Unbroken

Unbroken
Author: Laura Hillenbrand
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Total Pages: 530
Release: 2014-07-29
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0812974492

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE • Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more. In boyhood, Louis Zamperini was an incorrigible delinquent. As a teenager, he channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics. But when World War II began, the athlete became an airman, embarking on a journey that led to a doomed flight on a May afternoon in 1943. When his Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean, against all odds, Zamperini survived, adrift on a foundering life raft. Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will. Appearing in paperback for the first time—with twenty arresting new photos and an extensive Q&A with the author—Unbroken is an unforgettable testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit, brought vividly to life by Seabiscuit author Laura Hillenbrand. Hailed as the top nonfiction book of the year by Time magazine • Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for biography and the Indies Choice Adult Nonfiction Book of the Year award “Extraordinarily moving . . . a powerfully drawn survival epic.”—The Wall Street Journal “[A] one-in-a-billion story . . . designed to wrench from self-respecting critics all the blurby adjectives we normally try to avoid: It is amazing, unforgettable, gripping, harrowing, chilling, and inspiring.”—New York “Staggering . . . mesmerizing . . . Hillenbrand’s writing is so ferociously cinematic, the events she describes so incredible, you don’t dare take your eyes off the page.”—People “A meticulous, soaring and beautifully written account of an extraordinary life.”—The Washington Post “Ambitious and powerful . . . a startling narrative and an inspirational book.”—The New York Times Book Review “Magnificent . . . incredible . . . [Hillenbrand] has crafted another masterful blend of sports, history and overcoming terrific odds; this is biography taken to the nth degree, a chronicle of a remarkable life lived through extraordinary times.”—The Dallas Morning News “An astonishing testament to the superhuman power of tenacity.”—Entertainment Weekly “A tale of triumph and redemption . . . astonishingly detailed.”—O: The Oprah Magazine “[A] masterfully told true story . . . nothing less than a marvel.”—Washingtonian “[Hillenbrand tells this] story with cool elegance but at a thrilling sprinter’s pace.”—Time “Hillenbrand [is] one of our best writers of narrative history. You don’t have to be a sports fan or a war-history buff to devour this book—you just have to love great storytelling.”—Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Trumpet of the Swan

The Trumpet of the Swan
Author: E. B. White
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
Total Pages: 129
Release: 2015-03-17
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0008139431

The much-loved children’s classic from the author of Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little, available in eBook for the very first time!

Louis Zamperini

Louis Zamperini
Author: Janet Benge
Publisher: Heroes of History
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2014
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9781624860492

As an Olympic runner, a bombardier in the Army Air Corps, and a prisoner of war, Louis Zamperini was determined to thrive and survive. Never backing down from a challenge, Louie lived a life of adventure while modeling hope and forgiveness to a generation.A magnet for trouble as a boy, Louis Zamperini determined to create a new path for himself. Nicknamed the "Torrance Tornado," he set national records and traveled to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. His resolve as a runner was matched by his will to survive a plane crash, weeks adrift at sea, and years in a prison camp. This American hero encouraged countless others to have faith and to persevere through trials, revealing that no life is beyond redemption (1917-2014).Heroes of History is a unique biography series that brings the shaping of history to life with the remarkable true stories of fascinating men and women who changed the course of history. The stories of Heroes of History are told in an engaging narrative format, where related history, geography, government, and science topics come to life and make a lasting impression. This is a premier biography line for the entire family.Pages: 220 (paperback)Ages: 10+

Devil at My Heels

Devil at My Heels
Author: David Rensin
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2009-10-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 0061972762

The bestselling autobiography of the legendary Louis Zamperini, hero of the blockbuster Unbroken. A modern classic by an American legend, Devil at My Heels is the riveting and deeply personal memoir by U.S. Olympian, World War II bombardier, and POW survivor Louis Zamperini. His inspiring story of courage, resilience, and faith has captivated readers and audiences of Unbroken, now a major motion picture directed by Angelina Jolie. In Devil at My Heels, his official autobiography (co-written with longtime collaborator David Rensin), Zamperini shares his own first-hand account of extraordinary journey—hailed as “one of the most incredible American lives of the past century” (People). A youthful troublemaker, a world-class NCAA miler, a 1936 Olympian, a WWII bombardier: Louis Zamperini had a fuller life than most. But on May 27, 1943, it all changed in an instant when his B-24 crashed into the Pacific Ocean, leaving Louis and two other survivors drifting on a raft for forty-seven days and two thousand miles, waiting in vain to be rescued. And the worst was yet to come when they finally reached land, only to be captured by the Japanese. Louis spent the next two years as a prisoner of war—tortured and humiliated, routinely beaten, starved and forced into slave labor—while the Army Air Corps declared him dead and sent official condolences to his family. On his return home, memories of the war haunted him nearly destroyed his marriage until a spiritual rebirth transformed him and led him to dedicate the rest of his long and happy life to helping at-risk youth. Told in Zamperini’s own voice, Devil at My Heels is an unforgettable memoir from one of the greatest of the “Greatest Generation,” a living document about the brutality of war, the tenacity of the human spirit, and the power of faith.

