Review of Laura Hillenbrand's "Unbroken"

After “Seabiscuit,” Laura Hillenbrand didn't think she would find another worthy subject to write about.

She changed her mind when she began to research the life of Louis Zamperini. The result: Her 2010 book, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption.
 
Zamperini, a bombardier, and pilot Russell Allen Phillips spent 47 days in rafts, sharks circling them the entire time, on the Pacific Ocean after their B-24 went down. They drifted over 2,000 miles without a supply of food or fresh water.


If only that had been the worst of their wartime experiences. Instead, nearly 2 months at sea were followed by over 2 years of mental and physical torture as a POW of the Japanese.
 
But the story doesn't end in a POW camp or even with the camp's liberation. There's a reason the word "redemption" is in the title. I'll say no more in case you don't know Zamperini's story and want to find out for yourself.
 
Read the book. At the very least, it will make you feel like a wimp for complaining about whatever life is throwing at you at present. More, it will stir within you a determination to deal with whatever life is throwing at you at present.