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Here are some discussion questions for anyone interested. I do not know if there are any spoilers in the questions themselves. I copied & pasted them here so read them at your own risk :)Discussion Questions: Unbroken: A WWII Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand
1. Louie’s experiences are singular: None of us is going to be in a plane crash, strafed by a bomber, attacked by sharks, cast away on a raft, or held as a POW. And yet the word most often used to describe him is “inspiring.” What does Louie’s experience demonstrate that makes him so inspirational to people who will never endure what he did? What are the lessons that his life offers to all of us?
2. Is Louie a hero? How do you define heroism?
3. In Louie’s boyhood, he was severely bullied, then became a delinquent and hellraiser. In these experiences, did he already display attributes that would help him survive his wartime ordeal? Did he also show weaknesses or tendencies that foreshadowed the struggles he would face postwar?
4. Did Louie’s athletic career help prepare him for what he would face in war?
5. Louie was especially close to his brother Pete, who devoted himself to him. If Pete hadn’t been there, what would have become of Louie? Does Pete deserve credit for shaping Louie into a man who could endure and survive his Odyssean ordeal?
6. Hillenbrand explores the extraordinary risks faced by America’s WWII airmen: 54,000 men killed in combat, 36,000 killed in noncombat aircraft accidents, and a stunning 15,000 men killed in stateside training—at times, an average of 19 per day. Men faced a 50% chance of being killed during combat tours of only 30-40 missions. Were you aware of the dangers faced by airmen in the Pacific war? What facts and stories were most surprising to you?
7. What are your feelings about Mac? Do you feel sympathy for him? Anger? If you endured the trauma of a plane crash, and were placed in a situation that you knew very few men survived, might you have reacted as he did? In the end, did he redeem himself?
8. When Louie, Phil and Mac were on the raft, a key factor in their survival was optimism. All three men were young and able-bodied, veterans of the same training, experiencing the same hardships and traumas, yet Louie and Phil remained optimistic while Mac was hopeless, seemingly doomed by his pessimism. Why are some people hopeful, and others not? How important is attitude and mindset in determining one’s ability to overcome hardship?
9. What did you find most remarkable about the things Louie and Phil did to survive on the raft?
10. Over 47 days on the raft, the men lost half their body weight, and were rendered mere skeletons. Yet they refused to consider cannibalism, which had not been uncommon among castaways before them. Would you, in the same situation, ever consider cannibalism? If it could ensure that two men survived, when otherwise all three would almost certainly perish, would it be a moral decision?
11. Louie believed he was the beneficiary of several miracles, among them his escape from the wreckage of his plane, the fact that he and the other men were not hit with bullets when their rafts were strafed, and the appearance of the singers in the clouds. What is your interpretation of those experiences?
12. The POWs took enormous risks to carry out thefts, sabotage, and other acts of defiance. Men would risk their lives to steal items as trivial as pencil boxes. What benefit did they derive from defiance that was worth risking death, or severe beatings?
13. In the 1930s and 1940s, Germany and Japan carried out what are arguably the worst acts of mass atrocity in history. What leads individuals, and even whole societies, to descend to such a level? What motivated the notoriously sadistic POW camp guards in Japan, particularly the Bird? Do we all carry the capacity for cruelty?
14. After the war, Louie would say that of all the horrors he witnessed and experienced in the war, the death of the little duck, Gaga, was the worst. Why was this event especially wrenching for him and the other POWs?
15. Louie, Frank Tinker, and William Harris planned to escape from Ofuna, walk across Japan, steal a boat and make a run for China. It was an attempt that very likely would have ended in their deaths. Was it foolish, or did it offer a psychological benefit that was worth the enormous risk?
16. Louie joined a plot to kill the Bird. Was he justified in doing so? Would it have been a moral act? Do you think Louie could have found peace after the war, had he killed the Bird?
17. Unbroken reveals that, under the “kill-all order,” the Japanese planned to murder all POWs, a plan that was never carried out because of the dropping of the atomic bombs. The book also explores the lengths to which the Japanese were prepared to go to avoid surrender. How did the book make you feel about America’s use of the atomic bomb on Japan?
