(Image from Barnes & Noble)

In 1936, Louis Zamperini—a California boy born of two Italian immigrants—was on top of the world.  After breaking records in his home state and beyond, the 26-year-old runner traveled to Berlin to compete in the Olympics.  He didn't medal, but that didn't dim his dream at all—he simply trained harder, his sights set on the 1940 games.  Little did Zamperini know that that competition would never occur.  Or that a few years later, he'd be trapped in a Japanese prison camp, his finely-toned body wasting away from the effects of starvation, dehydration and frequent beatings.  Louis Zamperini's journey from one extreme to the other is a tale so incredible, so inconceivable, so totally unbelievable that it can only be fiction.

Except it's not.

It's easy to see why journalist Laura Hillenbrand chose Louis Zamperini's story to be the subject of her second book.  The tale has all the daring, desperation and drama of the most action-packed thriller.  The fact that Zamperini is a real person just makes it more affecting.  As she did in Seabiscuit—her best-selling debut—Hillenbrand breathes vivid life into her hero, drawing readers into Zamperini's story with subtle, but significant skill. I'd put off reading Unbroken, despite fervent recommendations from family and friends, because it just didn't sound like "my" kind of book.  Here's the thing, though:  It didn't matter one whit.  Unbroken hooked me from the very first page, stunning me with each new detail, mesmerizing me with every word, every scene.  Absorbing doesn't begin to describe this one.  Stunning, epic, sweeping—I don't even know which words to use.  Except for these two:  read it.  

(Readalikes:  Other books about WWII and the prison camp experience, although no specific titles are coming to mind.  Help?)

Grade:  A

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  PG-13 for language (one F-bomb, plus milder invectives), violence, and disturbing scenes/subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of Unbroken from Changing Hands Bookstore with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.