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4.45k reviews for:
Unbroken (Movie Tie-in Edition): A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
Laura Hillenbrand, Laura Hillenbrand
4.43 AVERAGE
4.45k reviews for:
Unbroken (Movie Tie-in Edition): A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
Laura Hillenbrand, Laura Hillenbrand
4.43 AVERAGE
I'm not a big fan on reading war books, unless I have to for classes. I was skeptical about this book because I didn't think I was going to really enjoy it because it was about a war that happened way before my time. But i was wrong, though this book was centered around WW2 it was an biography about one of the worlds famous Olympic runner who joined the air force during the war and his story of his time during the war. This book had me hooked from the beginning, Hillenbrand pieced together the events of louis Zamperini life from his early childhood till his manhood so perfectly, that you connect with Louis and feel like you've know him personally. This book made me laugh and cry and get so angry at the brutality that this war brought upon Zamperini and the other soldiers who fought this war on the American side and Japanese and not to mention the families of the soldiers and civilians who also suffered. I recommend this book for anyone who likes war stories and sports (because this is an autobiography on one of the famous Olympic runners), but I also recommend this book to anyone who just enjoys a good read. Lauren Hillenbrand did a great job writing this novel, it took her almost a decade to finish it and it was 10 years not wasted because this book deserves 5 stars because its a great story, beautifully written.
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Incredibly informative story written very well. It both told in detail an incredible story of one man, and the overall story of the Air Force and POWs in Japan.
This was an amazing story, but I honestly thought the writing was terrible. I imagine this is just a challenge inherent to trying to write someone else's story--someone who is still alive, and has given you their words, and is planning to read how you translate them into a book. The best writing was done when she was simply painting a picture of the context surrounding the characters--the military; the olympics; aircraft; the treatment of POWs worldwide; etc. The story was also fairly choppy and disjointed--she just dropped in quotes from random POWs throughout the book and I found myself wondering who they were before realizing they were not actually part of the story. It's like she wanted to use and attribute everything she found while doing research, which just muddled the story itself and left me feeling less connected to the soldiers who actually were a part of Louis' story.
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I read this book for my book club. It is not one that I would typically choose to read. It is a true story about a man who was an Olympic athlete as World War II is beginning. He survives a plane crash and survives for weeks on a raft with two others. He is eventually taken prisoner by the Japanese and is held until the end of the war. The Japanese attitude towards POWs is appalling and it is amazing that any were able to survive. Louis Zamperini survives incredible physical and mental abuse and his story is truly inspiring.
I’ve read the abridged version of this book before, but I wanted to get the entire, unedited story, and it didn’t disappoint. Well-written books about tragedies and hardships share not just individual suffering, but human suffering, and do it in a way that minimizes no ones experiences, and highlights their triumphs. Louis Zamperini is incredibly inspiring, along with the soldiers, POWs, family, and friends that shared his experiences. One of the most powerful themes in this book for me is redemption and forgiveness - Louie didn’t allow his suffering to define him, and I think that’s a very important lesson to learn. I highly recommend reading this book.
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I will never complain about anything again after reading this non-fiction book. This is a story about resiliency x infinity!
This was an incredible tale. I never knew there were so many sharks in the Pacific and that was only a small piece of what wowed me of this story. Zamperini himself said that he wasn't a hero, just a survivor and I have to agree. Although "just a survivor" doesn't do the experience justice. He did become a hero in my eyes when he started the camp for troubled youth because he focussed on helping others. War turns men into beasts. I cannot imagine people doing what they did. Shocking.