Louis Zamperini’s story reads a little like a Forrest Gump tale.
Zamperini was an Olympic runner during the 1936 Games in Berlin. He then served in World War II. Zamperini’s plane went down in the Pacific Ocean and he endured weeks of starvation and shark attacks in a life raft. That horror proved only a warmup to an unimaginable time as a prisoner of war in Japan.
It’s an amazing tale of familiar names and events ranging from Adolph Hitler to Billy Graham that District author Laura Hillenbrand delivers in “Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption.” The book is to be released on Tuesday.
Hillenbrand became an overnight sensation with her runaway 2001 bestseller “Seabiscuit” that later became a top-grossing movie. It created a cult following for Hillenbrand, whose own enduring health issues caused a nine-year gap between books. But Zamperini’s tale was worth the wait.
“I don’t see this as a story about suffering; I see it as a story of incredible resilience,” Hillenbrand said. “Louie has faced extraordinary challenges, but through it all, there has been this radiant light within him, this indomitable will, that has carried him through.
“Louie’s life is a tremendous inspiration, a lesson in the breadth of possibility. In that way, he is like Seabiscuit, and I hope that readers of ‘Seabiscuit’ will experience the story in that way. Thus far, that’s the feedback that I’m getting.”
The 477-page book is a surprisingly quick read, if only to see what happens to Zamperini, who’s now 93 and convinced Hillenbrand to write his story because unlike Seabiscuit, he could talk. And Zamperini has quite a yarn that, as horrific as it is at times, is equally inspirational.
“The first thing that attracted me was that it was the most amazing true story I’d ever heard,” Hillenbrand said. “Beyond that, I was fascinated by a question: How does a man survive what is seemingly unsurvivable? None of us will endure what Louie endured, but all of us will face hardships that seem withering. That’s what makes his story relevant to all of us.”
But will it attract “Seabiscuit” readers that fell in love with a horse from the 1930s whose victories lifted spirits of those enduring the Great Depression? Certainly, it will require a different approach because of the book’s midpoint dealing with the war. Then again, “Unbroken” will attract new readers to Hillenbrand for its exhausting recreation of Zamperini’s experiences while members of the “Greatest Generation” rapidly leave us. Perhaps the most impressive part is the book’s epilogue of what happened to the main characters.
What’s next for Hillenbrand?
“I have given no thought to what I will write next,” she said. “If I can find a story that hooks my heart like this one did, I’ll be so fortunate.”
So will her readers.
Examiner columnist Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com and Twitter @Snide_Remarks or e-mail [email protected].
