I just finished a historical fiction book that I couldn't put down, about a man from California, Louis Zamperini. When I was finishing the book I found myself in the same location (South Beach airport) as the hero of the book did at the end, and I talked with someone at that same airport who lived in the same town (Torrence) as him. It seems trivial, but to me it's an amazing coincidence. The book is called "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand and I have no doubt it will be made into a film in a couple of years, since the author also wrote "Seabiscuit" which was a big hit. I LOVED this book, especially since it is historical. True life is much more interesting to me than fiction.Louis Zamperini was the nightmare kid (I picked this book because his early biography reminded me of Daniel) . He was troublesome, headstrong, always looking to make something happen and looking to escape and steal and just cause mayhem. His town thought he'd end up in prison and the local police were always on him. Then he stared running, and he went on to be an Olympic runner in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. He could, by all accounts, have broken the 4 minute mile had his life not been taken over.
His life was taken over by World War 2 which saw him endure so much that I cannot believe he is still alive. He was a bombardier on a B-24 plane that crashed into the Pacific, he floated for weeks in shark-infested water with no food or water and he endured 2.5 years as a POW in Japan. For those of you like me that know what happened to POWS in Japan you know what to expect in this book.
I have never, ever known of a man so courageous and so wonderful as Louis Zamperini. I'm glad he's still among us. As I said, I LOVED this book and couldn't put it down. I think about him a lot these days.
No comments:
Post a Comment