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Description edit
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... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Summary edit
This is the true story of a boy who starts out as a delinquent, becomes an olympic runner, goes to war, and puts his life back together after the war ends. The tale takes you through his life from child to old man and especially focuses on his remarkable stamina and courage as a Japanese POW.... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Characters/People edit
- Louis Zamperini: The main character, an Olympic runner and a WWII bombardier on a B24. Crashed in the South PacificTaken prisoner by the Japanese
- Russell Alan “Phil” Phillips: Pilot of the planes "Super Man" and "Green Hornet". A fellow POW with Louie.
- Mutsuhiro Watanabe: Also known as "The Bird" an extremely cruel prison guard at the Japanese POW camp. Appeared to be bipolar at times with violent mood swings. Very jealous of the fame of Louie so he singled him out for particularly cruel treatment.
- Pete Zamperini: Louie's very loyal and ever-there brother. A Naval officer during WWII.
- Francis “Mac” McNamara: Tail gunner on the "Green Hornet" crew and fellow castaway.
- Bill Harris: Add a description of this character.
- Cynthia Applewhite Zamperini: Louie' wife.
- Jimmie Sasaki: A friend of Louie Zamperini's from his college days. He is Japanese.
- Louise Zamperini: Louie's Mother. A strong family woman who never stopped believing that Louie was alive.
- Sylvia: Louie's sister, married to Harvey who fought on Western Front. Sylvia, along with Louise, never stopped believing that Louis was still alive.
- Cuppernell: Crew member on the Green Hornet;
- Tom Wade: British POW. Meets Louie at Omori POW camp.
- Frank Tinker: POW and another solid, loyal friend.
- Commander John Fitzgerald: POW in Japanese internment camp.
- Kono: Relatively kind camp interpreter at Omori. Also the name of a guard at Naoetsu POW camp.
- Deasy: Deasy is a pilot who with his crew searches for survivors of the Green Hornet's crash.
- Sueharu Kitamura: Known as "the Quack"; A medical officer or aid at Ofuna. Conducted experiments on the prisoners, responsible for many vicious beatings and cruel acts.
- Shizuka: Mother of Watanabe.
- Billy Graham: Renowned evangelist.
Quotes edit
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“The Pacific POW's ...were torn-down men. They had an intimate understanding of man's vast capacity to experience suffering, as well as his equally vast capacity, and hungry willingness, to inflict it. They carried unspeakable memories of torture and humilitation, and an acute sense of vulnerability that attended the knowledge of how readily they could be disarmed and dehumanized. Many felt lonely and isolated, having endured abuses that ordinary people couldn't understand. Their dignity had been obliterated, replaced with a pervasive sense of shame and worthlessness. And they had the caustic knowledge that no one had come between them and tragedy. Coming home was an experience of profound, perilous aloneness. For these men, the central struggle of postwar life was to restore their dignity and find a way to see the world as something other than menacing blackness. There was no one right way to peace; every man had to find his own path, according to his own history.”
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Dignity is as essential to human life as water, food, and oxygen. The stubborn retention of it, even in the face of extreme physical hardship, can hold a man’s soul in his body long past the point at which the body should have surrendered it. The loss of it can carry a man off as surely as thirst, hunger, exposure, and asphyxiation, and with greater cruelty.
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Without dignity, identity is erased. In its absence, men are defined not by themselves, but by their captors and the circumstances in which they are forced to live.
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The paradox of vengefulness is that it makes men dependent upon those who have harmed them, believing that their release from pain will come only when they make their tormentors suffer.
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A lifetime of glory is worth a moment of pain. Louie thought: Let go.
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What God asks of men, said Graham, is faith. His invisibility is the truest test of that faith. To know who sees him, God makes himself unseen.
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Historians estimate that the Japanese military murdered between 200,000 and 430,000 Chinese, including the 90,000 POWs, in what became known as the Rape of Nanking.
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In World War II, 35,933 AAF planes were lost in combat and accidents. The surprise of the attrition rate is that only a fraction of the ill-fated planes were lost in combat. In 1943 in the Pacific Ocean Areas theater in which Phil’s crew served, for every plane lost in combat, some six planes were lost in accidents. Over time, combat took a greater toll, but combat losses never overtook noncombat losses.
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By 1930, when Louie was entering his teens, California was enraptured with eugenics, and would ultimately sterilize some twenty thousand people.
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All he had left was his alcohol and his resentment, the emotion that, Jean Améry would write, “nails every one of us onto the cross of his ruined past.”
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obstreperous. He feigned toughness, but was secretly tormented. Kids passing into parties would see him lingering outside, unable to work up the courage to walk in.
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Setting & Locations edit
1917-2010
- Torrance, California: Hometown of Louie Zamperini.
- Berlin, Germany: Site of the 1936 Olympics.
