Book Review: Hillenbrand's "Unbroken" reveals real-life heroism

Louis Zamperini would swipe the food, stealthily, and then run like hell. He ran from the cops; he ran from the store owners; he ran from angry residents brandishing guns. The notorious street tough outran them all. He'd steal any food he could get his hands on; he was always staging pranks and getting into fistfights. Friends and neighbors didn't expect him to live beyond his childhood years. And on numerous occasions, they were almost right.

The son of Italian immigrants growing up in Torrance, California, Zamperini was perpetually in hot water with authority. He was often escorted home late evenings by the police. Probably few, if any, of those who knew him expected the delinquent to grow up to become an Olympic athlete and one of America's greatest distance runners. Certainly, no one expected him to become a WWII bombardier, plane crash survivor, POW, and survivor of post-war turmoil.

But, that's exactly what happened. Laura Hillenbrand's extraordinary book, "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption," chronicles the incredible life story of a man who lived through one catastrophe after another and still emerged with his dignity and humanity intact.

It all started when his brother made him join the high school track team. Zamperini hated running, but after rigorous training, he soon realized he had the gift of speed. Running provided him the perfect outlet for his aggression; instead of using his fleet feet for mischief, he was now setting national and world records in the sport. He ran the mile in 4 minutes and 21.2 seconds. Everyone expected him to be the first person to break the 4-minute mile.

In 1936, he ran for U.S. Olympic team in the 5000 meters in Berlin. Although he finished in eighth place, his final lap time of 56 seconds, an unprecedented time for a final lap of that distance, caught the attention of many people, including that of Adolf Hitler, who watched in his stadium balcony. The two met face-to-face. "You're the boy with the fast finish," Hitler told him while shaking his hand.

War ended his running career. Zamperini enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1941. One day, his plane experienced mechanical difficulties and it crashed into the ocean. He and his crew spent 47 days adrift at sea. They lived off albatross and fish they caught; they were shot at from above by Japanese bomber planes; they were hunted from below by sharks; they were nearly swallowed whole by a sea storm. By the time the Japanese Navy found them and took them to their prison camps, the men were emaciated shells of their former selves.

All of this is told in remarkably fast-paced and thrilling way. Hillenbrand, who also wrote "Seabiscuit," manages to give her readers the hard facts of history while fleshing out an absorbing and entertaining story. She avoids embellishing the facts and getting too carried away with the poetic license that biographers sometimes take when filling in the gaps of historical records. Nothing that is written in this book, she tells us in the introduction, is unsupported by historical evidence. She didn't make it up.

She didn't need to. The truth is incredible enough. Not many could endure what Zamperini did and even live to tell the tale. He is a shining example of true heroism. His is a story of how an ordinary kid from a troubled background can grow up to achieve extraordinary things. A tough and resilient man, Zamperini is still going strong. At 93 years-old, today he travels around the world giving lectures. The fast kid from Torrance is still as spry as ever.

"Walking the Gobi," A Fascinating Portrait of a Land, Its People, and the Power of Human Determination

Helen Thayer was 64 years-old when she and her husband Bill set out to walk 1,600 miles across the Mongolian Gobi Desert in the middle of summer. He was 74. They battled scorching 126-degree heat, ferocious sand storms, deadly scorpions, dehydration, and dangerous drug smugglers.

With no support team, sponsors, or radio contact, theirs is a story of pure adventure. Traversing the hostile Mongolia-China border, leading two charismatic camels named Tom and Jerry, the Thayers could not have imagine the magnitude of the beauty they would encounter on their epic journey.

Helen was no stranger to hostile natural environments. At the age of 50, she became the first woman to solo trek to the magnetic North Pole, pulling her own sled without resupply. Born in New Zealand, she has become a world-reknowned explorer and motivational speaker.

Twice she has kayaked 2,200 miles in the Amazon. She walked 4,000 miles along an ancient trade route in the Sahara. She has lived alogside and studied the Canadian wild wolves of the polar sea and has been named “One of the Great Explorers of the 20th Century” by National Geographic Society and NPR.

