Laura Hillenbrand's biographical book Unbroken describes the thrilling true story of Olympian and World War II prisoner of war survivor Louis Zamperini. Zamperini was from Torrance, California, where he was known for being a troublemaker. His brother introduced him to the sport of running. Zamperini quickly became beloved by the sport and eventually left out his troubled life behind and went on to become an Olympian.
Zamperini had gone to the Berlin games and was prepared to run, but was not able to compete due to the war. After the 1936 Berlin games are postponed, Zamperini enlists in the Air Force, becoming a bombardier. When a search-and-rescue mission fails, Zamperini’s plane crashes somewhere in the Pacific. For forty-six days, Zamperini and one other crew member float the Pacific, until the are captured by the Japanese. From there, Zamperini is taken from camp to camp, with each one becoming harsher. Zamperini endures two years of being beaten, humiliated, worked, and starved until the end of the war. Zamperini is then returned to the U.S. and reunited with his family and friends, enjoying his life until his death at the age of 97.
The main theme of Unbroken is to persevere in your goals and not let anything drag you down: “Confident that he was clever, resourceful, and bold enough …show more content…
The book not only fulfilled the action piece which I enjoy in books, but also had slow historical content that I like too. The best part in the book was after Louie comes back from the POW camps and seeks remorse from the harshest captor he had named the Bird: “During the war, the Bird had been unwilling to let go of Louie; after the war, Louie was unable to let go of the Bird”(Laura Hillenbrand pg 366) which shows that no matter how brutal people are, you can always forgive them. In the end, I loved this book and would recommend it to all audiences who enjoy an action-packed, fun
Zamperini had gone to the Berlin games and was prepared to run, but was not able to compete due to the war. After the 1936 Berlin games are postponed, Zamperini enlists in the Air Force, becoming a bombardier. When a search-and-rescue mission fails, Zamperini’s plane crashes somewhere in the Pacific. For forty-six days, Zamperini and one other crew member float the Pacific, until the are captured by the Japanese. From there, Zamperini is taken from camp to camp, with each one becoming harsher. Zamperini endures two years of being beaten, humiliated, worked, and starved until the end of the war. Zamperini is then returned to the U.S. and reunited with his family and friends, enjoying his life until his death at the age of 97.
The main theme of Unbroken is to persevere in your goals and not let anything drag you down: “Confident that he was clever, resourceful, and bold enough …show more content…
The book not only fulfilled the action piece which I enjoy in books, but also had slow historical content that I like too. The best part in the book was after Louie comes back from the POW camps and seeks remorse from the harshest captor he had named the Bird: “During the war, the Bird had been unwilling to let go of Louie; after the war, Louie was unable to let go of the Bird”(Laura Hillenbrand pg 366) which shows that no matter how brutal people are, you can always forgive them. In the end, I loved this book and would recommend it to all audiences who enjoy an action-packed, fun