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Unbroken: A World War 2 Story Of Survival, Resilience And Redemption

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anthony

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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.
 
Ok... started reading this late last night before going to bed. Already like it. Very well written and expressed. Louis was quite the child it seems... or quite the handful.
 
I got through the first two chapters... and this is quite the inspirational story. Never say die, basically. Louis got himself from a trouble maker of a child, heading to the olympics within a matter of years. His brother is quite the motivator and coach for him. A real pleasant read thus far.
 
This is seriously one of the best books I've read... considering non-fiction. Louie had one hell of a life's adventure, no doubt about it. I'm up to his first bombing run, where they had a malfunction in the aircraft and literally just made it back to their own base. The engines cut out as they landed due to the extra drag of the bomb door being open on the return flight, when fuel was already marginal.

I absolutely love the fun and games he has. This is what I miss about the Army. We used to just be able to do some stupid shit, just cause... it's considered moral boosting. As long as nobody got hurt, and nothing really damaged that couldn't be fixed easily, then all was usually well.
 
I've just finished chapter 6.

I'm enjoying the way his story is unfolding. From the trouble he caused as a boy, through his running and qualification to the 1936 Olympics.

Then war, he has just been sent to Hawaii.

Even though a true story, I'm enjoying the writing style.
 
This book has enormous, raving reviews... and I do understand why now. I'm seriously not bored reading about Louie's life, not a single bit. The author has really done her research with this. Love the pictures as it goes, and the little snippets. A huge data collection from research went into this, then written like a fiction.
 
Haven't started yet but this sounds very promising. Book at home, me away... ;)
I had some doubts myself... though I have found the WWII era fascinating in documentaries and other materials, in small doses. This is just an extension I guess, into one persons life as a whole. I honestly get why this has such huge, successful reviews now. Completely fascinating!

Once I look at a few things here, I'm gone to the lounge for the day to read, read, read.
 
OMG... I had teary eyes in soooooo many places of this book. Louie's entrapment with the Japanese, the torture endured. I got so involved into it, I nearly finished it all today. Decided to leave the last part for tomorrow. Absolutely amazing.

Louie and Phil's bond during their capture. Enduring surviving a plane crash in those days, then the ocean... landing in Japanese hands to only be captured, tortured for following years, then when just at deaths door, its over. Losing so many of their friends along the way, is simply tragic.

Much focus of WWII was always on Hitler and what Germany did, though to be perfectly honest, Germany was a saint compared to Japan's acts. Germany hated and targeted Jewish... Japan targeted everyone who wasn't Japanese. No wonder their military was banned from any UN, or otherwise, involvement around the word until they 2002, where they got their first taste of playing nice with other militaries to help out a struggling nation.

Things tend to fall into place when reading this depth of information within this book. The book really does justice to the ornate human character of strength, resilience and attitude of not giving up.
 
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