#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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Haunting because it is so real, one could almost feel what he was feeling.
This book is and will be in my top 5 forever.
This is absolutely a wonderful book! I loved this book, and couldn’t put it down. Great author!
Fantastic story.
Overall, I am very glad to have read this book. It gave me a better perspective on POWs and the Japanese’ role in WWII. I loved getting to know Louis Zamperini and learning about his triumph over PTSD through Christianity.
I just wish more of the book had taken on that narrative quality, as shown in the preface. While I appreciate all the …
Definitely worth reading.
An incredible story of a life revealing the realities of war, the strength of humans to endure adversity, the horrors of Japanese internment of POWs, and the indomitable nature of the human spirit as well as sacrifice for a cause beyone one’s self.
Forever one of the best books I’ve read. An extraordinary real-life tale of courage and fortitude. Recommended for everyone!
The movie, although good, did not do justice to this great book.
A hell of a true story!! Amazing examples of how some remarkable human beings triumph over extreme challenges. Wonderful!! And true.
This is gripping, true story of character of relentless courage and grit. Though he got off on the “wrong foot” (pun) in his early life, one person was able to see his talents and turn him in a good direction. His perseverance through the challenges of his war-time experiences left the reader with faith in the endurance of the human spirit in …
My father served in the South Pacific and told over and over how bad the Bataan death march and imprisonment were and the fecklessness of the brass involved. I found this book moving and surprisingly intense for what would seem to be a bunch of guys doing nothing in a prison camp but is shown to be more about the triumph of the human spirit.
Should be part of eleventh grade English curriculum and taught in conjunction with American history study of WWII.
What a life.
What an amazing true story!
An amazing story of resliance and redemption.
The movie by the same name didn’t cover half of what the book does!
The incredible story of Lou Zamperini and the resilience of the human spirit by the exceptional author Laura Hillenbrand who also wrote Sea Biscuit.
It seems contradictory that I loved this book because parts of it are truly gruesome. But Louie’s personality & intellect were so infectious. Counter that with the atrocious treatment of POWs by the Japanese. This biograpy is very well researched.
This riveting life story of Louis Zamperini covers in length his work as a WWII bomber pilot over the Pacific and his survival of being lost at sea and a Japanese POW camp.