Laura Hillenbrand · 2010 · survival

The true story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner turned World War II bombardier whose plane crashes in the Pacific, leaving him adrift for forty-seven days before capture and years in brutal Japanese POW camps, and the long road home to survival, resilience and redemption.

1. 1
   Torrance

   A wild, thieving boy in a California railroad town, Louie Zamperini is redirected by his brother into running and becomes a record-breaking miler.

2. 2
   Berlin

   At the 1936 Olympics the teenager finishes the 5000 metres with a blistering final lap that even catches Hitler's eye.

3. 3
   Hawaii

   War turns him into a B-24 bombardier flying dangerous missions across the Pacific from the airfields of Oahu.

4. 4
   The Raft

   On a search flight his plane the Green Hornet plunges into the ocean, and Louie and two crewmates survive on a raft against sharks, starvation and strafing planes for forty-seven days.

5. 5
   Kwajalein

   Two thousand miles adrift, the survivors reach the Marshall Islands only to be seized by the Japanese and taken to the atoll they call Execution Island.

6. 6
   Tokyo

   Through the camps of Ofuna, Omori and Naoetsu he endures years of starvation and savage beatings, singled out by a sadistic guard the prisoners call the Bird.

7. 7
   Torrance

   Freed at the war's end, Louie comes home haunted and broken, until faith lifts him and he finds, astonishingly, the power to forgive.