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)

So good definitely recommend

The book was so intriguing constantly, while horrible, sad things and happy things joined forces to creat this wonderful my written book

Emotionally exceptional!!!

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook a lot. Make me realize how hard it was as a POW in WWII. Surviving from plane crash was already unbelievable; surviving as a POW in Japan with the BIRD was unreal!!!! Superb!!!

Tremendously well told

Loved it!!! I especially appreciate the tender approach to his encounter with Billy Graham at the end. I'm getting a copy for my Dad!

Powerful story

This is a powerful story and I would recommend it to anyone. I listened intently wondering and hoping for each in the story.

Wow... Incredible life story.

Incredible life story. Life changing book. Main message: Jesus Christ is the Savior of mankind. Christ is the one who enabled Louie to be Unbroken.

A hard beautiful story

What a wonderful factual story of true grace and God’s love. Healing comes through love and forgiveness, one achieved that, one did not. Having a father who served in WWII, I was moved to tears.

An amazing story

This is truly an amazing story, well written, well read and performed. I read the book after watching the movie and there is no comparison. There is so much rich detail in the book that is lost in the movie. What a pleasant surprise, one my favorite audio books.

Second time just as difficult to put down as the 1

Wow! What an amazing life! A must read for everyone especially those who have no real knowledge of WWII.

An amazing story of forgiveness!

Any additional comments?

I cannot remember why I downloaded this audiobook as it not of my normal genres but I am glad I did. I am in disbelief at what a determined human being can endure and in disgust and completely shocked in regards to what some people can impose on others. You read and study about wars in school but you never learn about the true journey and unbelievable encounters of our soldiers. This book follows the life story of Olympian and WWII soldier, Louis Zamperini from his childhood clear through his very old age. We follow Zamperini through his years as a soldier including his crash and astonishing survival on an inflated raft through the Pacific. We get to encounter the moments of his capture by the Japanese and his outlandish days in the POW camps. We get a glimpse of the physical, mental and emotional tortures he suffered and the glorious redemption of Christ's forgiveness years later when he was facing the moment of truly losing it all.

I am not much into war stories but other than the detailed snippets of battles and such in the beginning, this book had me enthralled until the end. Truly eye opening and at times, heart wrenching.

I highly recommend this book for Junior High and up. Hoping someday this book will become a reading requirement in our school systems so our youth can gain a more real life understanding of war and its affects on our soldiers.

Compelling!

This story was extremely compelling. I couldn't stop listening. I have never been super interested in WWII and this story changed that!