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{ "item_title" : "Unbroken", "item_author" : [" Laura Hillenbrand "], "item_description" : "#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The incredible true story of survival and salvation that is the basis for two major motion pictures: Unbroken and Unbroken: Path to Redemption.Extraordinarily moving . . . a powerfully drawn survival epic.--The Wall Street JournalHailed as the top nonfiction book of the year by Time magazine - Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for biography 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. Laura Hillenbrand writes with the same rich and vivid narrative voice she displayed in Seabiscuit. Telling an unforgettable story of a man's journey into extremity, Unbroken is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit.", "item_img_path" : "https://covers1.booksamillion.com/covers/bam/0/81/297/449/0812974492_b.jpg", "price_data" : { "retail_price" : "19.00", "online_price" : "19.00", "our_price" : "19.00", "club_price" : "19.00", "savings_pct" : "0", "savings_amt" : "0.00", "club_savings_pct" : "0", "club_savings_amt" : "0.00", "discount_pct" : "10", "store_price" : "19.00" } }
Unbroken|Laura Hillenbrand

Unbroken : A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

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Overview

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The incredible true story of survival and salvation that is the basis for two major motion pictures: Unbroken and Unbroken: Path to Redemption."Extraordinarily moving . . . a powerfully drawn survival epic."--The Wall Street JournalHailed as the top nonfiction book of the year by Time magazine - Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for biography 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. Laura Hillenbrand writes with the same rich and vivid narrative voice she displayed in Seabiscuit. Telling an unforgettable story of a man's journey into extremity, Unbroken is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit.

Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780812974492
  • ISBN-10: 0812974492
  • Publisher: Random House Trade
  • Publish Date: July 2014
  • Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 0.97 pounds
  • Page Count: 528

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TOP PICK FOR BOOK CLUBS
More than three years after it was originally published, Laura Hillenbrand’s terrific second book, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, is available in paperback. In this acclaimed bestseller, Hillenbrand tells the true story of Louis Zamperini, a track star from California who excels at the 1936 Berlin Olympics and endures incredible hardship during World War II. In May 1943, Zamperini’s bomber takes a plunge into the Pacific Ocean. After the crash, along with two other survivors, he hoists himself onto a life raft and begins a long fight to stay alive. He pulls through, only to be taken prisoner by the Japanese. Hillenbrand recounts Zamperini’s incredible trials with the same narrative aplomb she demonstrated in Seabiscuit. Zamperini is an unforgettable character, and in Hillenbrand’s hands, his story takes on timeless proportions. A movie adaptation of the book is set to hit screens this Christmas.

 

This article was originally published in the September 2014 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

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