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)

heartbreaking.. life inspiring... gripping story

I love survival stories but this one has my respect and adoration..what a message of forgiveness

Great read.

My family thoroughly enjoyed this book. It captured us and we could not stop listening. Highly recommend.

Powerful!

Unbroken exceeded expectations and offered a long look into war, its effects on those involved, and the resilience of the human spirit.

Amazing story

I truly enjoyed every moment of this book.
As a Christian woman born in 1948, I was interested too because my father was a POW. I felt the desperation and also the strength coming from this remarkable man.God delivered many miracles to him.

Must read!!

What made the experience of listening to Unbroken the most enjoyable?

What I learned from his experience.

What other book might you compare Unbroken to and why?

The Hiding Place

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

Just his experience after he got home. It seemed like he hit rock bottom then and understood God's plan for him and walked away from all the hate. You think you don't make a difference to anyone.

Any additional comments?

I have a hard time picking these kinds of stories because it really hurts to know the terrible things that people had to go through, but I know there is something for me to learn and appreciate.

Amazing!!!

This book should be read/listened to by all. What an amazing story! The movie is great too, but left out so much! Read. This. Book.

Amazing book that everyone needs to read

This book exceeded all my expectations and then some. it's wonderfully written, wonderfully read and full of so many hard hitting facts. Made me tear up on numerous occasions and introduced me to the hero that is Louis Zamperini. If you read one book this year make it this one.

Absolutely riveting.

What did you love best about Unbroken?

The spunk of Louie and that his family loved and supported him through good and bad.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Unbroken?

When he went to the Billy Graham tent meeting and decided to keep his promise to God that he had made on the lifeboat, received the peace of God, stopped drinking, stopped smoking and stopped having nightmares and flashbacks of his ordeal. It was another miracle in this man's life that showed him God wanted him for Himself.

Which scene was your favorite?

When they had to fight off the sharks jumping in the lifeboat.

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

When his wife died.

Any additional comments?

I kept thinking, no one could live through this without the hand of God bringing him through it. And it made me wonder how different Louie could have possibly been from all the other POWS who did not live. For a reason only God knows, he was spared. He should have been dead a hundred times, but it never happened.

Incredible

I am blown away by the story, I have looked forward to listening the lui's story every day for a week now.

This book was amazing

Like I was there!!!!

This is the best audiobook I have ever listen to. The narrator made me feel as if I was right there along with them. The traumatic experience that Louis Zamperini (Zamp) and his fellow POWs experience is beyond words.
It made me look at experiences of my life and the things I deal with daily like nothing but a welcome surprise. Since listening to "Unbroken"', I now look at things much differently now as I hope other readers or listeners of audiobooks do. Take things a bit lighter, feel more appreciative, and certainly be more grateful for what you have in your life and not the things that you don't.