I know that I am late to this party, but I now understand why so many people have been talking about this book for so long.
Louis Zamperini was on a plane that crashed in the Pacific Ocean on a May afternoon in 1943. He went on to spend more than a month in a raft on the ocean. That alone makes Zamperini's story heroic. He survived by catching rainwater in a tarp and snatching birds right out of the air and fish right out of the ocean. Not only did they have to battle the sun and the sharks that hunted them, but the Japanese have been shooting at them. And then they are caught by the enemy and Louis realizes that what they endured as a castaway was almost luxurious compared to the Japanese POW camps that he finds himself in. For two years, Louis Zamperini lived in the most excruciating manner known to humans, you may not even be able to call it living. Until one day in August 1945. When victory was declared in Japan. The war may have been over, but not for Louis. The memories of that time haunted him for the rest of his life.
All of the WWII literature that I have read recently has been set in Europe. In fact, we even got to visit the American Cemetary in Normandy. It was the most somber, most patriotic experience I have ever had. It all my years of reading about WWII it had always been books set in Europe. I don't think I have read anything set in Japan. One thing I did not know and that is the US dropped flyers prior to dropping the bomb on Nagasaki. Warning residents to get out. I also had no idea how brutal the Japanese were on their POWs. The fact that they did not want any POWs returned to their country. They took extreme measures to ensure it in horrific ways. What Louis and the others hand to endure was horrific in ways that we can never really comprehend.
Bottom Line - Louis Zamperini's story is one that is inspirational beyond measure. Over and over Louis Zamperini could have succumbed to his situation. Instead, he remained Unbroken.
- Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
- On Facebook
- Pages: 528
- Publisher: Random House Publishing
- Publication Date: 11/16/2010
- Buy it Here!
Post a Comment