Imagine that you’re training for the 1944 Olympics in Japan, and then all of the sudden your dreams of being an Olympic champion are delayed because of a second world war. In Laura Hillenbrand’s new non-fiction bestseller, UNBROKEN, Louie Zamperini is the rebel, the troublemaker, the person, who despite all odds had arisen higher than anyone thought he could – this worked for me and has been stuck with me ever since, like a glue.

The story follows Louie, whose parents immigrated to California from Italy, growing up as a delinquent and always getting into trouble.  Then one day he begins to use his speed as a way to “free” himself of the restraints of his peers.  He quickly becomes a world renown runner until the beginning World War II, where he was a bombardier for the newly founded US Army Air Corps and fought in the Pacific.  During one fateful mission his plane crashes and he barely escapes with his life and onto a raft.  Now thousands of miles of open ocean lay in front of him, and the real test hasn’t even begun.

This book is a great read from the beginning to end because Laura Hillenbrand wrote the story with such vivid and lucid detail that you picture yourself there, standing right next to the great Zamperini.  Throughout the story there is constant action, but as the story moves along you become more and more attached to the people in the story, forming a relationship with all of the people in this book.  Whether it’s a character, or character’s you love or despise, this non-fiction book quickly and easily captures your attention and transforms the way you as a reader read the it.

One thing I disliked about the book was it’s sheer length.  The amount of detail and vivid imagery in the story is phenomenal, but there is just so much information that the book becomes a slow read.  Aside from the unbelievable amount of details used in this book, it’s a very good read and I highly recommend it to anyone who doesn’t mind reading an almost 400 page book.