Unbroken
by Laura Hillenbrand
★ Top 10 book of 2001 · #6 on Best Books of 2001
In 1943 a bomber goes down in the Pacific, and its bombardier, Louis Zamperini, climbs onto a raft. A rebellious youth turned Olympic runner, he faces sharks, starvation, and captivity, relying on ingenuity, humor, and sheer will.
Best for: Readers who want a gripping true tale of World War II survival
Unbroken is #6 on BookWard's Best Books of 2001, out of 35 2001 books that cleared our data bar.
What Unbroken is about
Louis Zamperini was a restless kid in Torrance, California, who stole what he could and took plenty of teasing for his Italian family. His older brother Pete steered that energy toward the track, and the boy grew into a runner fast enough to earn the nickname the Torrance Tornado. In 1936 he made the U.S. Olympic Team and finished eighth in the 5,000 meters in Berlin.
When war came, he joined the Army Air Corps and flew as a bombardier in the Pacific. Laura Hillenbrand follows him through a crash that killed most of his crew, forty-seven days adrift on a raft, and more than two and a half years in three Japanese prisoner of war camps. Her biography is a study in how far a person can be pushed and what keeps them going. It suits readers who enjoy true stories of endurance, and anyone curious about the human side of the Pacific war.
Unbroken on the Best Books of 2001
Unbroken came out in 2001. Of the 35 books first published in 2001 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #6 on our Best Books of 2001 list.
Why it made the list: 320 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.2 out of 5 (40 ratings); 20 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2001 list
- Point Blanc Anthony Horowitz, #4
- Getting Things Done David Allen, #5
- Deception Point Dan Brown, #7
- Atonement Ian McEwan, #8
See all Best Books of 2001 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2000 Best Books of 2002.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 243 want to read it, 20 are reading it now and 57 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4.2 out of 5 from 40 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 69 | 55% |
| Reader love | 83 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 74 | 20% |
Questions about Unbroken
When was Unbroken published?
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand was first published in 2001.
Was Unbroken one of the best books of 2001?
Unbroken is #6 on BookWard's Best Books of 2001, out of 35 2001 books that cleared our data bar. 320 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.2 out of 5 (40 ratings); 20 are reading it right now.
Why is Unbroken on the Best Books of 2001 list?
320 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.2 out of 5 (40 ratings); 20 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 2001
- American Gods Neil Gaiman, #1
- Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time Brian Tracy, #2
- Crucial Conversations Kerry Patterson, #3
- Point Blanc Anthony Horowitz, #4
- Getting Things Done David Allen, #5
- Deception Point Dan Brown, #7
See the full Best Books of 2001, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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