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)

Better than I hoped

I had hoped to be inspired and maybe cry I was both and a whole lot more. Great ending. Better than the movie.

Introspection

This book is very moving and in the end, makes one look at ones own life,which off course is inevitable.

A must hear!!

A true story of a man who went through hell and came through victorious. Wonderful!

Loved it.

This book is fantastic. I typically like sci-fi, so I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it, but I can't imagine not having listened to it now.

Incredible, Truly inspiring.

Loved the story. I had sympathy pains for Louie during parts of the book but he was truly inspirational

He's my new hero

If you could sum up Unbroken in three words, what would they be?

Intense emotional amazing

What was one of the most memorable moments of Unbroken?

Surviving the days at sea.

What does Edward Herrmann bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Clarity and sincereness

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me sad and angry at times

Any additional comments?

What a guy Louis is.

Awesome Listen!

Great story. I looked at ordering this one for a couple of months....kept passing it up as I did not know if I would like it. SO glad I ordered this book.

Exceptionally heartbreaking, yet, inspiring

Listening to this story has left me with interesting impressions of human nature. I studied Human Development as an undergrad and that along with a religious lifestyle provided me with various insights while listening. in fact, I didn't want to stop listening and relished the traffic that accompanied my drives in the late afternoons. This is an amazing telling of cruelty, resilience, determination, dignity, forgiveness, brotherly love, and other facets of the human experience. I feel enraptured and edified by this story accompanied by a desire to be kinder and do more for others. Only the best of stories have such an effect.

Inspiring and educational

Remarkable story of heroism and survival. We need books like this to remember both the power of the will to survive, as well as seeing that evil does exist.

FANTASTIC!!

One of the best nonfiction books I've read in a long time. Even my husband joined in to listen which rarely happens. Well done in every regard!!