The Trumpet of the Swan: Louie the Hero

The Trumpet of the Swan: Louie the Hero
Author: Lin Oliver
Publisher: HarperFestival
Total Pages: 36
Release: 2002-03-05
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9780694016198

Louie, a trumpeter swan who plays the trumpet, spends his summer as the camp bugler and becomes a hero when he saves a boy from drowning.

The Dragon in the Library

The Dragon in the Library
Author: Louie Stowell
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Total Pages: 158
Release: 2019-06-06
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1788001095

Kit can't stand reading She'd MUCH rather be outside, playing games and getting muddy, than stuck inside with a book. But when she's dragged along to the library one day by her two best friends, she makes an incredible discovery - and soon it's up to Kit and her friends to save the library... and the world.

Otherland

Otherland
Author: Louie Stowell
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Total Pages: 171
Release: 2021-05-06
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1788000471

Otherland is a dangerous magical underworld - a place where appearances can be deceiving and anything can happen. A world of gods, vampires, and fairies. It's also... horrible. When life-long friends Myra and Rohan discover that Rohan's baby sister Shilpa has been stolen and taken to Otherland, the only way to rescue her is by taking part in a deadly game - three impossible challenges set by the Fairy Queen of Otherland. Win the game, and Rohan and Myra can go home with Shilpa - but lose, and they'll be trapped in Otherland forever... A darkly funny, action-packed fantasy adventure, perfect for fans of Malamander, Stranger Things, Coraline and Pan's Labyrinth, from the author of the highly-acclaimed Dragon in the Library series.

Women Heroes of World War II—the Pacific Theater

Women Heroes of World War II—the Pacific Theater
Author: Kathryn J. Atwood
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Total Pages: 221
Release: 2016-10-01
Genre: Young Adult Nonfiction
ISBN: 161373171X

A Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People 2017 Glamorous American singer Claire Phillips opened a nightclub in manila, using the earnings to secretly feed starving American POWs. She also began working as a spy, chatting up Japanese military men and passing their secrets along to local guerrilla resistance fighters. Australian Army nurse Vivian Bullwinkel, stationed in Singapore, then shipwrecked in the the Dutch East Indies, became the sole survivor of a horrible massacre by Japanese soliders. She hid for days, tending to a seriously wounded British soldier while wounded herself. Humanitarian Elizabeth Choy lived the rest of her life hating war, though not her tormentors, after enduring six months of starvation and torture by the Japanese military police. In these pages, readers will meet these and other courageous women and girls who risked their lives through their involvement in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II. Fifteen suspense-filled stories unfold across China, Japan, Malaya, Singapore, the Dutch East Indies, and the Philippines, providing an inspiring reminder of womens' and girls' refusal to sit on the sidelines around the world and throughout history. These women—whose stories span 1932 to 1945, the last year of the war—served in dangerous roles as spies, medics, journalists, resisters, and saboteurs. Seven of them were captured and imprisoned by the Japanese, enduring brutal conditions. Author Kathryn J. Atwood provides appropriate context and framing for teens 14 and up to grapple with these harsh realities of war. Discussion questions and a guide for further study assist readers and educators in learning about this important and often neglected period of history.

Poor Louie

Poor Louie
Author: Tony Fucile
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Total Pages: 45
Release: 2017-04-11
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0763697117

Poor Louie! Life is perfect for this pup until Mom’s belly starts getting bigger. . . . A funny and touching tale for big siblings from the illustrator of the Bink and Gollie series. Louie’s life is great! A walk on the leash every morning, ice cream on Sundays, snuggling in bed at night with Mom and Dad. Even the playdates with Mom’s friends — despite their little crawling creatures who pull Louie’s ears — aren’t all that bad. But then things get weird: cold food on the floor, no room in the bed, and lots of new stuff coming into the house in pairs — two small beds, two little sweaters, two seats in the stroller. Does that bode double trouble ahead, or could there be a happier surprise in store for Louie? With perfect visual pacing, Tony Fucile takes a familiar story and gives it a comic spin.

Louis Zamperini

Louis Zamperini
Author: Renee Taft Meloche
Publisher: Emerald
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2014-12
Genre: Biography
ISBN: 9781624860508

Louis Zamperini (1917-2014) The plane began to slowly glide, then much to Louie's shock it started shaking back and forth, then dropped down like a rock. It hit the water, blew apart, but Louie had survived! He saw a drifting raft he'd need to help him stay alive. One of America's fastest runners and a celebrated Olympic racer, Louis Zamperini suddenly found himself adrift when his plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean during World War II. Louie applied his strength, determination, and cleverness to survive many dangers at sea. Captured by the enemy, he endured two years of harsh treatment as a prisoner of war. Battling fears and nightmares after his return home, he found hope and strength as he devoted his life to God and to serving others. The adventurous life of this survivor and champion is an inspiration to all.