Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Goodreads synopsis: On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane's bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.

The lieutenant’s name was Louis Zamperini. In boyhood, he'd been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent, breaking into houses, brawling, and fleeing his home to ride the rails. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics and within sight of the four-minute mile. But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown.

Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.

My rating: 5 stars.

Content warnings: R. Military-esque swearing, brief talking about sex, mentions of sexual and non sexual nudity, war violence, torture, starvation, smoking, drinking, verbal abuse, theft, disturbing event involving a duck.

(spoilers below)

Thoughts: I have trouble getting through a lot of non fiction. The writing just tends to be dry, and not easy for me to read quickly, even if I'm really interested in the subject.

I got through Unbroken in three days.

Hillenbrand's writing is just so easy to read and understand. It's almost conversational, and it feels like a story, not some dry history text. This was my second time reading through it, and I was amazed at how much I actually remembered from the first time several years ago. I tend to forget a lot about books, especially if they're not well written, but this one really stuck in my mind.

The story itself, while at many times very rough to experience, is also very inspiring. And not only Louie's own war survival, but the bravery of others Hillenbrand doesn't neglect to mention, as well as Louie's post-war experiences. I'm very glad the author did include Louie's salvation, and how that impacted him.

Also, Louie is the kind of old person I want to be in the future. :P

(As a note, I have also seen the Unbroken movie that came out in 2014. It's hard to watch, even with many of the worst experiences from the book taken out. But I think it's very worthwhile, though I would recommend watching it after reading the book.
I also hope to see the second movie at some point, and may edit this review with that if I can find it somewhere. If anyone has seen it, I'd love to hear your thoughts on that, or both movies.)