Devil at My Heels

What an amazing memoir. Louis Zamperini was the subject of the popular novel and movie Unbroken, both of which were actually inspired by this, his own memoir. If you liked Unbroken, you will love Devil at My Heels.

He begins by describing his life as a care free juvenile delinquent with a considerable talent for running (which helps, I suppose, a juvenile delinquent avoid the law). This talent got him on the track team at USC as well as a spot on the US Olympic team for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin while breaking numerous records. The war resulted in him volunteering for service and he became a bombardier in a B-24 which crashed into the Pacific on a rescue mission. Zamperini was one of three survivors (one of whom died before being show more rescued by the Japanese. He spent close to two years in Japanese captivity and suffered torture, humiliation, and escaped barely escaped death/execution. After the war and liberation he marries but suffered a serious case of PTSD. I won’t disclose how this is resolved but once resolved Zamperini also forgives all his Japanese captors including the worst of his torturers and travels to Japan to face them personally.

In addition to an excellent war memoir, this is a masterful and inspiring story of courage, determination, preservation, and forgiveness most of us, including myself, probably don’t have it within us to possess. Even if you don’t especially like war stories, this man’s example should be an inspiration to us all and for that reason alone is well worth your time. You won’t regret this read. show less

Louis’ story in his own words, which puts a different emphasis on the story than you get in Unbroken. I found a bit too much self love in some parts, but he’s been telling and selling his story for years so maybe that can’t be helped. And he balances it out with some brutally honest parts that cast him in a very poor light. And in the end, he lays it all out at the feet of the lord so he doesn’t actually take sole credit for his accomplishments. Quite the story.

A story of heroism and survival

I loved this book and not just because I loved this man. Louie was my Sunday School teacher with Jim Ferguson when I was in junior hi and hi school and used to ride herd on us at the beach all summer. I heard a lot of these stories first hand and some others that aren't. I will always be grateful I had him as a role model growing up. Rest well, Louie, thou good and faithful servant. The book tells of unimaginable horrors, the bad deeds he did and what he survived. He was humble, sincere and could be really annoying about using sunscreen. Read the book and follow his journey. You will be better for it

If you enjoyed Unbroken, you need to read this book. This is the autobiography written by Louis Zamperini himself, along with David Rensin. This book includes so many more details of the Unbroken story, including what happened after he returned home from the war. This book was actually written 7 years before Unbroken was published and when Laura Hillenbrand approached Louis Zamperini about writing the story of his life, he told her everything was written in Devil at my Heels already. But she still wanted to write his biography. I think Unbroken left out too many details and wonderful stories this amazing man lived to tell.

If you only have time to read one or the other, I’d read this one. But if you’ve already read Unbroken, and you show more miss Louie, then read this one as well. show less

Extraordinary account of the wartime experiences of the author in the Pacific as a prisoner and also before that, as an Olympics athlete. Fascinating. [A newer book on the same topic is Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. Reading it in Aug. 2015.]

This pretty much sums up the story of more than one lengthy human endeavor ! “Some people believe that if the Pacific generals hadn’t gotten so much liquor, the war would have been over two years sooner”