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.

勞拉•希倫布蘭德（Laura Hillenbrand）

《紐約時報》頭號暢銷書《奔騰年代》作者

21世紀最傑齣的紀實作傢之一

作傢、專欄作者

希倫布蘭德兩度成為新聞界最高奬項日蝕奬獲得者。希倫布蘭德2001年齣版暢銷書籍《奔騰年代》，銷量超過600萬冊，包括《紐約時報》《人物》和《經濟學人》在內的20多種齣版物將其評為年度最佳小說。該書先後登上15傢暢銷書排行榜，霸占瞭美國兩大權威暢銷書排行榜《紐約時報》排行榜、《齣版商周刊》排行榜長達60餘周。2003年被改編為同名賣座電影《奔騰年代》，全球票房1.5億美元。榮獲包括最佳影片奬在內的七項奧斯卡金像奬提名。

她與演員加裏•辛尼斯共同創立瞭國際兒童活動組織。希倫布蘭德現定居於華盛頓特區。