Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand - Brandon Lee

 Spoilers Ahead!!! 

 Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is a non-fiction story about a true story from World War II and an amazing survival

story of the main character Louis Zamperini (aka Louie). Louie was a famous Olympic star runner for team

USA, and was depicted as a hero before he got drafted into the air force for WWII. While on a bomber

mission to destroy a Japanese military base, Louie encounters a problem with the left engine. As the

plane begins to descend downwards, Louie braces for impact and the plane ends up crashing  into the

middle of the pacific ocean. Louis along with two other people stay on a raft for almost two months

until only Louis and his best friend manage to stay alive. On the brink of death, a shadow towers over them.

Louie’s celebration however, is short lived as both of the soldiers realize that a Japanese ship has found

them. 

The next chapter cuts to a scene of Louie and his companion along with hundreds of other

American soldiers that were captured by the Japanese in war. They are forced to stand in the hot

weather until the warden suddenly emerges from a building in the distance. He introduces himself as

Colonel Watanabe. Louie gets a rude welcome as he is continued to be punished and beaten for

standing up to the warden. Louie stays in this camp for about a year and faces multiple harsh

punishments. However, hope is found when the American military slowly captures military bases near

the camp and slowly reaches the camp until one day, the whole base is attacked and the prisoners are

forced to move to another camp. All of the prisoners are transferred to another Labor camp coal mine

where the conditions would be way worse. The temperature was significantly colder, and the living

conditions were also terrible. However, one last surprise awaits Louie and the rest of the prisoners

that might take away all the hope that they have. 

This book about the journey of Louis Zamperini was truly an inspiring and amazing story for

people who are new to this genre. I myself was not a big fan of non-fictional and war related books

or movies. However, after reading this book, I gradually started getting used to these types of plots.

The amazing plot of sharing real life experiences really allows the reader to take a deep dive on what

it was like to be a main character in a world full of obstacles blocking your way to success.

The resilience Louis and all the other soldiers have shows how much people will do and love their

own countries and origins. I highly recommend this book even for people who have not explored

these types of genres and to explore the deeper meanings hidden between the pages of the books.