BOOK REVIEW - U N B R O K E N

 U N B R O K E N 

by Laura Hillenbrand

"A minute of pain is worth a lifetime of glory" 

~ Louis Zamperini

Jan 26, 1917 - Jul 2, 2014

Reading this book, I felt as though I was a part of the life of one very energetic and brave young man by the name of Louie Zamperini.  Louie's story is impressive and scary. This shit, and I  mean literal shit he went through is insane.

** S P O I L E R  A L E R T **

Louis Zamperini, American Olympic athlete, US Army Air Force Lieutenant, Son, Brother, Father and Husband, who did what most men did in the late 30's after Pearl Harbor.  He joined the military and became a Bombardier and flew with the Pilot, Russell "Phil" Phillips, who became Louis' best friend and the crew of one of the most bad ass B-24 plane called "Super Man".  The book is called Unbroken.  The story seems fictitious but every single word of it is reality. 

The reality of Louis Zamperini!

The story of Louie is one of success, bravery, Strength and resilience in the face of death, torture, beatings and starvation.  We all know the shit that happened to the Jewish families in Germany, I still can't fathom the devastation.  But why don't the history books speak of the torture brought upon by the Japanese?  After Pearl Harbor, the United States went into attack mode, and rightfully so.  Not only did this book teach me about who this amazing man Louis Zamperini was, it also taught me a little about the Japanese and their role during WW2 and the Pacific war..  

B-24 plane

Laura Hillenbrand has captured the essence of Louis "Zamp" Zamperini so well, I felt as though I know him personally. I could feel every crack of the pole on his body, crack to the skull, I can feel the blood dripping from my nose. The detail she has, the access to Louis and his story is so heartfelt.  I cried for Louis, I wanted to go to Japan, and find those assholes and kill them myself... figuratively of course.

Louis and Phil survived 47 days at sea before they were captured by the Japanese. Surviving on albatross, yes the bird, fish and rain water.  Three men survived the crash of the Green Hornet, only two made it to Japan.  They were shot at, hunted by sharks, rained. Survived through different types of weather and hallucinations.

Once captured they would be separated, tortured, interrogated, starved and humiliated by Japanese soldiers on a power trip.  Eating dirt covered rice balls, covered in lice, suffering from beriberi, beaten on a daily basis, forced into slavery by having to work for the Japanese in the coal mines, wearing only the clothes they were captured with.

In a time when war was happening all around, it was a war I knew nothing about.  By the end of the book UNBOKEN, I became familiar with the suffering of all in Japan at that time.  But the torture endured by all the prisoners of war "POW's" of this war, became one of frustration, humiliation, and disrespect for all those men who were tied up, caged in, and starved. How anyone could do such horrific things to another human being is beyond me. 

This story needed to be told, and I am so blessed to have been able to read it.  Louis' story has finally been told, in great detail. And I think everyone should read it. There is so much to his story that I don't want to ruin it all.  This story includes a little bit of everything it's a war story, it's a survival story, it's a love story and a story about finding yourself after some pretty messed up shit.  Finding that place that brings you peace, that saves you, that takes your pain and turns it into something so much more.

This book gets a rating of 5 Books, equivalent to 5 stars.  

A great autobiography of a great man, soldier and Christ follower.  Thank you Laura, for telling us the story of Louis Zamperini, Phil and all the men who gave their all.

~ A