A Serious Post

This Christmas, I got a biography called Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, and I just finished it yesterday (February 2). It tells the incredible story of Louie Zamperini, an Olympic runner turned Air Force Lieutenant during the second World War. Born 1917 in Southern California, Louie was a trouble-maker, stealing anything he could. He was able to outrun his pursers, yet still found himself getting caught nearly every time. Luckily, his older brother Pete recognized his running potential, and turned him into the finest high schooler miler in the world, running a 4:21 mile. Two years later, he ran the 5000 meters in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Although he placed 8th, he was still only 19 years old, and his final lap of 56 seconds caught the eye of Adolf Hitler, who insisted on meeting Louie. Hitler shook Louie’s hand and congratulated him on his fast kick.

After that, Louie set his sights on the 1940 Olympics. Unfortunately, war broke out and canceled the Olympics. Louie then enlisted for the Air Force to fight in the Pacific. From there, Louie’s story became nearly unbelievable. His plane crashed into the Pacific and after almost 50 days battling the elements and sharks, he was captured by the Japanese and becomes a POW.

Unbroken lives up to its name, as Louie proves that literally no POW camp can break him. It is without doubt the best nonfictional book I have ever read, and is an inspiring account of how far sheer willpower can carry a man. The links below, while they give good previews of the book, they do reveal whether or not Louie lived through his experience. So if you want to be surprised, stay away from the links below. Please comment if you have any comments.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/15/books/15book.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjfGxiE2UzI