Short Review: Unbroken by Laura Hillebrand

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Laura Hillenbrand (author of Seabiscuit) tells the story of Louie Zamperini. A colorful character in his youth in California, Zamperini becomes a track star, even making it all the way to the Olympics in 1936 in the 5,000 meters. The mile was his specialty, however, and he seemed poised to be the first person to break the 4 minute mile. He was on track in his training to do just that, and then the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Louie entered military service as a bombadier. After flying several missions in the Pacific, he was shot down and lost at sea for 47 days. Eventually he was picked up by the Japanese, and spent the next two and half years experiencing the closest thing to hell on earth - internment at 4 different Japanese prison camps. He was experimented on, savagely beaten, and made the personal "project" of a sadistic guard.

But he survived - "unbroken" as Hillenbrand says. Well, not actually. Like so many who experience war, Zamperini was traumatized. His captors haunted his dreams. He coped by drinking. His behavior became more erratic. His marriage seemed on the verge of ruin. His only hope was revenge - he needed to kill th sadistic guard who tormented him all those months and ruined his life.

I'll stop there, because you'll want to read the last chapters for yourself. Or at least, you can stop reading here. I'll give away the ending in the next paragraph. But before I do that - let me say that Hillenbrand is a great writer. She has tremendious sense of pacing, giving the reader plenty of detail to fill out Zamperini's experiences, while pushing the story forward to its climax. This is a really good book. I'm not sure I've read a more well-written biography - EVER!

Here comes the Spoiler:
Okay, so Zamperini is on the brink of despair. His wife is about to leave him, along with his young daughter. He can't keep it together. No money. No hope. And then he goes to a Billy Graham crusade and hears the gospel. His life is transformed almost immediately. His marriage is repaired. He speaks evangelistically around the country and works for a Presbyterian church in Hollywood. And Zamperini even goes back to Japan to proclaim the gospel, even having the opportunity to share his faith with some of the former guards.

I've been told this is going to be made into a movie in the near future. The only surprise there, is that Zamperini's life hasn't already been portrayed in film. I highly recommend Unbroken. It's one of those rare times when an extraordinary writer gets to write about an extraordinary life.



View all my reviews

Orphaned Immigrant Savior

Key Text: The Book of Esther (but especially chapters 7-9)

Summary: Esther, a Jew, becomes the new queen after her predecessor Vashti is deposed. This in itself would have been a nice little success story – “Orphaned immigrant girl rises to the top of society.” But something much bigger was going on.

One of King Xerxes’ agents, Haman, had a longstanding beef against the Jews. In fact he wanted them all killed. He convinced Xerxes that the Jews would be a tremendous source of money for the royal treasury. All they would need to do would be to find a way to seize their assets. And so Haman proposes a decree that on a particular day, it would be lawful for Persians to attack and kill their Jewish neighbors and plunder all of their money and possessions. Convinced it would be great for the empire, Xerxes agrees.

Queen Esther hears about this (via her cousin and guardian Mordecai). Esther is a Jew, but she’s concealed this from everyone in the palace up until this point. And so Mordecai calls Esther to act on behalf of her people, and she responds.

But Esther has a delicate task. She must find a way to accuse Haman without incriminating the King who had sealed Haman’s decree with his knowledge and approval. And so Esther goes in to the see the king, which is a very dangerous thing to do because it was unlawful to go and see the king without being summoned. But Xerxes is pleased to see her. He holds out his royal scepter, signaling that she has his favor and will receive whatever she asks for.

She asks for the King to bring Haman and come to a banquet she would prepare. Now you might think, that’s a weird thing to do. Why not just tell him what’s going on? Why fool around with a dinner party when people’s lives were at stake? But this was very strategic on her part. Inviting someone to eat had enormous cultural influence in the ancient world.  She hadn’t been summoned by the King in 30 days. By inviting him to dinner she was saying “I want a relationship with you.” And not only does she do this once, but after the first banquet, she asks them back the next night for a second banquet. In doing this, she was re-establishing her relationship with the King.

This is where chapter 7 picks up. Xerxes says “Queen Esther, what is your wish?” She doesn’t tell him right away. Again, she’s strategic with her approach. She doesn’t go after Haman right away, knowing the King would likely defend his protégé. Instead, she starts with a premise – “If I have your favor…” She’s reminding him, I’m your queen. You chose me. You gave me your heart.

Then she moves to her petition. “Save my life.” This would have been a shocker to the King. Someone’s threatening the queen? An assault on the Queen is an assault on the King. She’s circumvented whatever defense mechanisms the King might have had by arousing his sense of indignation and resolve for justice before revealing the culprit.

Then Esther elaborates on the bigger picture. “My people are going to be annihilated.” Xerxes is worked up by now. “Who has done this?” And she answers, “The adversary and enemy is this vile Haman.”

Xerxes leaves the room, which was probably a smart thing to do. He needed to cool off and clear his head. He was in a bit of a bind here. On the one hand, this decree to allow for the plundering of the Jews came from his crown and could not be easily revoked. How could he convict Haman for a plan he assented to? On the other hand, what an embarrassment it would be if the Queen was killed because of an order he handed down.

Next, Haman does something that ultimately proves his undoing. Something so culturally outrageous and dangerous, he only would have attempted it if he was desperate. Desperate people do risky things, and this was Haman’s case here. He lunges at Esther in an attempt to get her to intercede for him with the King. He figures the King is going to have him killed and his last hope is Esther.

But no man was ever allowed to be in the same room with a member of the King’s harem, let alone on the same couch. By law, as soon as Xerxes left, Haman should excused himself as well. In fact, even in a crowded room, men were to remain 7 paces away from the King’s wife. Haman’s in meltdown mode here, to do what he does. It’s so preposterous that one later Aramaic translation of this text has the angel Gabriel giving Haman a shove onto the couch.

The King returns and, sure enough, there’s Haman lunging at Esther. Xerxes is probably relieved at this point, because part of the problem is solved. Haman’s life is now forfeit. He’d be happy to interpret this as a case of molestation or assault.

Haman is so hated, that when the King’s servants arrive, they suggest right away, “You know, King, Haman already had a gallows built just recently.” Sounds fitting, and so the King sends him to his execution.

In chapter 8 Esther gets the King to issue a counter-decree. They couldn’t simply repeal the first one, as the King’s decrees were thought to be irrevocable. So they made a second decree – if anyone were to attack the Jews. The Jews could organize and arm themselves and fight back. And then they too could plunder the people they battled against.

Most likely Esther’s hope was that this would prevent any fighting from occurring. It didn’t turn out that way. In fact, there was a quite a lot of bloodshed. But the Jews more than held their own, and even triumphed over their attackers. But they chose not take any plunder for the Syrians, to show that their fighting was motivated, not by the hope of gain, but by self-defense.

Tomorrow: some lessons from this great story.