothing about planes, never been in one even, so the technical part bored me. A lot. Last week I finally made enough progress and reached the It took me a year rather, 11 months exactly to listen to this audio Last week I finally made enough progress and reached the ocean part, the story improved considerably.

I listened to the audio at every chance I had and finished it rather quickly. I honestly didn't know who Louis was before starting this book.

Back in spring, my dad was watching a movie on tv.. I was watching snippets with him and then wow it's so similar to the book..

WAIT what. Yeah, that's how I discovered it's the same Unbroken directed by Angelina Jolie. And Louis is going to get captured by the Japs. You see, I had the audiobook on my laptop and only knew it's a non-fic biography. It was only last week, when I became invested in the story again, that I googled some things about the book other than the general google page and yes I did read some spoilers but are is there a spoiler in a biography?

Well if I didn't know the story.. I think yes. I couldn't help it, I wanted to know if Allen will survive too. Aside from the military part, I loved the story and how it was told. It's really beautiful and heartbreaking. This isn't a review, this is just me telling you that this is a well-written story, it makes a good audiobook, the narrator did a good job, the story is popular for a reason, and the book deserves recognition.

If you like reading about WWII stories read it. The only difference is that the author did not have to make up the tragedies and hardships that Louis went through as an athlete, the life on the raft, the horrors of the war, the life after the war View 2 comments. Nov 15, David Baldacci rated it it was amazing. A true tale of human resilience so unbelievable that you would think it was a novel.

But Louis Zamperini did it and Hillenbrand chronicles that harrowing journey in a way only she can. All the cheesy, tired words people use to review books seem to apply to this book: remarkable, intense, striking, exceptional. I hate to use them, but all of them are relevant in regard to this work. I even could use that silly phrase, "I couldn't put it down. I looked forward to picking it up again and continuing on with the story of prisoner of war Louis Zamperini.

Hillenbrand is also the author of All the cheesy, tired words people use to review books seem to apply to this book: remarkable, intense, striking, exceptional.

I had no doubts she could write well, as Seabiscuit is one of my favorite reads, ever. Yet, a feel-good story about a horse is a different animal than a story of the brutal realities of a prisoner of war. Could she write about the horrors of war without doing a disservice to the harsh truths of battle?

The answer is yes. She clearly spent a great deal of time researching his life, the lives of the people he fought with and against , the battles he fought, the equipment they used. The book is intelligent and she writes with such depth. While some books on war are understandably painful to read, her talent as a writer makes this book a bit more palatable. I do not mean to imply that she demeans or degrades what he endures, she does not, but she seems to know exactly when the reader needs to back away from the horror.

With great mastery she will take the reader from the horrors of POW camp to the heartache of the families at home. While I was skeptical, I had to give the book a shot.

For starters, I love the period of time she writes about. The clincher for me is that Louie was an Olympian, a runner. While my running days are long gone and certainly never reached the heights Louie did there's a bond of sorts there.

We meet Louis as a kid growing up in Torrance, California. He's a bit mischievous and well onto his way of becoming a teenaged hoodlum and then a good for nothing adult. He has an epiphany of sorts and gets on the straight and narrow. Guided by his brother, he begins running for his high school track team. While it's not easy at first, after some training, Louis discovers he has some speed. He continues his running career at USC, well on his way to that impossible, elsusive four minute mile and qualifies to run in the Olympics in Berlin.

I found myself swept away, absolutely enthralled by the thrill of his races, his trip across the Atlantic, his meeting with Hitler. Shortly after his return, the war reaches a fever pitch and Louie signs up to serve.

He ends up in the United States Air Force as a bombardier. So many incredible stories of close calls of near crashes or of running out of fuel over the shark infested Pacific.

Eventually, Louie's luck runs out and during a rescue mission in an ill-equipped plane, they crash into the ocean. He survives with a few other men on rafts for 47 days. They fight hunger, thirst, aggressive sharks; they dodge bullets from Japanese pilots. Rescue comes in the form of the Japanese Navy. So begins a long stay in and out of POW camps.

He somehow survives unspeakable tortures and after years in captivity, he is free. While the war may have ended for the word, it continues to rage in Louie's psyche. Freed from his cell, his mind becomes his new tormentor, disturbing his thoughts and sleep with hellish flashbacks and dreams. He meets a woman, falls in love and gets married, yet the war haunts him and a cloud of misery hangs over his marriage.

He resolves to return to Japan, find "The Bird," the tyrant who tortured him, and kill him. At this stage in the story, he's ugly and unlikable though the reader understands why.

Drinking too much, he becomes abusive. His wife talks him into going to see Billy Graham speak. He walks out one night. Another night he goes and is converted to Christian life. Normally, the cynic in me would moan and groan, or maybe put the book aside for fear of it getting preachy Louie finds peace and forgiveness. He no longer is haunted by bad dreams or the desire to find and kill his Japanese tormentor.

Religion frees him from hate and he becomes a model husband, father and citizen. You won't regret it. Jan 05, Sarah rated it it was amazing Shelves: favorites. I would love to just breeze through it but there is so much information.

I'm only on page 28 but I'm listening to an audio book at the same time. I'm almost don't with that. Anyway, this book is a must read. Very well written! I want to absorb everything. My Father, Uncle and Father in law went through this. I'm sad because of the conditions they had to deal with but also proud beyond words. This is a must read book" I finished "I'm loving this book. This is a must read book" I finished reading this book last night.

It was one of the most memorable books I have read in some time. I didn't care much for History in school, but I was drawn to this one. It amazes me what our soldiers went through and how much we have to be proud of.

To answer those and other historically minded questions, readers can turn to the growing body of literature that is shifting our attention from the war in Europe to the war in Asia and the Pacific listed below in the recommended reading.

To criticize Hillenbrand for these omissions is to pick apart a book she did not intend to write. She chose to tell a different tale and does so masterfully. Historians might learn a thing or two about storytelling from reading it. Such a vogue serves as a welcome corrective to the Eurocentric view of the Second World War too often seen in the West.

With the best-selling Unbroken , Laura Hillenbrand brings a small but important part of the Pacific War to a popular audience in the fascinating story of a man who rose to Olympic heights, fell beneath the contempt of his captors, and found his purpose in a life both human and heroic. Michael Norman and Elizabeth M. Flags of Our Fathers d. Clint Eastwood, Letters from Iwo Jima d. It is based on a real war-time survivor Louis Zamperini. He was a USA Olympian track star, an army officer and also survived three prisoner of war camps in Japan.

Unbroken is adapted from a non-fiction novel that recounts the events in the life of Louis Zamperini. Unbroken movie's plot follows the narrative in the novel.

The author Laura Hillenbrand, found out about Zamperini's story when she was carrying out research for her another novel Seabiscuit. There were two biographies already published on Zamperini's life but this novel and later, the movie takes the appraoch from the eyes of the man himself. The non-fiction memoir was an instant hit amongst the readers. It was translated into 29 languages. It stayed on the bestseller lists for quite some time.

To answer the question of is Unbroken a true story, yes, it is a true story since it is based on a person who was directly involved and affected by World War 2. Louis Zamperini died on July 2, , at the age of Unbroken movie's plot covers only the first half of Louis's life.