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Review:
In "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption," author Laura Hillenbrand (of Seabiscuit: An American Legend tells the story of Louis Zamperini, a bad boy turned track and field star, who participated in the 1936 Berlin Olympic and even met Hitler. Narrowly escaping arrest for attempting to piler a Nazi flag, Zamperini returned home, washed out as a pilot and eventually ended up in the Army Air Corps as a B-24 bombardier.

Then, in May 1943, his plane goes down. He and one of his crewmates endure over 47 days before they find land, but, unfortunately, they land in enemy terrain, and are sent to a POW camp, where the story gets even more harrowing and brutal. The story of Zamperini's ordeal, survival and eventual return home, with its own attendant struggles, is one of the most gripping tales of heroism and sheer toughness, mental and physical, that I have ever read.

I must admit, I was a bit worried that Ms. Hillenbrand, after having written the excellent Seabiscuit, would suffer a "sophomore slump." My worries were completely unfounded. Ms. Hillenbrand has the rare gift for setting atmosphere, including vast amounts of tightly-integrated background information, yet her narrative never drags or slows. Every detail was meticulously researched - I can only imagine how much work that took - and she did an incredible effort of setting the stage. I also appreciated the even-handedness of her approach, particularly when singling out the kind and humane guards in the Japanese POW camp, who took tremendous risks. Another standout section of the book, although brief, was the difficulty soldiers had in returning back to "normal life" after the war.

Conclusion: This is one of the best books, historical or not, that I have ever read, and would make an outstanding movie as well.

Where to buy:
This book and other bestsellers are on sale now on Amazon