ALReview-0049
Return to Appreciating Literature
UNBROKEN' by Laura Hillenbrand.
I think it is fair to say none of us would have bought this book but most of us were very pleased to have read it. 'Unbroken' is the true and incredible story of a man's determination to survive against the most terrible odds. After a problematic adolesence, Zamperini developed into a world class runner and represented America at the Olympic games in Berlin. War approached and he enlisted in the Army Air Corps. His plane crashed in the Pacific and we followed his extraordinary survival with two others on a raft for 47 days. Rescued and taken prisoner by the Japanese, Zamperini was constantly singled out to be tortured. This meticuously researched book is well written and quite a page turner. It is a book of action and events with hardly any dialogue. We did feel that the author was unable to penetrate Zamperini's inner thoughts and we would have appreciated a more in-depth analysis of how this man was able to undergo the most extreme hardship and survive. Having said that, we thought the book was a remarkable achievement and Zamperini a remarkable man.