• Unbroken

  • A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
  • By: Laura Hillenbrand
  • Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
  • Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (50,747 ratings)

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Unbroken  By  cover art

Unbroken

By: Laura Hillenbrand
Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
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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)

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What listeners say about Unbroken

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Very exciting but hard story to hear...

I enjoyed the reader and his voice was very good for this story.
The middle of this story is very hard to listen to but so important to know of the power of people and choices they make for both evil and for good. The last few chapters are amazing and show the power of forgiveness and God's grace extended to us. Louie and his many friends and family are examples of courage, respect and dedication. Thank you!

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Powerful

Unbroken changed my view of WW2. The book is a riveting true story of an olympiads experience as a POW. The underlying theme of the book demonstrates the power of a man's will to survive through unspeakable ordeals. This book takes through vivid emotional experiences. Hillenbrand has written a masterpiece as she tells the story of WW2 through the eyes of Louis Zamperini.

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This should be read by every American!

What a story and what a life! Written well and great narration. I would recommend to anyone😃

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Great unknown story of American hero.

I did not know the full story of Louis Zampareni. This is a compelling story of his incredible life. The author did not sugar coat his mistakes, and didn't preach. I also learned a lot of the atrocities of war in the Pacific theater.wow

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Incredible!!!

By far the best book I have ever listened to!! The story was incredibly well written and the narrator was fabulous!!! I was truly inspired by Louie's story and the life choices he made following excruciating circumstances.

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Riveting story, reads like an adventure story

What did you love best about Unbroken?

Hillenbrand tells a biographical story with all that matters and without listing dates, times, names, etc. Extremely captivating. Pity the movie didn't do justice to this great story.

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Excellent!

Excellent narration of a life of family love, triumph, trial, unimaginable pain and suffering, struggle, family love once again and ultimately, how God's love transformed a life ruined by hate & revenge.

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What a story!

Great information and detail on what happened. Such an amazing story. Book really pulled me into the war and was emotional listening to what these guys went through.

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    5 out of 5 stars

this book

Me
Great book loved it nice and short book nice quick and easy read go

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Unbroken-----An amazing story.

This was an amazing book. Purely a joy to read. This story is probably one of my all-time favorite books ever.

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