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Book Cover for: Unbroken: An Olympian's Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive, Laura Hillenbrand

Unbroken: An Olympian's Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive

Laura Hillenbrand

In this captivating and lavishly illustrated young adult edition of her award-winning #1 New York Timesbestseller, Laura Hillenbrand tells the story of a former Olympian's courage, cunning, and fortitude following his plane crash in enemy territory. This adaptation of Unbroken introduces a new generation to one of history's most thrilling survival epics.
On a May afternoon in 1943, an American military plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane s bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. So began one of the most extraordinary sagas of the Second World War.
The lieutenant s name was Louis Zamperini. As a boy, he had been a clever delinquent, breaking into houses, brawling, and stealing. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a supreme talent that carried him to the Berlin Olympics. But when war came, the athlete became an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown.
Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a sinking raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would respond to desperation with ingenuity, suffering with hope and humor, brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would hang on the fraying wire of his will.
Featuring more than one hundred photographs plus an exclusive interview with Zamperini, this breathtaking odyssey also captured on film by director Angelina Jolie is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the ability to endure against the unlikeliest of odds.
Praise forUnbroken

"This adaptation of Hillenbrand's adult bestseller is highly dramatic and exciting, as well as painful to read as it lays bare man's hellish inhumanity to man." Booklist, STARRED
"This captivating book emphasizes the importance of determination, the will to survive against impossible odds, and support from family and friends. A strong, well-written work." SLJ

"This fine adaptation ably brings an inspiring tale to young readers." Kirkus"

Book Details

  • Publisher: Turtleback Books
  • Publish Date: Apr 25th, 2017
  • Pages: 320
  • Language: English
  • Edition: Bound for Schoo - undefined
  • Dimensions: 8.80in - 6.60in - 1.00in - 1.23lb
  • EAN: 9780606398671
  • Recommended age: 12-UP
  • Categories: MilitarySportsWars & Conflicts - World War II - General

About the Author

Laura Hillenbrand is the author of the #1New York Times bestsellerUnbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption and Seabiscuit: An American Legend, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, 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 filmSeabiscuit, which was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Sheserved as a consultant on the Universal Pictures feature film based on Unbroken. Hillenbrand s New Yorker article, A Sudden Illness, won the National Magazine Award. Her work has also appeared in such publications as the New York Times, Vanity Fair, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. She and actor Gary Sinise were cofounders of Operation International Children, a charity that provided school supplies to children through American troops.

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Praise for this book

"Extraordinarily moving . . . a powerfully drawn survival epic."--"The Wall Street Journal"
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"[A] one-in-a-billion story . . . designed to wrench from self-respecting critics all the blurby adjectives we normally try to avoid: It is amazing, unforgettable, gripping, harrowing, chilling, and inspiring.""--New York"""
"Staggering . . . mesmerizing . . . Hillenbrand's writing is so ferociously cinematic, the events she describes so incredible, you don't dare take your eyes off the page."--"People
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"A meticulous, soaring and beautifully written account of an extraordinary life.""--The Washington Post"
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"Ambitious and powerful . . . a startling narrative and an inspirational book.""--The New York Times Book Review"
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"Marvelous . . . "Unbroken" is wonderful twice over, for the tale it tells and for the way it's told. . . . It manages maximum velocity with no loss of subtlety."--"Newsweek"
"Moving and, yes, inspirational . . . [Laura] Hillenbrand's unforgettable book . . . deserve[s] pride of place alongside the best works of literature that chart the complications and the hard-won triumphs of so-called ordinary Americans and their extraordinary time."--Maureen Corrigan, "Fresh Air"
"Hillenbrand . . . tells [this] story with cool elegance but at a thrilling sprinter's pace."--"Time"
""Unbroken" is too much book to hope for: a hellride of a story in the grip of the one writer who can handle it. . . . When it comes to courage, charisma, and impossible adventure, few will ever match 'the boy terror of Torrance, ' and few but the author of "Seabiscuit" could tell his tale with such humanity and dexterity. Hillenbrand has given us a new national treasure."--Christopher McDougall, author of "Born to Run"
"Riveting . . . an exceptional portrait . . . So haunting and so beautifully written, those who fall under its spell will never again feel the same way about World War II and one of its previously
This adaptation of Hillenbrand s adult best-seller is highly dramatic and exciting, as well as painful to read as it lays bare man s hellish inhumanity to man. --Booklist, STARRED
"This captivating book emphasizes the importance of determination, the will to survive against impossible odds, and support from family and friends. A strong, well-written work."--SLJ

"This fine adaptation ably brings an inspiring tale to young readers."--Kirkus
"A humdinger ofa page-turner: a noble story about the courage of America's Greatest Generation, personified."--The Horn BookReview
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