"Unbroken," By Laura Hillenbrand

[Paladin]

Anyone else reading this current bestseller? It's the true story of a one-time Olympic runner's survival while lost in the Pacific when his plane goes down, and later at the hands of the Japanese during WWII. Quite a tale---I figure Spielberg already has a draft screenplay in hand, and is probably looking at someone like James Franco to depict the runner/flight crew member/POW, Lt. Louis Zamperini. One big question I have about the movie treatment: how will they handle the unspeakable cruelty dished out by the Japanese military against U.S. and Allied prisoners of war, as so vividly depicted in the book? Recommended.....

[sharp_stick]

1. There were parts of that book that

just made me cringe. It took me twice as long to get through the book after he was captured because I kept having to put it down.

The fact that Louis made it to today with his sanity intact is a testament to the human spirit. Quite the man that guy.

on edit: I don't think there would be a problem showing the cruelty of the Japanese. It's pretty well documented and in no way would it be worse than the images etc in a movie like Schindler's List. The Japanese of course will complain just like they do every time China tries to say anything about Nanking.

[sudopod]

2. fixed that for you

"I don't think there would be a problem showing the cruelty of the Japanese humanity."

No one has a monopoly on cruelty. Prison camps are just a real-life version of the Stanford Prison Experiment carried to it's final conclusion, aren't they?

[Paladin]

4. Wouldn't It Be Nice To Have This Book Widely-Read.......

....and absorbed among all the right-wingers who love it that the U.S. has officially adopted torture techniques as part of its foreign policy? (Water-boarding is recounted in the book.) Come to think of it, the point would probably be lost on such people.......

[SheilaT]

3. I have read it.

And yes, it's on the long side but nonetheless quite interesting.

[Sequoia]

5. I didn't like it as much as I thought I should.

Maybe it was because I'd finished reading a few WWII books so was burned out by it all.