10 Best True Survival Stories (2022 Updated)

Hillenbrand employs Louis Zamperini’s life as a device to display a timeline of history. Instead of filling the reader with undesirable statistics and simply stating the most notable times in history Hillenbrand allows the reader to learn and indulge in the history of WW2 through writing Louis’ life herself with the aid of the younger lieutenant.

Through writing the book as ‘an outsider’ Hillenbrand yields the opportunity to provide more than just a first person perspective of the war, but also allows the the stories of other victims as well further historical moments to be included.

We track Louis’ life from his young days as a child kleptomaniac, to his Olympic days, travelling with him in his B-24 ‘Superman’ as a Bombardier to his 47 days on a life raft in the Pacific Ocean stranded.

This is only the first third of the book as well. The story is about survival, courage, history and relationships but most of all it is to educate the masses as to what has happened in history, and allow us to appreciate what we have today.

Often with biographies they are seen as very self-centred, which is understandable as it is all about one person. Unbroken is Zamperini’s life story, however you come to understand that everyone is grounded and comprised of other people.

Hillenbrand delves into the lives of other prisoners (of War) just as much as Louis, in an attempt to illustrate the wide spread affect the war had on civilian and military lives. While reading I felt just as much as part of the story as Zamperini himself as I found out exactly what war was like.

The book is so beautifully detailed that I never felt exhausted with history or that I didn’t understand any of the terminology. Hillenbrand has mastered the art of paying homage to someone with respect whilst maintaining her alluring language that is ubiquitous on every page.

I loved this book! I can’t stop telling people about it. The human spirit is incredible – to think what Louis Zemperini went through. He was an amazing human being. The film was good but the book was so much better, as there was so much more to his story than you could put in a film.

Laura Hillenbrand is a brilliant author – must read Seabiscuit next!.

Could this be true? Apparently it is. Laura Hillenbrand can write a great true story. I not only learned a lot about the man but also about the times; and especially just how the Japanese “managed” their prisoners of war and the contrast between the treatment by the Japanese versus those in similar camps in Europe.

Some parts of the book are difficult to stomach; others parts are just remarkable. A great tale of survival and will to live through extreme conditions.

One of those rare books to genuinely make one smarter–INSTANTLY! Every chapter changed the way I thought, the way I saw the world, and the way I behaved. By learning how my brain works–in a most engaging fashion–I have been able to use it more effectively.

Now I know about the tussle between reason and emotion, what each is good for, why we use and need both, and how to help them play nicely together. This book has been so easy for me to relate to, I still think about the concepts daily, and mention it to my friends (they all know how much I LOVED this book!)In fact–this is my second copy, because I loan out my first and don’t get it back for weeks (I loaned my copy to a friend who is a fireman; half the station ended up reading it–quite a testament!) Yes, there are riveting stories of survival here, the bones of Gonzales’ presentation, and they stand on their own.

But Gonzales takes them as an opportunity to explain how our brain–in both primitive and civilized ways–can make the biggest difference in survival situations. Because Gonzales comes from a background–lovingly described–rich in both science and experience (he’s been a stunt pilot as well as an outdoorsman)he is able to teach difficult concepts with a storyteller’s skill.

This is a complicated book about physics and neurobiology which can be devoured cover-to-cover. I have read three other books by Gonzales since this one. They are all different from each other in focus, but all engaging and marked by the author’s formidable intelligence.

I highly recommend reading this book for a dozen good reasons, and declare Laurence Gonzales one of our national treasures!.

Fascinating book which describes people in life-threatening situations and how their responses allowed them to live or die. Stories are woven in throughout the well-educated writer’s ideas on WHY and HOW these specific people ended up living when others died.

Yes, it’s psychological in nature, but also a wonderful non-fiction narrative book which captivates readers and helps them to understand that being able to overcome paralysis and see what is *now* can be key to survival.

Great storytelling. I have read Laurence Gonzales’ next book, but it’s not as good as this original!.