18. “Anger is a justifiable and understandable reaction to being wronged, and as the soul’s first effort to reassert its worth and power, it may initially be healing,” Laura Hillenbrand wrote in an article for Guideposts magazine. “But in time, anger becomes corrosive. To live in bitterness is to be chained to the person who wounded you, your emotions and actions arising not independently, but in reaction to your abuser. Louie became so obsessed with vengeance that his life was consumed by the quest for it. In bitterness, he was as much a captive as he’d been when barbed wire had surrounded him.” Do you agree?
19. Many of us struggle to forgive those who have wronged us, but forgiveness is often so difficult to find. What makes it so hard to let resentment go?
20. “What the Bird took from Louie was his dignity; what he left behind was a pervasive sense of helplessness and worthlessness,” Hillenbrand continued in her Guideposts article. “As I researched Louie’s life, interviewing his fellow POWs and studying their memoirs and diaries, I discovered that this loss of dignity was nearly ubiquitous, leaving the men feeling defenseless and frightened in a world that had become menacing. The postwar nightmares, flashbacks, alcoholism and anxiety that were endemic among them spoke of souls in desperate fear. Watching these men struggle to overcome their trauma, I came to believe that a loss of self-worth is central to the experience of being victimized, and may be what makes its pain particularly devastating.” Do you agree?
21. Hillenbrand wrote that among the former POWs she interviewed, forgiveness became possible once the POW had found a way to restore his sense of dignity. Was this what Billy Graham gave to Louie? If so, what was it about that experience, and that sermon, gave Louie back his self-worth?
22. Do Louie Zamperini’s wartime and postwar experiences give you a different perspective on a loved one who was, or is, a veteran?
23. Why has most WWII literature focused on the European war, with so little attention paid to the Pacific war?
This will be a re read for me since I loved it so much the first time. These are great questions Teneal!! One interesting thing I learned was that Laura Hillenbrand suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and you can imagine the time it took to put this kind of detailed book together. I once read that there were times she had to choose between taking a shower and interviewing for this book.. Truly amazing. I hope you love it as much as I did but let me prepare you for an emotional rollercoaster!!
I'm waiting for it to come in at my library (the audiobook is checked out! Grrr!) but I can't wait to read it!
I've listened to a little over an hour so far. I like the narrator-Edward Hermann. I have been looking forward to reading this book. I have heard accounts of this story many times from a WWII veteran who knew some of these men. Interested to see how the accounts I have heard line up with the book.
Thanks for the background on the author Christine. It must have taken her ages.I'm trying to finish the book I'm listening to now. I hope to start it within the week ::fingers crossed::
I'm halfway through the audio--the suffering these men went through is unimaginable. It really puts in perspective the totally irrelevant situations we perceive as suffering.
Lori wrote: "I've listened to a little over an hour so far. I like the narrator-Edward Hermann. I have been looking forward to reading this book. I have heard accounts of this story many times from a WWII vet..."How cool. I just got it today, will start it when I finish the last disk of the book I have now,
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I just started it yesterday. So far, Louis is still at home raising hell.
I just started it today. I haven't gotten very far yet.
Lena wrote: "I just started it yesterday. So far, Louis is still at home raising hell."If Louie had been a child in this decade he would have been dosed up on Ritalin 24/7.
I'm only about 3 1/2 hours into it but it is really good. I'm so caught up in the lives of these men. I'm in the middle of Chapter 9 & (view spoiler) So scary.
☻Nikki☻ wrote: "I'm only about 3 1/2 hours into it but it is really good. I'm so caught up in the lives of these men. I'm in the middle of Chapter 9 & [spoilers removed] So scary."It gets worse. :( Can't wait until you all finish so we can discuss the questions.
I finished the book some time ago and like most, it moved me- but unlike most, what it moved me to was anger and resentment. Let me explain. Im 52 yrs old and I own and have watched just about every major and minor documentary on war ever made, I have also read a great deal on war, genocide and the Holocaust, as well as hearing many stories first hand. Of all that I've seen and read I've never been struck so obliquely by a story. I found myself squinting in doubt and re-reading many passages. by the end of the book I was angry and disgusted because I felt strongly these amazing true stories were padded and distorted for no other reason than to make them even more sensational, which was not just unnecessary but ethicly and morally repugnant. Unfortunately the awful things he went through (in most instances) were not that rare, so there are countless stories of the reactions and actions of both those abused and those that did the abusing. If I wasnt disabled and able to write at length I could list the many, many HIGHLY questionable passages. This is NOT to say the things he went through didnt happen, Its to say that those stories are padded and the author has taken questionable artistic liberties with the facts,WHICH where certainly remarkable enough without the added distortion. I know this view will be unpopular but I feel this kind of writing is a crime against all those that gave the full measure.
I'm about 3/4 of the way through. I have read quite a bit of history, but I am by no means an expert. However, this book is in the fiction section of my library, so I took that to mean the author was at liberty to take certain artistic leaps. Is it listed as nonfiction elsewhere?
Really. Well, I can't usually count on my library's classification as being totally accurate. I just finished this book, and I LOVED it. Definitely had to grab a tissue once or twice. I'm passing this one on to my fiance.
Jeff wrote: "I finished the book some time ago and like most, it moved me- but unlike most, what it moved me to was anger and resentment. Let me explain. Im 52 yrs old and I own and have watched just about ever..."Thank you for your post. I read the book and, like most readers, was moved but also recognize that I have nothing with which to compare the stories. I usually avoid war stories.
I'm about 2 1/2 hours from finishing the book. I have thoroughly enjoyed the story. Jeff...I can't comment on this book's authenticity. I haven't researched the life of POW's or the Holocaust. I don't know if these events were padded, as you believe, or not. Either way, this story moved me beyond words. If even half of what he went through is true, then he is blessed to have made it through alive. I have searched to see what type of research she did for this book. Here is an excerpt from an interview she gave.
When a book about Japan’s World War II history, especially one dealing with its war crimes, became a bestseller in the U.S., the first reaction from some Japanese people often is to question the accuracy of the content. Many reviewers in the U.S. praised your thorough research. Can you describe how you went about researching for this book?
It is an understatement to say that I am a driven researcher. I spent seven years on this book because I was researching so obsessively, trying to find every source there was and cross-checking every fact against other sources to be sure my reporting was accurate and fair. In the back of the book, I listed every source for every fact, so anyone who doubted an account could verify it.
For nearly every event described in the book, I found multiple sources, including many from Japanese witnesses and documents. For example, I describe an incident in which a POW named William Harris was horrifically beaten by a camp guard named Kitamura. I found several living POWs who witnessed this beating, including Mr. Zamperini. In the U.S. National Archives, I found sworn affidavits from many other eyewitnesses to this event. Their testimony was remarkably consistent. In addition, I found the sworn testimony of Kitamura himself, which was consistent with the American accounts. Through Harris’s family, I was even able to find the handmade Japanese-English dictionary that had provoked the beating. This is a typical example of the breadth of American and Japanese sources that I used in telling this story, ensuring that my reporting was accurate.
The full interview can be found here: http://hnn.us/articles/spirit-unbroken
Could it be padded? Definitely, but either way, it was a moving & emotional story. I will give it high ratings.
Now as to my thoughts on the story itself. Keeping in mind that I haven't finished the book of course. The horrors that he & the other men faced is unbearable. I had tears flowing while reading the abuse he suffered under Watanabe. He is blessed to have not died from the injuries he received. The masochism Watanabe displayed is unthinkable. Poor Louie was targeted from the beginning, just because his name was well-known. I cannot even begin to imagine the horrors many POW's faced on a daily basis. I'm sure this was just a small glimpse into some of the injustices they endured.
The fact that Louie & Phil survived 47 days in a liferaft is a Miracle. That's all I can call it. The lack of real food or access to water should have killed them all off many times. I couldn't believe how inept the provisions each life raft held were either. She told us how they upgraded the provisions later on in the war, but that didn't help Louie, Mac or Phil.
I haven't finished, so at this point I don't even know if Phil made it out of his POW camp alive or not. I hope he did. I should find out soon since I am currently at the part where the Louie & his POW's are finally on a train leaving the POW camp. I'm not sure how much more there is to tell, but I need to know how things progress for him once he arrives back home. I know some of his story since I watched youtube videos of a couple TV interviews he has done since the release of this book.
I will comment more once I have fully finished this book. But so far, a very moving & emotionally charged story. I highly recommend it. As a matter of fact, I am passing the audiobook on to a couple of friends once I am done. I know they will enjoy it as well.
Please be courteous to others and don't post too many "spoilers" without at least posting what chapter you are on so others know if you are further ahead than what they themselves are. You may even use spoiler tags if you wish.
Most of all...Enjoy the book & the discussions.