Her Book Self

Laura Hillenbrand, author of Seabiscuit, relates another gripping and emotional biography in her latest book Unbroken. Subtitled A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, Hillenbrand's work is exactly that.

Unbroken tells the story of Louis Zamperini. With humble beginnings as a neighborhood troublemaker in Torrance, California, Louis rose to the national spotlight as a runner in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Barely missing a medal, he set his sights on the next Games, but like many, he delayed his dreams in order to serve his country and enlisted in the Armed Forces as a bombardier. His duty turned nightmare when his plane went down and survival on a raft drifting through the Pacific was only a sliver of torment compared to life as a POW in Japan.

Despite horrid and dehumanizing conditions, Zamperini survived, and his story is chronicled along with details of his family and fellow servicemen. Hillenbrand relies on primary sources and unfolds the story with an expert pen. Powerful, amazing, dramatic and inspiring barely scratch the surface of describing Zamperini's journey. I was captivated throughout the book and really enjoyed delving into this biography of an American hero of whom I was previously unfamiliar. This is a story of history and survival, but even more so it is a testimony to the power of the human spirit which in Zamperini's case, through the darkest times, remained Unbroken.