Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption in Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge

Oct 09, 2013 Nadine in NY Jones rated it it was ok

Shelves: lotsa-buzz, non-fiction, history, narrative-nonfiction, everyone-loved-it-except-me, era-world-war-2

Yet again I'm in the awkward position of hating a book that so many have loved. And yet, I am not mystified by the popularity of this book. Many people love stirring war stories of the Great Generation soundly trouncing their enemies, and they love religious inspirational stories, and they love redemption stories, especially redemption through suffering. But this book had a lot of themes that really bother me.

This tale is filled with rampant sexism, jocular references to prostitutes (who I'm sur Yet again I'm in the awkward position of hating a book that so many have loved. And yet, I am not mystified by the popularity of this book. Many people love stirring war stories of the Great Generation soundly trouncing their enemies, and they love religious inspirational stories, and they love redemption stories, especially redemption through suffering. But this book had a lot of themes that really bother me.

This tale is filled with rampant sexism, jocular references to prostitutes (who I'm sure didn't enjoy the experience as the Americans did), vile details about the Japanese that is sure to stir the blackest xenophobic heart, and endless rah rah courage-under-fire and grace-under-pressure stories. I'm sure it's all true, but that's not the point. Is it needed to tell a strong story? I don't think so. The third part of this book felt like torture-porn: how many highly detailed descriptions of torture does one book need? Frequent mentions of how sexually aroused the Japanese guards were by torturing the POWs makes the whole thing even ickier. On top of all that, I was rolling my eyes at the woo, at the declaration that Zamperini's family somehow had a hotline to God, and that's why they were so sure he wasn't dead. (I'm sure A LOT of soldier's families were "sure" their son was not dead - and a lot of them were wrong; belief isn't enough.) I didn't need to hear about how God saved Zamperini out at sea, how he lived because he just really wanted to live - I'm sure a lot of soldiers really wanted to live, but they died anyway. God didn't step in here, Zamperini just beat the odds.

I couldn't shake the impression that Hillenbrand had hoovered up every possible detail about Zamperini's life, and just dumped it all in, whether it strengthened the narrative or not. So many times (it seemed) I read that THIS was the turning point, then I went on to read more and more of the same that came before. How was it a turning point if nothing changed?

And it's BORING. Take the opening scene. Here you have this dashing airman w an impish smile and roguish grin, a former Olympic athlete for crissakes, downed over the Pacific, stranded in a life raft for weeks, surrounded by SHARKS, and fired on by Japanese Zeroes!!!! This is Die Hard material!! How can this be boring?? But it is. The story isn't boring, but it's so overladen w MINUTIAE that it can't carry the weight, and it draggggsss under the needless details. Every day of their 47 days stranded at sea is described, with the number of sharks and the size of the sharks described each day. I could have done with a lot less detail.

I guess I'm glad I read it. I did learn some things. For example: Hershey made emergency ration bars (part of the supplies on the life rafts) that were extremely high in calories, non-melting, and extra bitter to ensure the soldiers would not eat them unless it was a dire emergency.

I did wonder at Hillenbrand's choice to lay out all the nasty details (view spoiler) She even mentions later in the book that Louie and Phil had intentionally with-held that information after they were freed, in respect to Mac's family. So why reveal it now? I suspect it's because she couldn't resist throwing in one more redemption-through-suffering story, in a book already heavily laden with both redemption and suffering. ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

Sep 17, 2011 Lydia Presley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, wwii, 2011

Original review posted ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Oct 16, 2012 Morgan rated it it was amazing

What a fantastic book. I held off on reading this for years because I read the description and thought that reading about WWII sounded about as much fun as being in WWII. Big mistake! Couldnt put it down and recommend it for all.

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 29, 2012 Rae rated it it was amazing

Shelves: bio-memoir, 2012

An absorbing and very thorough biography of Louis Zamperini (a 1936 Olympic track star), who survived a horrific bomber crash into the Pacific during World War II. After drifting for 2,000 miles, he and his buddy were captured by the Japanese and sent to a POW camp. They were tortured day after day until finally being liberated after Tokyo was occupied. Hillenbrand has captured the essence of one of the greatest generation's finest!

This book is so detailed in its descriptions that at times it is ...more

Like · see review

Sep 28, 2011 Jen Peters rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, non-fiction

Amazing story about an amazing man who has lived through so much. I love the way the author writes as well. She gives us a great story but in it she threads facts and statistics so that they aren't overwhelming, reading like a history book, but more informative, fitting with what is going on in the story of Louie. I would recommend this book to absolutely anyone and everyone!!! There are some really hard parts to read, as the realities of war and POW camps are not hidden or written about lightly ...more

Like · see review

Jun 26, 2012 Ashley rated it it was amazing

This was a brilliantly well written book. I listened to the audio book on a long car trip and it was supremely compelling. This non-fiction account of a WWII prisoner of war had a great balance between back story and the war to bring me into it. I am not typically a history reader and I don't generally seek it out, but after numerous recommendations I am glad I took the leap. The story starts with a plane crash and has you hooked from the very beginning. The lush detail was scene setting and I c ...more

Like · see review

Aug 17, 2011 Heather rated it really liked it

It is so amazing, and sad, what the men who fought in WWII went through. It is shocking the torture and humiliation they were forced to deal with if captured. This book made me have a whole new respect for what both of my grandfathers went through when they fought for our country, and the reasons they didn't talk about it ever. ...more

Like · see review

Oct 23, 2012 Julianne Dunn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Absolutely riveting. I don't think there is enough written about the POWs in WW2 in Japan and this story follows Louis Zamperini, a bombadier, and his struggles including surviving lost at sea, only to be captured by Japanese. Read by Edward Herrmann, I was completely wrapped up in the story the entire way. Brilliant. ...more

Like · see review