This past summer I had the privilege of reading Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken, the story of Olympic gold medalist and WWII veteran Louis "Lou" Zamperini. For what it's worth, I can honestly say that this is the most inspiring book I have ever read, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for something worth reading.
For those who haven't heard of Lou, the Olympic athlete grew up in California where he quickly became famous for his record-setting running on the college track. After being drafted into the military, Lou became a bombardier and flew several missions for the Air Force throughout the war. His final mission ending in his plane going down over Japanese waters, where only he and two others survived. Stranded in a 6' raft with two other men, Lou survived over 30 days at sea with no food or water while dodging enemy fire as well as sharks. He was then captured by the Japanese and kept in unbearable concentration camps where came close to death on a number of occasions. Miraculously, he and the others from the camp are eventually rescued and brought home, nearly 4 years after his plane had crashed.
I remember reading this book and thinking to myself, "There is absolutely no way any of this is true. It had to have been made up or exaggerated." The adversity that this man went through is unlike anything I have ever heard of, and the fact that he survived all of it makes it all the better. If you haven't read it already, I would highly recommend you put on your list of books to read. You won't regret it.
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