Unbroken

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
by Laura Hillenbrand
narrated by Edward Herrmann
[United States] : Random House, p2010.

This book has been extremely popular on the holds list at my libraries ever since it came out, and has been on my TBR list nearly as long. The audio version was instantly available at a time when I was ready for a new listen on my commute, so I nabbed it from the new shelf.

I don't want to spoil much of anything about the plot, because I came to it knowing very little and was absolutely floored by this biography of Louis Zamperini. A bare outline wouldn't do the story justice, anyways, not coming close to explaining why I found Zamperini's experiences incredibly powerful and moving. Hillenbrand writes well and has a way of making me sympathize with these people whom I've never met. The experiences of war and POWs were all the more terrifying and heartbreaking because they were true.

I may be late to the party myself, but if you still haven't read this book - do it! I'll be recommending it left and right, and wouldn't be surprised if it makes my "best books" list of 2012.