Book Review: Unbroken

About 2 months ago, I saw a tweet about the book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. Someone on Twitter mentioned that it was one of the best books they have read in a while and highly recommended it. Now, I don't endorse the Twitter-verse as the most accurate place to obtain book recommendations (contrary to what some may think, everything on the Internet is NOT true!), but whoever the tweeter was (I really can't remember now) seemed to have good taste so I figured I would take a shot and read the book. After all, Twitter can't be worse than a review in Entertainment Weekly which recommended Beauty Queens, which was awful!

Anyway, I couldn't put the book down. This story of Louie Zamperini's life and survival as prisoner of war in World War II is absolutely amazing (and when I say amazing, I mean A-MAZ-ING) and inspiring. Laura Hillenbrand has a way of making a non-fiction story quite captivating, and the book was impossible to put down. There are many things to take away from Louie Zamperini's story, such as the human will to survive, overcoming truly dire circumstances both as a member of the military during war and as a prisoner of war, and the sheer power of the human spirit. What I loved the most was Louie Zamperini's encounter with God at Billy Graham's first crusade. Reading Louie's redemption story was humbling and moving. To see his life changed by God working through Billy Graham and seeing the power of God working in Billy Graham challenges me personally.

I now can't stop recommending the book. If I have recommended the book to one person, I have recommended it to 10 people. In spite of the pain and heartache and the tears it brings, it is one of the best books I have ever read.

So, go read the book. You will not regret it. At all. I promise.