Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand, is proof that "truth is stranger than fiction." It is rife with love, hate, suffering, joy, torment, good, evil, resilience, determination, and redemption. The experiences of its protagonist Louie Zamperini would fill several lifetimes. If offered as fiction it would be subjected to scorn and ridicule for the outrageous and nearly unbelievable events of Louie's life. As biography it is moving, powerful, and inspirational.
The author's previous book, Seabiscuit, was a popular
success and the source of an excellent movie. Hillenbrand says that she was
certain that she would never find another subject as fascinating as the
Depression-era racehorse. After her
first conversation with Zamperini she changed her mind, to our good fortune.
She traces Louie's life through his misspent youth,
outstanding athletic career, World War II heroics, POW suffering, posttraumatic
stress, and ultimate redemption. Louie was the bombardier of a B-24 which was
riddled by Japanese fighter fire while on a bombing raid but limped home with a
leaking fuel line, no brakes, nor any right rudder. His next plane The Green Hornet probably
should have not left the tarmac, but another B-24 had gone down somewhere southwest of Oahu and
Louie was a member of the crew assigned to search for it, or for its crew if it
had crashed. The Green Hornet crashed in the Pacific, killing all on board but
three, Louie, the pilot, and the navigator. They salvaged two small rafts but
none of their provisions. They suffered from starvation, dehydration, sunburn,
Japanese strafing,and shark attacks for over six weeks, surviving on raw fish
and birds, caught with makeshift fishing tackle and their bare hands.
Louie than became a POW where he experienced brutality
almost beyond description. The treatment of the POW's was evil, cruel, and told
in gruesome detail.
The end of the book is a paean to Louie, his family, and
others (at least one of whom you have heard of but to give the name here would
detract from the story.)
In 1945, the last year of the war, the POW's were aware
of the Japanese "kill-all" plans, no POW was to be permitted to live
post-war. The Japanese women and children were receiving training in the use of
rifles and bayonets to repel the anticipated
invasion. In retrospect the decision to drop A-bombs on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki in order to end the war seems justified. Without the abrupt surrender
caused by the bombing, it is unlikely that any of the POW's would have
survived.
Unbroken is not an easy read. The descriptions of evil
and suffering are graphic, clear, and disturbing. I can't call the book
enjoyable but it was certainly worthwhile and rewarding.
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