Don't Give Up, Don't Give In: Lessons from an Extraordinary Life – The New York Times Bestselling Last Testament of Courage and Wisdom

New York Times bestseller

More than 100,000 copies in print

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 life 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, this WWII veteran 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 as a prisoner of war. He returned home to face more dark hours, but in 1949 Zamperini’s life was transformed by his powerful Christian faith 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.

In this extraordinary last testament, Zamperini shares the hard-won principles that defined his unbreakable spirit:

• An Inspirational True Story: From a troublemaking kid in California to a 1936 Olympian, Zamperini’s journey is a powerful lesson in the strength of the human spirit.
• Memoir of Survival: Learn the mindset that carried him through a B-24 crash, 47 days adrift on a raft in the Pacific, and more than two years of torture in a prisoner-of-war camp.
• Overcoming Adversity: Discover how he faced down dark hours even after returning home, finding a path forward from post-traumatic stress and a desire for revenge.
• The Power of Forgiveness: Witness the spiritual rebirth that transformed his life, allowing him to forgive his captors and find 65 years of peace and purpose.

A son of Italian immigrants, Louis Zamperini (1917-2014) was a U.S. Olympic runner, World War II bombardier, and POW survivor. After the war, he returned to the United States to found the Victory Boys Camp for at-risk youth and became an inspirational speaker. Zamperini's story was told in his 2003 autobiography Devil at My Heels, as well as in Laura Hillenbrand's 2010 biography Unbroken.

David Rensin worked closely with Louis Zamperini for many years and cowrote Devil at My Heels, as well as fifteen other books, including five New York Times bestsellers.