On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood.

Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane's bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.

The lieutenant's name was Louis Zamperini. In boyhood, he'd been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent, breaking into houses, brawling, and fleeing his home to ride the rails. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics and within sight of the four-minute mile. But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown.

Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.

In her long-awaited new book, Laura Hillenbrand writes with the same rich and vivid narrative voice she displayed in Seabiscuit. Telling an unforgettable story of a man's journey into extremity, Unbroken is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit.

劳拉•希伦布兰德（Laura Hillenbrand）

《纽约时报》头号畅销书《奔腾年代》作者

21世纪最杰出的纪实作家之一

作家、专栏作者

希伦布兰德两度成为新闻界最高奖项日蚀奖获得者。希伦布兰德2001年出版畅销书籍《奔腾年代》，销量超过600万册，包括《纽约时报》《人物》和《经济学人》在内的20多种出版物将其评为年度最佳小说。该书先后登上15家畅销书排行榜，霸占了美国两大权威畅销书排行榜《纽约时报》排行榜、《出版商周刊》排行榜长达60余周。2003年被改编为同名卖座电影《奔腾年代》，全球票房1.5亿美元。荣获包括最佳影片奖在内的七项奥斯卡金像奖提名。

她与演员加里•辛尼斯共同创立了国际儿童活动组织。希伦布兰德现定居于华盛顿特区。