Posted 12/5/12 – Unbroken: a World War II airman’s story of survival, resilience, and redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand, has been chosen as the City of Sierra Madre 2013 One Book One City selection by the Sierra Madre Public Library.
In this long-awaited book, Hillenbrand writes with the same rich and vivid narrative voice she used 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.
On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Force bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean, leaving only a slick of oil and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, who was pulling himself aboard a life raft. So begins one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.
Hillenbrand’s moving book has garnered multiple awards including: 2010 Los Angeles Times Book Prize, 2011 Indies’ Choice Book Award, 2011 Christopher Book Award, and 2012 American Library Association Notable Books.
A month-long series of free events, open to the public, is being planned for February 2013, focusing on WW II. Copies of the book to check out are available at the Sierra Madre Public Library.
Sierra Madre residents have held a One Book One City event for the past 9 years beginning with The Grapes of Wrath, followed by Tortilla Curtain and Wizard of Oz. It became an ‘annual’ event in 2009 with Fahrenheit 451, then Zorro, On Gold Mountain and last year, Sherlock Holmes. One Book One City invites Sierra Madreans to read the same notable book at the same time and encourages everyone to come together to explore literature and its cultural perspective.
For more information, please contact Alice Kuo at626.355.7186. Sierra Madre Library is located at 440 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre, 91024.