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)

Great story, puts things in perspective.

The author does a great job of telling his story and making him relatable while also connecting other world events and events in other people's lives at the same time. It's easy to follow the timeline and really get into the story. I love the ending, too. It was surprisingly uplifting.

This is History everyone should know.

Any additional comments?

We all need to know the history of our country. This book explained so much to me. Not only is it a story of one incredible person, but it is the story of WWII Pacific battle and the torment our Soldiers and POW's endured. Makes me prouder than ever to be an American, and even more proud of our Service Men and Women. Thank you to all who serve, have served, and will serve. We need you!

What an amazing story, eritten excellently.

What an amazing story and what amazing brave men. I wish we could hear all their stories. God bless them.

Amazing!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would and have recommended this book to friends. I savored this book - just when I thought it couldn't get any better it did.

I never knew, amazing

Inspirational endurance of external and internal struggles, beautifully written and beautifully performed. Thank you Louis.

Incredible!

This book touched me in ways I never thought possible. It's a must read for anyone & everyone! Thank you! Read

Loved it! Always entertained!

I chose this for my first audible book because my father was a tail gunner in the war and his photos from those days were intriguing to me. So much comradery and emotion in the faces of the GIs as they draped their arms around one another. My dad didn't talk about the war, but from the photos I made many stories both as child and later as an adult. This book was warm and very well narrated from start to finish.

Inspiring!

This book inspired me not to whine. Also, made me realize that I can probably push my body a little more to keep up in any workout class. There's a lot to learn from Louis's story about survival and the strength of the human spirit.

Indescribable Resilience

I found this story almost hard to take. I could not put the book down as the story was so fascinating, yet at times I was concerned to carry on lest something even more severe should happen to Louis! I found it hard to believe that the story-line was true and based on fact, but the research shows it to be so. A real wake up call to us all to learn to get along with one another, so that this sort of thing never happens again! An absolutely excellent book and very well read by Edward Herrman. If you like WW2 history stuff then do not miss this!

Yes You Can Survive

What did you love best about Unbroken?

4 stars is because much of what happened to this man is not enjoyable and up-lifting. It is not always easy to hear of the horrible things that this man survived in the war. However, this is one of those books that is important to keep listening to because these are just the sort of things humans are capable of in the right circumstances. More than that the story of all that was survived suggests how the human spirit will respond and strike back or survive in spite of the worst sort of abuse.

What about Edward Herrmann’s performance did you like?

He strikes just the right tone to narrate with documentary precision often leaving me on the edge of my seat.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Too many to name just one.

Any additional comments?

This is one of those books that I think ought to be required reading for history of WWII. Here we scratch the surface of war crimes in the Pacific Theatre and reasons for the dropping the atomic bombs which are so little appreciated not even 75 years later.