Summary from GoodReads:

On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane’s bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.
The lieutenant’s name was Louis Zamperini. In boyhood, he’d been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent, breaking into houses, brawling, and fleeing his home to ride the rails. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics and within sight of the four-minute mile. But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown. 

Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, 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.

My Review:

Unbroken is one of those books that is daunting to review.  I mean, this story is heartbreaking.  How do you review something that speaks of such strength and courage and willpower?

Do I talk about the writing?  Because frankly, it was magnificent.  I haven’t read Seabiscuit, but from reading Unbroken I have to say, I’m in awe of Hillenbrand’s ability to put together a story with so much information jam-packed into it, and still make it read like a fictional piece.  There was so much information.  My head is still spinning from it all.

And Zamperini?  What a guy.  Fantastic photos (he was a hottie, yall!), fantastic story and .. the sharks!  I keep coming back to them in my mind because, geez, I would have been totally worthless if placed int he same position.

I read a lot of World War II stories, both fictional and non-fiction, but I have to say that this is one of the most moving stories I’ve read and one of the most different.  Most WWII books I read deal with Germany and what is happening in Europe and it’s easy to forget at times that there was more happening – at least for non-history buffs like myself. This book does a fantastic job of kicking my un-knowledgeable self in the booty and forcing me to open my eyes and look at what else was happening.

Fantastic book – believe the hype, don’t let it scare you off like it did me at first.

Check out these reviews!

At Home with Books