Unbroken

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

By: Laura Hillenbrand

Narrated by: Edward Herrmann

Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Number-one New York Times best seller

The incredible true story of survival and salvation that is the basis for two major motion pictures: 2014’s Unbroken and the upcoming Unbroken: Path to Redemption.

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.

In her long-awaited book, Laura Hillenbrand writes with the same rich and vivid narrative voice she displayed in Seabiscuit. Telling an unforgettable story of a man’s journey into extremity, Unbroken is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit.

©2010 Laura Hillenbrand; 2010 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Unbroken is wonderful twice over, for the tale it tells and for the way it’s told. A better book than Seabiscuit, it manages maximum velocity with no loss of subtlety. [Hillenbrand has] a jeweler’s eye for a detail that makes a story live." (Newsweek)

"A master class in narrative storytelling.... Extraordinarily moving...A powerfully drawn survival epic." (The Wall Street Journal)

"Ambitious and powerful.... Hillenbrand is intelligent and restrained, and wise enough to let the story unfold for itself. Her research is thorough, her writing crystalline. Unbroken is gripping in an almost cinematic way." (The New York Times Book Review)

“[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)

“Hillenbrand...tells [this] story with cool elegance but at a thrilling sprinter’s pace.” (Time)

“Unbroken is too much book to hope for: a hellride of a story in the grip of the one writer who can handle it.” (Christopher McDougall, author of Born to Run)

What resiliency!

A beautiful story of human resilience, WW2 history and the redemptive power or God and forgiveness.

Real life hero

This is a great story and delivery was excellent. I listed to over a couple different road trips and there was no loss of context each time a returned.

worth the credit

love this book. The way it portrays his life is excellent from start to finish

Gripping! Truth is stranger than fiction.

Amazing, thrilling true story. Writing and performance are spot on, and contribute to an exciting and gripping retelling of these events... God truly had a story to tell through Louis’ life, and made it more dazzling than an even an author could imagine.

An Outstanding Book

I could not put this book down. It read like a story with great detail.

Excellent Book - Well Done

I would definitely recommend this book. Courage and survival at the ultimate level. What happens in the end, all men should grasp, like Louis did. An inspiration to us all.

An amazing story; A place in my top 5 best books.

This is one of the most amazing books I have ever read. It receives a place in my top 5 books, as it teaches us so much about survival, strength, war and forgiveness. Let's hope nobody will have to endure these things again.

Wow

Pretty graphic novel about the horrors of POW camps in WWII but a fabulous novel. The narrator was great. Thank you Vets for your service.

Couldn’t put it down

I first read the hard copy a few years ago and couldn’t put it down. I am not an avid reader and have difficulty staying with a book if it doesn’t really catch me. This book is brilliantly compelling and endlessly informative. I learned so much about our history through the the fascinating stories of the incredible, stunning, miraculous life of Luis Zamperini. Excited to listen to it again a second time. Probably my favorite book.

An amazing and gripping story

Wow, what a story. I came late to this book, but I’m glad I did eventually!. It was riveting. I also enjoyed Edward Hermann’s narration too. Can’t recommend this enough.