Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
4 journalers for this copy...
Wow! The story of an amazing and resilient man. And so well told! Hillenbrand brings us into the stadium of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the interior of a B-24 bomber limping back to base, a raft drifting across the Pacific, Japanese POW camps and the mental struggles of recovery.
Best of 2012 Swap
Best of 2012 Swap
Journal Entry 2 by itpdx at On BookObsessed, A swap -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Released 11 yrs ago (1/29/2013 UTC) at On BookObsessed, A swap -- Controlled Releases
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
This is on its way to hoserlauren who won it in the Best of 2012 Swap on Book Obsessed
Received the book today and the book plate a few days ago. Now they will be one!
Thanks itpdx, this looks good.
Thanks itpdx, this looks good.
Louis Zamperini was an Olympic runner in 1936, competing in long distance, and thought to be the first man that would be able to break the four minute mile. Then WWII started, and Zamperini joined the Air Force, becoming a bombardier. Training in Hawaii, he became very close to his crew including pilot Russell Allen Phillips (Phil). As the crew worked together, learning the ins and outs of flying B-24 bombers, many men were dying from non-combat accidents. Louis and his crew went out to try and find a assumed plane that had gone down over the ocean when their own plane experienced troubles and also went down. The only men that survived the impact were Louis, Phil, and another crew member Mac.
Floating in the ocean, with only sharks and the odd bird as their companions, the three wonder when search planes will try to come and find them or if they'll die in their raft. After 47 days at sea, they finally see land only to be captured by the Japanese. They are taken as POWs and are treated without dignity, moved from camp to camp.
This book is a true story of survival. Physically being able to survive 47 days at sea with very little to drink and eat is unbelievable itself. Then captured as POWs, they must mentally be able to survive when they are constantly humiliated and degraded.
Like most biographies or autobiographies, I always find the first few chapters slow and rather dull because there's so much to explain about the character of the person. Once the story moved to the war, this story captured me. You know that Louis survives but you pull for him and hope that he goes through the least amount of hardship.
What I was very surprised at was the facts on the number of people that died from non-combat flights, significantly so. It makes you wonder what could have been done during the war if fewer men had died from accidents. Could it have ended sooner? It also makes me grateful that my grandfather, a navigator during WWII, came home without incident.
It's really no surprise that this book took 7 years to research and write. The amount of detail is extraordinary. There are accounts of POW life from a variety of sources. Interesting fact: Hillenbrand and Zamperini never met in person during the writing and publishing of this book!
Floating in the ocean, with only sharks and the odd bird as their companions, the three wonder when search planes will try to come and find them or if they'll die in their raft. After 47 days at sea, they finally see land only to be captured by the Japanese. They are taken as POWs and are treated without dignity, moved from camp to camp.
This book is a true story of survival. Physically being able to survive 47 days at sea with very little to drink and eat is unbelievable itself. Then captured as POWs, they must mentally be able to survive when they are constantly humiliated and degraded.
Like most biographies or autobiographies, I always find the first few chapters slow and rather dull because there's so much to explain about the character of the person. Once the story moved to the war, this story captured me. You know that Louis survives but you pull for him and hope that he goes through the least amount of hardship.
What I was very surprised at was the facts on the number of people that died from non-combat flights, significantly so. It makes you wonder what could have been done during the war if fewer men had died from accidents. Could it have ended sooner? It also makes me grateful that my grandfather, a navigator during WWII, came home without incident.
It's really no surprise that this book took 7 years to research and write. The amount of detail is extraordinary. There are accounts of POW life from a variety of sources. Interesting fact: Hillenbrand and Zamperini never met in person during the writing and publishing of this book!
Mailed to my birthday partner!
Thanks so much! A lovely birthday gift - have wanted to read this - Louis Zamperini is from my home town.
I never said what I thought of this - GREAT!!
I never said what I thought of this - GREAT!!
In a box sent to bookpatch
Thank you~ liked the movie so I'm sure the book will be even better.
Yep, the book was better than the movie. I enjoyed reading about Louie's life in 1930's Torrance, California, trying to imagine what it looked like then. dancing-dog and I grew up there in the 60's & 70's and walked the same Torrance High hallways as Louie-- the main building was there even before Louie's time and is still used today.
Lots of things to love about this story--like how his brother saw track as a way to help Louie redirect his energy to a more acceptable outlet; how his mom would pin Louie's airman wings to her dress every morning, and then to her nightgown at night. The amazing courage it took to fly the temperamental B24; Louie's perserverance facing trial after trial after they crashed and were captured. The story was honest about his PTSD struggles with alcohol once he was repatrioted; I am glad he found peace at last through Christ at a Billy Graham revival. He became an inspirational speaker and opened a nonprofit camp for at-risk boys.
Louie Zamperini has since passed away. They held a memorial for him at the Torrance High track stadium; in his honor, the Torrance High track team took a lap around the field. A fitting tribute.
Thanks for sharing this book with me!
Lots of things to love about this story--like how his brother saw track as a way to help Louie redirect his energy to a more acceptable outlet; how his mom would pin Louie's airman wings to her dress every morning, and then to her nightgown at night. The amazing courage it took to fly the temperamental B24; Louie's perserverance facing trial after trial after they crashed and were captured. The story was honest about his PTSD struggles with alcohol once he was repatrioted; I am glad he found peace at last through Christ at a Billy Graham revival. He became an inspirational speaker and opened a nonprofit camp for at-risk boys.
Louie Zamperini has since passed away. They held a memorial for him at the Torrance High track stadium; in his honor, the Torrance High track team took a lap around the field. A fitting tribute.
Thanks for sharing this book with me!
Released at my bookclub meeting. Happy reading!