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)

Couldn't stop listening

Excellent narration. Amazing story, wonderfully detailed. I truly feel like I know all of the people in this story and the emotions ran high the entire time. I could not stop listening.

God is good.

I'm happy I trusted reviews.

Has a movie been made yet? I hope not. I couldn't bear to see the war crimes and atrocities depicted in this book, nor see Hollywood gloss over or condense them. Still, I'm glad they were recorded for posterity. And Hollywood would never depict the very satisfying ending as spiritually moving as it was in print, if they would even try to tell the ending as written, at all. I'd only trust Hollywood to rewrite it. And before I clicked submit, I googled. Yep, Angelina Jolie made a movie. And yes, all the critical reviews of it support what I just wrote. I won't see the movie and I'm happy I read the book.

I have no words

This book should be read by every American. Every human! It is absolutely epic and I really feel that this book will stay with me forever.

Truth

Very well put together story,unbelievably heart trenching. Thank You Jesus for Your love and forgiveness.

Much better than the movie

What a fantastic listen. I am familiar with the movie, bit had to listen to the book. I was not disappointed. Edward Herman did a wonderful job narrating

Best book I’ve ever read.

Amazing story line and so interesting. The reader was amazing as well. I listened to the entire thing in less than 3 days. I will probably read it all again because I loved it that much

A must read

great book, reality is hard to imagine but oh so real. good narration, very easy voice.

Movie sucked

Terrible movie especially considering this is one of the greatest books/stories of all time.

An excellent WW2 biography

I had never really heard of Louis Zamperini until I tag this book. Now I believe I know him, and those lives around him, very well.
Unbroken is the epitome of the, nearly extinct, resilient American spirit. Nicely written and crafted.

How do I even put this into words

This is the type of book that you can’t even describe properly in words there aren’t enough words in the english Language to describe how good this book is the only words I can think of is indescribably good.