Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

962 Words4 Pages
When the majority of people think of a great journey of adventure, sorrow, and triumph, they think of something fictional—perhaps something like The Odyssey. What most people neglect to realize is that tales of such struggles exist outside of Greek mythology; in fact, they existed in the life of Louis Zamperini. The legendary tale of this former Olympian and his horrifying ordeals in World War II is told in the biographical book Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, published by Random House. She manages to capture all the trials and tribulations of this young man in 480 pages in a way that makes it difficult to put down. It is because of this that I would be quick to recommend this book to anyone. Most readers would find the story of Louie one worth reading for a number of reasons. It begins as a tale of an Italian boy living with his family in a constant struggle with poverty. As the reader starts, he or she learns about the type of teenager Louie was, including some of his more juvenile escapades. After his brother takes in interest in coaching him to run, Louis quickly becomes the youngest to qualify for the Berlin Olympics—of course, only after having overcome quite a lot to get there. Although his success at the Olympics was not that of first place, he had done better than many expected; a feet which was to prove to be among the first of many extraordinary achievements of Zamperini. Shortly after, when the war begins, he enlists by a series of unfortunate events and ends up in the Army Air Force as a bombardier. Right away, it becomes clear that his term in the military will not be a pleasant one. Like most men at war, he watches many of his friends die and even has a few close calls himself. Of course, throughout it all, he continues to run because his career as an athlete was cut far too short. One eventful May afternoon, his career as a bombardier is also cut

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