Unbroken Background

As a young boy, Louis Zamperini was a delinquent, uncontrollable and incorrigible. He broke into homes, was constantly fighting and was a serial runaway. As a teenager he channeled his delinquency into running on the track, discovering a talent exceptional enough to take him to the Berlin Olympics where he ran in front of Hitler. When war was declared he became an airman but after a terrible air crash that led to a doomed raft ride into the unknown. The open ocean saw sharks, enemy aircraft and the trial of thirst and starvation, but the same rebellious nature that had catapulted him into trouble in childhood helped him withstand the hardships that would have sent most people over the edge of endurance. Zamperini's odyssey is one of the most incredible stories that emerged after the war; in her second book, Laura Hillebrand details his story to the reader in a sensitive and inspiring way without embellishing any of the incredible elements in it. Hillebrand is well known for researching in great detail and is a much-awarded writer. Her first best seller was Seabiscuit, which was not only nominated for the critics circle award but was also turned into an Academy Award winning movie. Unbroken was also adapted for the cinema by Angelina Jolie.