This book is about people who did stupid things. In other words they should have known better. But they ignored common sense and they and others got hurt or died. Also this book is about people who did well in difficult situations because they used common sense instead of following stupid rules.

While this book is mostly about life threatening situations, it can be translated to the size of the mortgage you take out, the school you send your kids to and so many other details of everyday life that can help or hurt you and your family.

Louis Zamperini grows up in Torrance, California in the 1920s and ’30s. He sounds like a trouble-making kid who would have been relegated to ADD meds long ago in today’s society — always pulling pranks and getting into trouble.

Thankfully, his older brother is able to motivate him to channel his energy into running. Although he doesn’t even enjoy running at first, Louis becomes better and better at it as he practices (this is a principle that I wish many of my piano students would grasp).

Eventually, Louis is so good that he runs at the Olympics. But WWII intervenes, and Louis becomes a bombardier (side note: I learned how to say a new word! I kept thinking, bom-BAR-dee-er, but — nope) on a plane.

Things are going swimmingly until one day when his plane goes down over the Pacific. Many on board are killed, but Louis and two others survive on two life rafts from the plane. They are convinced that they will be rescued, and they make it by eating raw birds they catch who have landed on them, and other cringe-worthy activities.

One of them dies. The other two are finally discovered, AFTER 37 DAYS, by. the Japanese. They spend time at one POW camp after another, for two years. It’s unbelievable how bad the treatment is there.

They are beaten and tortured, and some of the men lose 100 pounds or more. Really, after reading this book, it kept amazing me that anyone could survive the things they did. I kept thinking that these camps sounded as bad or worse than many German concentration camps, and yet I don’t remember hearing much of anything about them.

Why is this? I’ll leave the ending of the story for you to read if, like me, you’re among the dozen Americans who hasn’t yet read this amazing tale.

This should be mandatory reading for every high school student. An excellent read that is raw in it’s detail, but utimately shows the character of a nation that no longer exist. We, as a society, have let this generation down and all they did was survive The Depression, save the world and then give us wealth beyond our imagination.

In return we have forgotten how to work, how to collectively sacrifice as a nation, placated every individual and apologize to the very people that should prostrate themselves in front of the world and beg for forgivness 70+ years later.

As a historian and retired military Officer I can personally attest through experience that the Japanese nation and people have displayed very little remorse to the individuals that were victims of their criminal war acts.

In fact their involvement in the war is not taught or talked about in Japanese society. Yet we have to apologize every August 6th for dropping a bomb that utimately ended their sadistic behaviour and saved untold lives that would have played out over the course of more land fighting.

This book gives a bold, un-censored look at one individual that survived the almost unthinkable. It is very well written and is one of those books that “is hard to put down” from the first chapter on.

I immediately sent a copy to my 18 year old daughter in college so she could read the truth rather then hear some version of truth from the narrow vision of political correctness that echoes from halls of academia.

We should have dropped three.

Someone told me it was a great book another told me it was a bit, shall I say, long winded. So,I read it. It took a bit to get into the book itself. But within a few pages, I was hooked. I love history so this was just wonderful.

This book covers detail that NO ONE would ever know or come up with unless he were there. I was sickened by the reality of what really happened (trying NOT to give anything away). I was so submerged in the life of Luis, that I could see what Laura was writing as if I were there.

I am astounded that he recalled so vividly the details of such horrific events. I am so thankful he did!! At times it was a bit wordy, and I understand needing to know the exact model of the aircraft.

But a couple times I had to just graze over a page of B24 this and B that. Like with every book. it has it’s waves. I am definitely keeping this one to read again.

Excellent book! If you are a WWII buff, or even if you arent, this is an excellent story. Im going to share it with many people I know who would just love it. Cant imagine living through what these people did.

The author did an amazing job of research. Great book. Dont pass it up!.

This is one book that definitely needs to be made into a movie. The story is about a group of military people going on a sight seeing plane trip into New Guinea to look at a village of natives that is referred to as Shangri-La.

