UNBROKEN

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption is a story of just that,  a story of the remarkable abilities of American Soldiers fighting in the Japanese war theater.  The book tells the tale of brave men who so selflessly threw themselves into the line of fire in defense of their liberty and in honor of those that died before them.  One man in particular, however, rises above them through his sacrifice, determination, valor, and camaraderie towards his brothers in arms.  Louie Zamperini is such a man.  A young track star forced to run away from home at a young age, Zamperini finds himself with the skills and know-how to make it to the Olympic Games.  But when the call of duty rings, he answers and is soon flown out to Japan to fight for his country.  His campaign does not begin well, as he is quickly captured by Japanese soldiers and thrown into their torturous internment camps.  Witnessing gruesome torture, horrific battles, while experiencing troubles in his faith, Louie and his fellow inmates partake in a daring escape in B-29 bombers.  While the escape was successful, Louie must return to his prison towards the end of the war in order to set the rest of the prisoners free. During his return, Louie faces his former tormentors and recognizes that his faith teaches forgiveness, teaching him to come to peace with what they did to him. 

This was truly an incredible story.  The book showed the best and the worst that humanity has to offer in its most trying of times.  Heroes such as Louie Zamperini remind us what it means to be loyal to our countries and what it means to be decent human beings.  The Japanese guards, like Bird, remind us of the power of fear and what horrible things men can do when they succumb to it.  Laura Hillenbrand sets a powerful story that connects her audience to such times.  I could feel their fear and their desire to retain what shred of dignity they had left after being stripped of everything.  I feel that I connected most with Zamperini's struggle to retain his faith in what he believes in and what he stands for.  So often now-a-days not everything is black and white, and as such, the beliefs that guide us become more diluted as the grays thicken.  Zamperini's struggle was one that everyone experiences and is one that everyone will find relief in knowing that even in the hardest of times, people can remain true to who they are.  

A story like this one, a story of such power and magnitude, deserves recognition towards the author's ability not only to find a story like this one, but to convey the message in such a sensational way.  Hillenbrand does such a marvelous job speaking through Zamperini to her audience of those curious about American history and American triumph to let them know the real story of World War II and the horrors our brave men and women experienced.  While the book certainly takes a darker tone with hopeful undertones, Hillenbrand manages to stylise her writing very well with local diction of the soldiers and journal excerpts from Zamperini's own diary.  For these reasons and those listed above I rate this book 10 dead japs out of 10 dead japs.