- Honolulu, Hawaii: Air Force Base where Louie was stationed.
- South Pacific: Nauru, Tarawa, Marshall Islands, Saipan
- Ofuna: "Ofuna POW Interrogation Center" was used for interrogation, frequently with excessive torture, of selected prisoners. Mostly officers and any men who were submariners and airmen. Located near Yokohama, near the south coast of Japan.
- Kwajalein: AKA "Execution Island". Part of the Kwajalein Atoll, 3,900 km southwest of Hawaii.
- Naoetsu: POW camp on the west coast of the main island of Honshu.
- Omori: POW Camp, just outside of Tokyo.
- Zentsuji: POW camp on the island of Tokushima.
- Japan: Nagano, Yokohama, Hiroshima, Okinawa, Tokyo
First Sentence edit
In the predawn darkness of August 26, 1929, in the back bedroom of a small house in Torrence, California, a twelve-year-old boy sat up in bed, listening.
Table of Contents edit
1. The One-Boy Insurgency
2. Run Like Mad
3. The Torrance Tornado
4. Plundering Germany
5. Into War
6. The Flying Coffin
7. "This Is It, Boys"
8. "Only the Laundry Knew How Scared I Was"
9. Five Hundred and Ninety-four Holes
10. The Stinking Six
11. "Nobody's Going to Live Through This"
12. Downed
13. Missing at Sea
14. Thirst
15. Sharks and Bullets
16. Singing in the Clouds
17. Typhoon
18. A Dead Body Breathing
19. Two Hundred Silent Men
20. Farting for Hirohito
21. Belief
22. Plots AFoot
23. Monster
24. Hunted
25. B-29
26. Madness
27. Falling Down
28. Enslaved
29. Two Hundred and Twenty Punches
30. The Boiling CIty
31. The Naked Stampede
32. Cascades of Pink Peaches
33. Mother's Day
34. The Shimmering Girl
35. Coming Undone
36. The Body onthe Mountain
37. The Twisted Ropes
38. A Beckoning Whistle
39. Daybreak
Glossary edit
- Mae West: Life vest, provided on WW2 aircraft. Uses CO2 cartridge for inflation.
- Custom of the sea: The practice among shipwrecked survivors of choosing who should be killed and cannibalized to assure the survival of the remaining castaways.
- The Transfer of Oppression: Those who are treated with brutality will in turn brutalize those unfortunate enough to fall into their hands. Partial explanation (by historians) of the incredible brutality of the Japanese toward their prisoners.
- The Kill All Rule: A high command order – issued from the War Ministry in Tokyo – to kill all remaining POWs if under attack or if the defeat of Japan was imminent. This order was successfully carried out in some locations. Related to the "Three Alls" policy, sanctioned by Hirohito himself, which directed Japanese forces to "Kill All, Burn All, and Loot All".
- Beriberi: A disease caused by a deficiency of thiamine, endemic in eastern and southern Asia and characterized by neurological symptoms, cardiovascular abnormalities, and edema.
- Dysentery: An inflammatory disorder of the lower intestinal tract, usually caused by a bacterial, parasitic, or protozoan infection and resulting in pain, fever, and severe diarrhea, often accompanied by the passage of blood and mucus.
Themes & Symbolism edit
Series & Lists edit
This is book 3 of 16 in New York Times Bestsellers - Hardcover Nonfiction (Current). (authoritative list)
Preceded by Killing Lincoln, and followed by Being George Washington.
This is book 9 of 15 in New York Times Bestsellers - Nonfiction (Current). (authoritative list)
Preceded by I Suck at Girls, and followed by The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
This book is in Time Magazine's Top 10 Nonfiction Books of 2010. (authoritative list)
This is book 15 of 146 in Whitcoulls Top 100 (2011). (authoritative list)
Preceded by The Book Thief, and followed by To Kill a Mockingbird.
This book is in Rainy Day Books (Staff Picks for 2010). (community list)
Authors & Contributors edit
- Laura Hillenbrand (Author)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Random House
Country: United States
Publication Date: 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4000-6416-8
Page Count: 473
Publisher: Random House
Country: United States
Publication Date: 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4000-6416-8
Page Count: 473
Awards edit
- Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year (2010: Top Ten)
- Los Angeles Times Book Prize (2010: Biography)
- Time Magazine's Best Books of the Year (2010, #1)
- Indies Choice Book Awards (2011: Adult Non-Fiction)
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: D805.J3Z364 2010
- Dewey: 940.547252092
Subjects edit
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Links to Supplemental Material edit
- Awesome Stories: AwesomeStories is a gathering place of primary-source information. Its purpose - since the site was first launched in 1999 - is to help educators and individuals find original sources, located at national archives, libraries, universities, museums, historical societies and government-created web sites.
- Laura Hillenbrand website
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