By Elaine Bosch, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main

Laura Hillenbrand knows how to turn a tale. Her first book Seabiscuit: An American Legend told the true story of the famous racehorse  with all the depth and drive of great fiction. Her second book, Unbroken: A World War II story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, an equally compelling historical read, proves Seabiscuit was more than beginner’s luck.

In 1931, Louis Zamperini was an energetic, incorrigible high school student with a penchant for stealing and scheming. Saved from self-destruction by the efforts  of his older brother Pete, Louis learned to pack  his considerable emotional baggage into running, a talent he had long possessed, but which he had heretofore used only to elude the authorities.

Louis became a record-breaking local hero known as the “Torrance Tornado”. At the age of nineteen, he represented the United States in the 1936 Olympic games. He returned from Berlin, his passion intact, intent on being the first man to run a mile in four minutes or less.

World War II intervened. The 1940 Olympics, scheduled for Tokyo, were canceled, and Louis found himself a bombardier in the Air Force. In 1943, his plane went down in the Pacific Ocean. Louis suddenly found himself battling for something far more serious than a world record — his life.

For two years, Zamperini faced deprivation and degradation that few can imagine — first as a survivor adrift in the ocean, and then as a prisoner of war at  the worst prison camps in Japan. Singled out due to his officer and celebrity status by “The Bird,” a psychotic, sadistic camp commander, Louis became the target of an intense campaign waged to utterly humiliate, demoralize, and destroy him. That he survived at all is amazing. That he did so with his spirit and joy intact is a miracle.

Hillenbrand will captivate you with  this story, shocking and inspiring in turn. It is life and times writ large.