Despite her long list of accomplishments, there had always been one dream Helen never gave up on. When she was in grade school, her teacher fascinated her with stories of the Gobi. She imagined the rugged bueaty of the land and its people. Instantly, she knew she had to go there.

That she held on to that dream for so long speaks to her determination and indomitable spirit. Just a year before their scheduled trek, Helen was involved in a serious car accident. The doctors told her she might never walk again. But, this did not stop her. Still recovering from her injuries, she set out to realize her goal of crossing the desert on foot.

"Walking the Gobi" is an absorbing book. It works on a couple of different levels. On the one hand, it is a wonderful introduction to the cultures of the Gobi. In the fashion of all good travel writing, Helen's observations of the land and the people who inhabit it are insightful; they instill within the reader a deep sense of appreciation for the power of the natural elements.

She does not condescend or pretend to fully understand the ways of the desert or its nomadic peoples. Rather, she approaches her subject matter with a genuine sense of awe and interest. Her prose is clear and precise, but still infused with passion. Readers sense in her a great, wise old teacher.

The book also works as an example of human determination. Here is a woman who has defied preconcived limits of age and physical endurance. She also defied what is traditionally expected of her gender - border patrol authorities in Mongolia were frequently hesitant to deal with a woman and rape was a major concern if she was impriosned for crossing ilegally into China. But, Helen Thayer accomplished her lifelong dream and now we are givin a invaluable glimpse of a land and people we know little about.

Courage in the Face of Adversity: The Story of America's First Openly Gay High School Track Coach

Eric Anderson knows the meaning of the word courage. In 1993, at the age of 25, he came out to his high school track team and the community of Huntington Beach High School in Orange County, California. In doing so, he became the first openly gay high school coach in America. His book, "Trailblazing," chronicles the often painful and devastating ordeals he faced in coming out. It's a remarkable story about courage in the face of adversity.

Coming out is a affirmative act of self-proclamation. It's a conscious step towards living life on one's own terms. When someone come's out of the closet, they are saying to a heteronormative and homophobic society, "I am here and I am not ashamed of who I am." Gay and lesbian men and women need to come out if they hope to achieve a higher level of personal and spiritual fulfillment. This is important to remember when reading Anderson's story.

Before he came out, he was plagued with headaches. The stress of keeping his secret hidden caused him severe migraines and ulcers. He worried constantly that friends and family members might perceive him as gay. Some straight people might not understand this. Social norms allow them to express their sexuality freely without fear of backlash. Gay people don't always have this luxury.

Sometimes coming out can mean being socially ostracized, getting fired from your job, being teased and made fun of, and in some cases, even killed. Imagine for a moment the pain and anguish of having to conceal something so innate and fundamental as your own sexuality - having to be constantly aware of who you look at, how you look at them, what you say, and the way you say it.

Anderson knew he would face backlash. But, he came out for a couple of reasons: first, he couldn't continue to live a lie, and second, he wanted to help closeted students not feel so alone.

It is touching that those who supported and stood by him most were his track team members. They accepted the news of his homosexuality as a non-issue, and thus, they had the most mature reaction out of anyone in the community. Even the parents of his students stood by him.

But, in the homophobic world of high school athletics, Anderson's happiness was short-lived. People keyed his car. Students tagged the word "faggot" on his team's bus. They harassed and bullied his straight team members for being on the "gay team." On one occasion they even assaulted and broke the jaw of a team member. All the while, the school administrators turned a blind eye to these injustices. It's telling that before allowing a new member to join his team, Anderson had to make sure to warn the prospective runner and his parents that daily harassment was almost inevitable.

"Trailblazing" is a thrilling and inspiring book and one of the best running books ever written, not least because it's more about courage than it is about running. Eric Anderson led his team to victory on the track, but their real victory was off the track. They proved that courage, friendship, intelligence, and humor can overcome hatred.