Don't Give Up, Don't Give In

Former Olympic athlete and WWII prisoner of war, Louis Zamperini, who died in July 2014, is the subject of Laura Hillenbrand's international bestseller Unbroken, which was made into a film directed by Angelina Jolie. Louis co-wrote his own memoir of his wartime experiences, Devil At My Heels.

David Rensin is the author of The Mailroom and All For a Few Perfect Waves. He has collaborated on bestselling books with such celebrities as Chris Rock and Tim Allen, and with Louis Zamperini on Devil at My Heels.

CHAMPION. SURVIVOR. HERO. LEGEND.
“A fitting capstone to the Zamperini legend.”—USA Today
“Brims with sage wisdom.”—Kirkus Reviews
Completed just two days before Louis Zamperini’s death at age ninety-seven, Don’t Give Up, Don’t Give In shares a lifetime of wisdom, insight, and humor from “one of the most incredible American lives of the past century” (People). Zamperini’s story has touched millions through Laura Hillenbrand’s biography Unbroken and its blockbuster movie adaptation directed by Angelina Jolie. Now, in his own words, Zamperini reveals with warmth and great charm the essential values and lessons that sustained him throughout his remarkable journey.
He was a youthful troublemaker from California who turned his life around to become a 1936 Olympian. Putting aside his track career, he volunteered for the army before Pearl Harbor and was thrust into World War II as a B-24 bombardier. While on a rescue mission, his plane went down in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, where he survived against all odds, drifting two thousand miles in a small raft for forty-seven days. His struggle was only beginning: Zamperini was captured by the Japanese, and for more than two years he courageously endured torture and psychological abuse in a series of prisoner-of-war camps. He returned home to face more dark hours, but in 1949 Zamperini’s life was transformed by a spiritual rebirth that would guide him through the next sixty-five years of his long and happy life. Louis Zamperini’s Don’t Give Up, Don’t Give In is an extraordinary last testament that captures the wisdom of a life lived to the fullest.

“A fitting capstone to the Zamperini legend. ... This valedictory book reflects the charm and colorful authority he brought to the world.” — USA Today
“Not simply another rehashing of Zamperini’s incredible history, this second memoir, dictated to co-author Rensin during the last year of the author’s life, brims with sage wisdom, learned advice and fond observations from his adventurous 97 years. ... Inspirational.” — Kirkus Reviews
“One of the most incredible American lives of the past century.” — People, on Louis Zamperini
“Louis Zamperini is a modern miracle. His life reads like something out of a storybook.” — Billy Graham, on Louis Zamperini
“Louis Zamperini’s life is a story that befits the greatness of the country he served.” — John McCain, on Louis Zamperini
“An extraordinary hero.” — Publishers Weekly