(They had been discovered earlier by another pilot and no one knew of their existance) Unfortunately the plane crashes with only a few surviors to make their way out of the jungle. They have no idea if the natives are friendly or how to get out.

I don’t want to give away too many details because the story is incredible about how they were found and rescued. While they were waiting to be rescued they were able to communicate and live with the natives for awhile which was interesting as the natives thought they were spririts.

Their storytelling that had been passed down for years told of spirits who would come from the sky and change their lives forever. They weren’t spirits but it did change their futures and not in a good way.

The people involved are really interesting and diverse. I bought this book for my husband to read and picked it up and finished it in no time. The author writes with a great style and is very entertaining.

Lots of great photos of the actual survivors and rescuers. SUPER story. worth reading.

The story of a plane crash in Dutch New Guinea in WWII and the plight of the survivors. Wonderful book about survival and rescue. I’m retired USAF and into military history. I had never heard this story when the book was recommended by a friend.

Not only is it a great story, the author follows the people in the book after WWII and what their lives were like. If you like non-fiction adventures, this is a must read. Personally, I never gave the rescue idea much chance of success!.

This will give you some perspective on life in the Saharan region of Africa. Surely some elements have changed after 200 years; however, many remain the same. The ability of the body to adapt under dire circumstances is fascinating.

Make sure you read this with a tall glass of iced water !.

I know when I’ve got a real keeper when a book inspires me, hungry for more details, to go back and read the primary sources! What makes this book so incredible is that this fascinating, well-written true story is so unbelievably terrible.

I know portions of this harrowing story will continue to resurface in my thoughts and dreams as I remember the subhuman conditions these American mariners experienced in the hands of tribal desert dwellers.

These seamen were literally treated like animals — expected to sleep outside their masters’ tents curled up like dogs, naked, and trying to survive on leftover or unwanted food parts their masters threw at them, such as camel entrails, bones or camel fetuses.

Mr. King does an admirable job describing the primitive conditions under which even the captors lived, subsisting on little or no food at times, going for days without water, and utilizing every scrap of any slaughtered animal.

Next: Imagine these once hardy seamen as slaves in these conditions, with naked Caucasian skin burned over and over, cracking open, bleeding under the unrelenting Saharan sun, delirious and desperate to survive; some simply praying for death instead.

For someone like me, who can’t even stand sand in her bathing suit or under her fingernails, this was history I soaked up like a sponge. Also included is a very scholarly and thorough bibliography; great detailed index; helpful small glossary of unusual words.

2004 S. Spika (rarebookwoman on eBay).

Incredulous book of survival; couldn’t put the book down…read it in one sitting.

The film was good but the book is outstanding. It took 7 years to write and the research of facts and detail of Louis life and the war period are very informative. It’s a amazing life story of survival on a raft for 47 days with two others , and survival against the odds at a Japanese POW camp.

Just read it. A lot of statistics in the early chapters of Louis rise to running at Olympic level but if that’s not of interest do keep going with it.

exciting adventureous heartbreaking soul warming true story of a human that couldn’t be broken no matter how bad the torture from the Japanese who were particular brutal with a merican prisoners of war very comp[eling and very hard to wait for next page.

highly recommend it. excellent excellent writing by Hillebrand whos terrific with detail.

This book is compelling reading. For someone my age, being born some years after the war ended, it puts into perspective the horror that the people endured in the concentration camps. One can only imagine what these people went through, and even then the imagining wouldn’t be bad enough.

Yes, I cried at times and then there were the few times I smiled and laughed. Especially at the end, when all the way through the book, I hoped and prayed that the end could be like it was. The love of the father for the son and the love of the son for the father made my heart sing.

It kept the strength going for these two people, even though it looked like it could be all in vain. In the end what family were left in Gustav and Fritz Kleinmanns’ world were able to be reconnected.

