Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption
Score Modern
What it's about
In May 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific, and a young lieutenant pulled himself onto a life raft. He was Louis Zamperini: a juvenile delinquent turned Olympic runner, and his ordeal had only begun. Laura Hillenbrand tells the true story of his weeks adrift, his years as a prisoner of war, and what came after.
Why it's worth reading
It spent 17 weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and nearly five years on the lists overall. Hillenbrand, the author of Seabiscuit, makes it read like an adventure novel, and it's a story of almost unbelievable endurance.
You'll love it if you liked
The Boys in the Boat, The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 or Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
Good to know
The prisoner-of-war chapters are hard to read. The book is long but moves quickly, and the ending is moving.
Quick answers
Is Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption worth reading?
Yes. It spent 17 weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and nearly five years on the lists overall. It ranks #97 of the 2,819 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 86.6 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption about?
In May 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific, and a young lieutenant pulled himself onto a life raft. He was Louis Zamperini: a juvenile delinquent turned Olympic runner, and his ordeal had only begun. Laura Hillenbrand tells the true story of his weeks adrift, his years as a prisoner of war, and what came after.
How long does it take to read Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption?
About 12 hours (497 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption?
If you liked it, try The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown, The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 by Rick Atkinson or Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer.
By the numbers
- Readers98 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller85 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
#1 New York Times bestseller (17 weeks at #1).
Where it ranks
- #56 of the 1,575 modern books we rank
- #97 of the 2,819 books we rank
Bestseller
- #1 New York Times bestseller (17 weeks at #1)
- 249 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2010
Reads as
True story, Adventurous
More by Laura Hillenbrand
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Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea