#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE • Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more.In boyhood, Louis Zamperini was an incorrigible delinquent. As a teenager, he channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics. But when World War II began, the athlete became … World War II began, the athlete became an airman, embarking on a journey that led to a doomed flight on a May afternoon in 1943. When his Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean, against all odds, Zamperini survived, adrift on a foundering life raft. Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, 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.
Unbroken is an unforgettable testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit, brought vividly to life by Seabiscuit author Laura Hillenbrand.
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
“Magnificent . . . incredible . . . [Hillenbrand] has crafted another masterful blend of sports, history and overcoming terrific odds; this is biography taken to the nth degree, a chronicle of a remarkable life lived through extraordinary times.”—The Dallas Morning News
“An astonishing testament to the superhuman power of tenacity.”—Entertainment Weekly
“A tale of triumph and redemption . . . astonishingly detailed.”—O: The Oprah Magazine
“[A] masterfully told true story . . . nothing less than a marvel.”—Washingtonian
“[Hillenbrand tells this] story with cool elegance but at a thrilling sprinter’s pace.”—Time
“Hillenbrand [is] one of our best writers of narrative history. You don’t have to be a sports fan or a war-history buff to devour this book—you just have to love great storytelling.”—Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
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This is a great story about a true American hero. It captures many historical events and the impact they had on his life.
Great read!
One of the best books ever! Karen J
The best! In my top ten!
Important story of WWII that deserves to be read.
Great book
One of the BEST books I’ve ever read. Skip Kennedy
Great story. Not the best writing but certainly sufficient
Great story told very well
Great book! Makes one appreciate Vetrans.
well written. Well researched. some difficult sections because of abuse. Gave me new understanding of real tragedy in war.
Unbroken as a book far exceeds the movie in depth of characters and story. Unbroken portrays the human qualities of stamina and ability to forgive.
A very difficult book to read, but many should read it to understand what prisoners of war can go through.
Inspiring uplifting true story!
The book was great, movie not so much. Can’t believe a person could survive all the things that Zamperini went through. Very inspirational. It is a hard book to put down. Just when you think things are going his way then , wham, he gets a setback. A book everyone should read.
Very enjoyable and informative.
Where we find inner strength might remain a mystery, but some people can dig deep enough and find it, even when life tortures them. Some people really are, as Hemingway said, stronger in the broken places.
Great well written book that was both sad and inspirational.
The gentlemen trying to survive held on to their humanity through the entire ordeal. Great read.
This is a wonderful boo, very well written. I couldn’t put it down!
The man in this story is captured by Japanese soldiers during WWII. It follows his life while in a POW camp run by a ruthless man. Although it follows him through despair and hopelessness, there are high points in the book. It is an inspirational story.