Please read the book for yourself not because someone has said to read it. It really did happen.

this book though harrowing is a very good compeling read, it gives an insight into life in the con camps. it shows how wicked the germans were. i think this book should be read by children of about fourteen or so as part of school learning.

it would give the children an insight into something that did not happen thousands of years ago. also perhaps would show what it like to live in or under a socialist state. the book is called for those who would like to know, the boy who followed his father into Auschwitz.

a true story about the Kleinmann family. it realy is an amazeing true story.

Saw this advertised and read reviews. Having visited Poland and been to Auchwitz myself and read many books books, I think book gives a very personal feel on what really happened thou people dent it.

How can they when there are amazing stories/films/documentaries and personal journal’s to read and teach our children the world over the atrocities that happened. History of inhuman treatment if human beings, we must never to forget every one of them that died, those who survived, those who liberated them and their families that bear their names and carry their stories forward.

It was a personal war story, covered many aspects of this individuals experience. Factual and not overally dramatised. Really enjoyable read, would highly recommend.

well i am in the middle of it. I find it so honest, interesting and informative. written in a very “human ” way. I now feel i know the author

Bought this for a Chrstmas present, it arrived after Christmas due to demand so I read it first. Its brilliantly written a very compelling story.

Unfortunately most of the content is speculation/fantasy/imagination/guesswork since by the author’s admission the subject “Leon” did not wish to be interviewed, and actually died before the book was written.

Therefor, NO prime character verification of the details. It is a decent read though. A lot of factual content, not pertaining to the story at hand, i guess, was used for filler. Somewhat disappointed in the book, since no main character input/verification.

This book was a used book. It was in such excellent condition it was hard to tell that it had been read. I received the book even before the date it was promised by. It was a great story of survival against unbelievable odds, and it kept me coming back to read.

I felt that I knew the main character through reading this book. He was quite ingenious in problem solving and also an inspiration to keep going in the face of near defeat.

great book. read the short story in readers digest, and was compelled to read the book. Good story and pictures, well written. Author keeps reader wondering to the very end, the fate of the other fliers.

This book provides yet another example of how some sections of the media will make it up if they can’t get the facts. The author needed many types of courage in her life: the type that would see her, aged seventeen, survive a plane crash and find her way through Amazonian jungle for eleven days before she is miraculously saved; the courage to live afterwards with the idea she may have contributed to her mother’s loss of life; and the relentless onslaught of media and public interest in her story when she is a shy and private person.

How painful it must be for her to still suffer the lies and inventions of others who, being unable to gain an interview with her, decide to make up a story instead which is often cruel and unsympathetic.

Juliane Koepcke’s parents, her unusual childhood, the plane crash and its aftermath and her career in biological science make absorbing reading. She writes clearly and maintains the reader’s interest about her and her parents’ deep regard for the jungle environment and how they came to be there.

Her father’s remarkable journey from Germany to Peru during the Second World War is fascinating as is the love story between him and Juliane’s mother. Setting the record straight about what really happened when the plane carrying Juliane and her mother crashed on Christmas eve, and how she managed to survive when no-one else did is the reason she gives for writing this book.

It serves other causes too though. The personal attributes she credits with ensuring she made it out alive provide valuable life lessons. This strength of character is also apparent in the final chapters of the book when Juliane describes her long fight to have the Peruvian property her parents bought and ran as a scientific research centre turned into a nature reserve for future generations.

I did find this part of her autobiography dragged a little even though I agree with her proposal, but this is a small quibble about a book I enjoyed reading very much.

It’s more about her life before and after the crash. As for details on the actual crash itself there is not much and the cause is not really discussed in detail other than the plane was brought down by the tropical storm,not to mention the airline had a very poor maintenance record.

This was a patch work of L-188 parts on the older “A” Model. However, the book is not about the Electra, but about Juliane’s remarkable survival story and her love for the Peruvian Rain Forest. It is a a very interesting story and well worth the time to read it!.

Julianes life and her accident are interesting although some questions about the accident are not answered thoroughly