Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Title: Unbroken: an Olympian's journey from airman to castaway to captive
Author: Laura Hillenbrand
ISBN: 9780385742511
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Copyright Date: 2014
Genre: Biography

About the Author:
Laura Hillenbrand is the author of the critically acclaimed Seabiscuit: An American Legend, which spent 42 weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, in hardcover and paperback.  Seabiscuit was finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, won the Book Sense Nonfiction Book of the Year Award and the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award, landed on more than fifteen best-of-the-year lists, and inspired the film Seabiscuit, which was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. According to Newsweek, Seabiscuit is the best-selling sports book in history.
Hillenbrand’s New Yorker article, “A Sudden Illness,” won the 2004 National Magazine Award, and Laura is a two-time winner of the Eclipse Award, the highest journalistic honor in thoroughbred racing.  She and actor Gary Sinise were the co-founders of Operation International Children (www.operationinternationalchildren.org), a charity that provided school supplies to needy children through American troops.  Laura lives in Washington, D.C.
About Laura. http://laurahillenbrandbooks.com/about-laura/.

Curriculum Ties:

• Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.
• Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.

Plot Summary:

Louis Zamperini is a rough and tumble Italian boy who is always in trouble. However, his older brother introduces him to running, and he takes to it with a passion. He is so good at it that he goes to the Olympics and wins a medal. However, these events mostly serve as an introduction to the greater story, which was his role in WW2 as a bomber crewman and his loss of his plane overseas. He and his crewmates spent 47 days on a life raft waiting for help, only to be captured by the Japanese and treated horribly for the remainder of the war, particularly by one guard. Eventually, the war ends and Louis is freed, but he is scarred by the terrible things that have happened to him, which make it difficult for him to return to civilian life. The story ends with his redemption and what he did with the rest of his life. 

Critical Evaluation:

The story of Louis Zamperini is the story of struggle through trials and hardships. This is a picture clearly drawn by the author, with the plot emphasizing events that took will and fortitude to overcome. A small example of this was his decision to take a medal in the Olympics, though he was far behind the leading runners and not in his best shape, while the larger examples are overcoming his later alcoholism, surviving shark attacks on the raft, and pushing through beatings and starvation in the prison camps. Though these are events that make Louis Zamperini appear superhuman, the character is still portrayed as being a very imperfect man, discussing the troubles he had in school as a child, and the problems he had with his marriage. Overall, the story is an excellent portrayal of a man that the author clearly admires, but doesn’t crown a saint in this story.

Readers Annotation:
Louis Zamperini is a man who overcame a lot to get an Olympic medal and survive the Japanese prisoner of war camps during WW2. Follow his amazing journey from his childhood to his death in this excellent book by Laura Hillenbrand.

Book Talking Ideas:

• Give a background on the Pacific Theater of WW2 and have readers look for details in the book.
• Discuss the life of Louis Zamperini and have readers look for his attitudes during the story.

Reading Level/Interest Age: 12-18

Challenge Issues:

• Frequent violence, including warfare, torture, and death.
• Some minor language, including racial slurs and cursing. 
• Frequent drug use, including alcohol and smoking.

Defense Collection

• In response to requests from teachers and school librarians, Hillenbrand offers a young-readers' edition of her best-selling World War II tale of survival. Louis Zamperini grew up in California and was headed toward juvenile delinquency. He smoked at 5, drank at 8, and went on to stealing and pranking, until older brother Pete got Louis into something more productive: running. Louis eventually became a world-class runner, ultimately competing at the 1936 Olympics. With World War II looming, Louis joined the Army Air Corps, and it was with the downing of his B-24 bomber that his harrowing journey began. Adrift in the Pacific Ocean in a raft, attacked by sharks, brutalized as a POW in Japanese slave-labor camps, Louis' is a tale of survival against all odds. This solid adaptation is half the length of the original, more visual (with more, and sometimes larger, photographs), less descriptive and swifter paced, and it avoids such adult themes as the sexual sadism of evil Cpl. Watanabe, the man so intent on destroying Louis in the POW camp outside Tokyo. A fascinating appended interview with Louis Zamperini explores issues of survival and heroism. This fine adaptation ably brings an inspiring tale to younger readers. (notes, index [not seen]) (Nonfiction. 12 & up)(Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2014)
• Awards:
• Soaring Eagle Book Award (Wyoming)
• Reconsideration Policy
• Freedom to Read Statement
• ALA Library Bill of Rights
• Springville Public Library Collection Development Policy
• The Library Director and designated staff actively evaluate and select materials. The Springville Public Library Board, acting under the authority given to it by Title 4, Chapter 6 of the Springville Municipal Code and Title 09 of the Utah State Code, has the ultimate responsibility for the determination of the policies for selection and acquisition of materials.
• Library materials are selected based on the following (not necessarily in order of priority):
• Local public demand and usage potential
• Popularity
• Subject coverage
• Relevance
• Accuracy and currency
• Presentation, readability and format
• Point of view (all sides)
• Cost
• Local connection
• Social values
• Collection balance
• To assess the item based on the above criteria, staff utilize:
• Nationally recognized and relevant pre-publication reviews
• Staff expertise
• Bestseller lists

Purpose in Collection:

Unbroken is an excellent, inspiring story of WW2. This version has been adapted for young adults, which makes it a little easier to read, and is a good addition to non-fiction collection of books.