TOW #12- IRB: Unbroken

I am so happy I am finally getting the opportunity to read "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand because I have heard such great things about it from many of my friends.  Since page, 1 I have been hooked on this book and it has been such an interesting read so far.  One of the ways that Hillenbrand does this is by delving deep into the details of some of the little moments amongst the daunting events that take place in Louis's life.  The author makes Louis's story come to life and gives readers a connection to his story through her use of detailed description and a zooming perspective on the events of the book.  In Hillenbrand's description of the German Graf Zeppelin, she successfully makes Zamperini's childhood memory come to life through her description of the airship.  Hillenbrand writes that, "He could see only the blackness of the space it inhabited.  It was not a great presence but a great absence, a geometric ocean of darkness that seemed to swallow heaven itself." In this description the aircraft becomes a powerful monster rather than an amazing new advancement in aircraft technology.  The fear that people may have had at the time period easily transcends to the readers through Hillenbrand's description.  We, as the audience, are able to imagine ourselves there in that moment, watching the Zeppelin float above us.  This connection that Hillenbrand bridges from the biography to the readers helps her audience feel an attachment to Louis's story.  This description of the aircraft comes before the author begins to talk about Louis's troublesome childhood.  The zoomed perspective she has on the aircraft gives readers the context of Zamperini's childhood time period before the audience even gets Louis's entire story.  This is important to helping the audience understand the actions and emotions of the people in the biography.  After zooming in on the Zeppelin, Hillenbrand then takes a step back to change focus, and talks about Louis's childhood.  She writes, "Thrilled by the crashing of boundaries, Louie was untamable.  As he grew into his uncommonly clever mind, mere feats of daring were no longer satisfying.  In Torrance, a one-boy insurgency was born."  The change in focus gives the reader information about Zamperini's childhood, while still giving the audience and attachment to his life.  Hillenbrand is precise in the way that she places the details of the time period and the biography of Louie in order to give the readers the best understanding of what he went through during his life.  Through the changing scope and the detailed descriptions of historical context and Zamperini's biography, Hillenbrand creates a book that audiences can easily connect to in order to receive an inspirational reading experience.