Unbroken

Strong 4 1/2. The audio is read by Edward Herman, which is such a delight, as his dignified and classical delivery is so perfectly suited to the story. Liz and I listened to this on a car trip together, and it took much longer to get through because we kept having to pause for exclamations and discussions (recommended!). The story is so fantastical, I was on the edge of my seat on what happened next to him and his friends in the story. I also appreciated the historical details. Though they did slow the story, I learned from them and they inspired a lot of great discussions. Glad this is on the HBOB list!

Wow. Just, wow. Each of Louis' ordeals seems to crush the previous in terms of hardship and his response. The timeline is unthinkable. Most of the major incidents his life, as retold in this book, occur within a few short years of his youth. Such highs and lows seem like they would crush a human spirit, and he is crushed. His recovery and ascendence to peace makes the story heartwarming even as there is unspeakable cruelty within.

I'd recommend this book to folks interested in history, running (you'll be impressed), and life stories. I'm thankful that my dentist recommended this book several years ago and that I found it.

Felt a bit surreal reading a book that describes very vividly a bloody war and half-way through it an actual bloody fucking war starts. The book itself is interesting, but I guess there was nothing new in it. It was the same as reading the 7th book about Holocaust. After a point, you've already read about all there is to know.

This was an incredibly well written book. It is so heartbreaking to me what these men went through, and yet inspiring that they were able to find a way to face every challenge with a sense of hope. It is also a story of compassion and forgiveness. Truly amazing. Thank you to all of the men and women that put themselves at risk to protect our freedom.

One of the most incredible books I have ever read. Louis Zamperini's story is an emotional rollercoaster. Every chapter seemed to bring twists that left me incredulous. Laura Hillenbrand's excellent writing and thorough research did this great story justice. This story of perseverance, indomitable will, and unbelievable forgiveness is a great read for many audiences. I highly recommend this book...5 stars isn't enough.

Are you like me? Do you ever read a book that is so amazing that all you want to do is tell people to go read this book?

I'm not just talking about telling other big readers like me and you. I'm talking about telling everybody. My brother who loves WWII. My eighty-four year old dad who never reads books. My friend who reads mainly mysteries. My checker at Kroger. Everybody.

When I woke up this morning, I felt so happy: I had finished Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand yesterday and I had loved it. I wanted to write a Sunday Salon post about Unbroken, a post so brilliantly written that everyone who read my post would zip out and buy the book and read it today.

I tried writing down my favorite parts of this amazing book and I tried writing lines and lines of enthusiastic prose about this amazing book and I tried writing entreaties to go buy this amazing book because it's, yes, amazing....but nothing seemed right.

Finally, I came across this fifty page excerpt of Unbroken and I realized that I could simply post part of the book and let you read the book for yourself and decide for yourself. In fact, I'll go further....I challenge you to simply read the two page preface of the book (pages 18 and 19) and see if this book works for you.

I'd love to hear what you think.

It took me a few years to get past my usual aversion to war memoirs, but I'm glad I finally read Unbroken. It reads like a novel, gripping, scary (sharks OMG) and moving. Historically, it filled in a lot of the blanks in my knowledge about Japanese POW camps; I had always gathered that they were bad, bid never knew the extent of the horror those POWs lived through. The story is beyond inspiring.

Short Review: This was a very good book. I have had it on my kindle shelf for a while but just couldn't get myself to read another horrible war story. It is pretty graphic at times, but there is a sense of hope in the writing, in part because you know that he is going to live. (Or at least I did because he came and read a letter from the end of the book at my church during a sermon on forgiveness.

My full review at http://bookwi.se/unbroken-hillenbrand/

I also have a review of the movie on my blog at http://bookwi.se/unbroken-movie-review/

What an absolutely amazing, well written, and heart-breaking book. This is not a book to read quickly and not one to rush through and ignore parts of. Every piece, every word should be taken in and contemplated.

My heart is heavy and tears fell often during this one. War is never an easy subject and this book will definitely leave you thinking and feeling deeply.