My sister bought me this book because she thought it was based on the horse in the movie "War Horse." When it arrived she realized it wasn't that at all. It was, however, written by Laura Hillenbrand, who wrote the very successful book about Seabiscuit which led to the movie. I adore horses and I love to read about racehorses that I grew up watching. Of course Seabiscuit was before my time, just a little, but the story is amazing. Now this author is turning into one my all-time favorites to read. She has a way of pouring information into her books without overwhelming the reader and actually incorporating all that information into the story so the reader doesn't even realizing they're learning so much.
This particular book caught me off guard completely. I started reading it just so I could tell my sister that I had read it so she wouldn't feel bad that it wasn't about the war horse. But in a sense it was about a war horse. This horse was in the form of a man named Louis Zamperini. This dude was thoroughly an amazing man. As a boy he had trouble channeling his energy and got into a lot of trouble, so his older brother got him into running. He ended up running in the 1936 Olympics in Munich. He still had an impish streak in him and stole a German flag for a souvenir. He had such respect as a long-distance runner that he got the attention of Hitler himself, who had him summoned to his perch to shake his hand, and this respect also got him out of trouble for stealing the flag. So all this happens to him, right? Then he joins the Army Air Force as a bombardier just before Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. The writing is so captivating that every night I had to make myself close the book and put it aside. At one point after all this had already happened, I looked at the point where my marker was and I was amazed. I was only HALFWAY through the book! What the hell? How could this man have done all this and lived so much life already and I still had a whole second half to go? I was exhausted already, but there was no way I wasn't going to get through this without finding out more about this fascinating human being! The second half involved his capture by the Japanese and being a POW. That was rough. My heart was breaking for these men and what they went through. To the Japanese, the worst form of punishment is humiliation and that is exactly what they did to our soldiers.
I am SO NOT a World War II buff, or should I say I WAS so not a World War II buff. I found myself wanting to learn more. I missed my grandpa because I wanted to talk to him about this. And the true test? The week after I finished reading it, I got the flu. As I was doubled over in misery, puking my guts out into the toilet, all I could think was, "If Louis Zamperini could survive what he did, I can surely survive this." I am not nearly as brave or as mentally tough as he and his fellow POWs were and it made me proud to know he was out there on our side.
I definitely recommend this book for anyone who wants to be inspired. In a time where the word "hero" is erroneously tossed around to describe athletes, movie stars, and other entertainers because that seems to be the standard these days. Between the writing ability of Laura Hillenbrand and this amazing man, Louis Zamperini, this story still, weeks later, has me invigorated in ways I never imagined. As a wannabe writer, I am inspired to become better at telling stories so I can help others feel the way I did after reading this book.
I am giving this book: Five of five spectacles!
