Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption

[Story]

the saga of Louis Zamperini, a former Olympic runner who became an American airman — and whose true laurels were the result of trials, endurance and will far from any stadium.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption follows Zamperini as a bombardier during World War II. When a plane he is piloting disappears into the Pacific Ocean, years of starvation, imprisonment and brutality follow.

http://www.npr.org/2010/11/19/131452279/an-olympian-battered-but-unbroken-by-war

 

[scotrace]

I spotted this one (by Laura Hillenbrand, author of Sea Biscuit.) Waiting for my library to pick it up.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

I snuck read a few paragraphs at the book store. Looks excellent.

 

[AmateisGal]

What makes this such a unique story is that the author has chronic fatigue syndrome and suffers a great deal with it, so much so that some days she has to choose between writing or taking a shower. She just doesn't have the energy to do both. She also did all her research by talking to Louis on the phone. I don't know that they've ever met in person yet. So in a sense, they are both "unbroken."

I'm looking forward to reading it, too.

 

[AmateisGal]

I finished this over the weekend. It is, quite simply, one of the best books I've ever read (and that's saying a lot). The writing is top-notch, and Louie Zamperini's incredible will to survive is really the stuff of legend.

I highly recommend this. It's not a scholarly history, but a personal history - the best kind, in my book.

 

[Phantomfixer]

Thank you for posting this review. I look forward to reading this one. It might have went unheard of if not for your post.

 

[scotrace]

It's at the top of the NYT best seller list now.

 

[AmateisGal]

It's at the top of the NYT best seller list now.

And deservedly so.

 

[DanielJones]

Unbroken, Life According to Louie Zamperini

I came across this one in Runners World Magazine. A very fascinating story about a very fascinating man.

Life According to Louie Zamperini on running, survival, and his Seabiscuit strategy
One day in 1997, while researching her first book, Seabiscuit, Laura Hillenbrand was reading a clip from a 1938 California newspaper when she noticed an item about a young running sensation named Louie Zamperini. Over time, she noticed more stories about him, first about his running career and then his wartime odyssey: the crash of his B24 into the Pacific, floating at sea for 47 days, and more than two years of torture as a POW in Japanese labor camps. Someday, she thought, I'm going to look into this guy. Today, Louie Zamperini is 93—and going on immortal. He still hikes. Still flies planes. Still spends two hours a day trimming bushes and wielding a chainsaw through the tree limbs of his one-acre yard in the Hollywood Hills. As he revealed in a recent interview, he's even got a Seabiscuit story of his own to tell.

http://www.runnersworld.com/article...nuary-_-zamperini-_-Louie_Zamperini_Interview

Pain is that last quarter of a mile. The last of anything. You feel it, but when you're through racing, your whole body just feels elated. So the pain is worth it. I had a high tolerance for pain. When I carried the torch in Japan, the mayor asked me, "Tell me Mr. Zamperini, did anything good come out of you being a POW?" "Yeah," I said, "it prepared me for 55 years of married life." I was going to say I developed a high tolerance for pain but I didn't want to hurt their feelings. So I said the next worst thing.

This man is an inspiration. Not only has he lived a long life he's packed it full.

There is also a book out there about him that was written by the author of Seabiscuit. I may have to pick this one up.
http://laurahillenbrandbooks.com/

Who knows, maybe a life like this can be made into an inspiring film?

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Fletch]

My dad just finished this and was very (quietly) moved by it. I do think, however, that we need to use care in reading such stories.

Not everybody gets the right lesson from stories of survival. Too many focus only on the survivor, and try to draw parallels to everyday life as some sort of jungle ordeal - which, at least until Yellowstone goes kablooey, is kind of a childish and grandiose way of looking at life.

Meanwhile, it is very easy to shrug and accept man's inhumanity to man as inevitable, which helps perpetuate it in each new generation.

 

[Harp]

My dad just finished this and was very (quietly) moved by it. I do think, however, that we need to use care in reading such stories.

Not everybody gets the right lesson from stories of survival. Too many focus only on the survivor, and try to draw parallels to everyday life as some sort of jungle ordeal - which... is kind of a childish and grandiose way of looking at life.

Meanwhile, it is very easy to shrug and accept man's inhumanity to man as inevitable, which helps perpetuate it in each new generation.

Light illumines shadow.
---Vietnamese proverb

 

[DanielJones]

Light illumines shadow.
---Vietnamese proverb

Indiana Jones: And what did you find, Dad?
Professor Henry Jones: Me? Illumination.

Cheers!

Dan

 

[AmateisGal]

Excellent book. Highly recommended!

 

[DanielJones]

Excellent book. Highly recommended!

Could you expand on that thought. What was it about the book?
Thanks!

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Zemke Fan]

It is one HELLUVA book.

 

[scotrace]

It is one HELLUVA book.

Agreed!

 

[AmateisGal]

Agreed!

I second that! I recommend it to everyone, regardless if they're interested in WW2 or not. It's a universal story, IMO.

 

[cco23i]

EXACTLY! A GREAT personal account.

scott

 

[Feraud]

Agreed. Great story from an excellent writer. For an author that suffers from exhaustion due to chronic fatigue (wait until she has children..talk about chronic fatigue.. ) she certainly makes up for it with energy in her storytelling.
I've been meaning to re-read Seabiscuit.

 

[AmateisGal]

Agreed. Great story from an excellent writer. For an author that suffers from exhaustion due to chronic fatigue (wait until she has children..talk about chronic fatigue.. ) she certainly makes up for it with energy in her storytelling.
I've been meaning to re-read Seabiscuit.

I read an essay by the author once...I don't think she'll ever be able to have children. Just a short trip to a nearby town made her have a relapse. She is literally a prisoner in her own home. It's very, very sad, but she has an incredible way with language and can tell one heckuva good story.

Here is the essay. It's eye-opening and shows just how amazing she is to have written these two books.

http://www.cfids-cab.org/MESA/Hillenbrand.html

 

[Feraud]

What a story. I never knew CFT was so debilitating.