TOW #20- Unbroken by Laura Hillenebrand (IRB post 1)

     The book Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is similar to a biography about Louis Zamperini. However, instead of following a typical biography format where it spends an equal length describing all of the events in someone’s life, this book only gives a relatively short intro to give some background information about Zamperini’s personality, the conditions of his early life, etc. The book then focuses heavily on Zamperini’s seemingly impossible experiences working his way to the Olympics. However, I am only half way through the book so far, and it seems that most of the rest of the book wil be focused on Zamperini’s experiences in World War II (this was also given away by the subtitle of the book: “A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption.”) Additionally, I read the summary in the front flap of the book before I started reading in order to make sure I would like this book to read for my IRB, and it mentioned how the plane in which Zamperini and his fellow soldiers are flying is going to crash into the ocean, and I predict that the book will focus mainly on Zamperini’s realizations while lost at sea.

    The format of this book is very similar to the format of a fiction book in its story-like style. This format makes the book more interesting to read, since it is more like a story than simply facts. The purpose is to inform the audience about the remarkable life experiences of Zamperini. Though its word choice, as well as its topic being about World War II, this book is written for the general adult/older high school population. However, since this book is based on a true story, it uses expert quotes as well as primary sources and specific dates and events in order to help appeal to the ethos of the story. For example, Hillenbrand writes, “‘I grew a little older that night, sweet, believe me,’ he wrote to Cecy” (Hillenbrand 61). Hillenbrand then proceeds to quote a letter that Louie had received from a friend in order to help more thoroughly describe the type of plane in which Louie would be flying. This ethos makes the book more believable and interesting to read, which helps leave the reader with the impression that Louie was an extraordinary human being who had great resilience when dealing with his experiences.