Devil at My Heels: A Heroic Olympian's Astonishing Story of Survival as a Japanese POW in World War II

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Interviews & Essays

Overview

On May 27, 1943, Louis Zamperini's B-24 crashed into the Pacific Ocean. Louis and two other survivors found a raft amid the wreckage and waited for rescue. Instead, they drifted two thousand miles for forty-seven days. Their only food: two shark livers and three raw albatross. Their only fresh water: sporadic rainfall.

On the forty-seventh day, close to death, Zamperini was captured by the Japanese. Thus began more than two years of torture and humiliation as a prisoner of war.

Zamperini survived and returned home a hero. The celebration was short-lived — he plunged into drinking and the depths of rage and despair. It would take years, but with the love of his wife and the power of faith he was able to stop the nightmares that haunted him, overcome the drinking that imprisoned him, and lay to rest the ghosts of war.

A stirring memoir from one of the greatest of "the Greatest Generation," here is a living document about the brutality of war, the tenacity of the human spirit, and the power of forgiveness.

About the Author

Louis Zamperini appears regularly before students from primary schools to colleges, veterans groups, troubled youth, sports clubs, senior citizens, and religious organizations. Zamperini is eighty-six, lives in Hollywood, California, and only recently gave up skateboarding.

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Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble Review
Viewers of the telecast of the 1998 Winter Olympics at Nagano, Japan, may recall watching a spry octogenarian, former Olympic runner, and onetime prisoner of war, Louis Zamperini, carrying the torch on the last lap to the stadium. Later, they might have caught Zamperini bounding up the steps at a memorial near his notorious former POW camp at Naoetsu, to lay a wreath for his fellow POWs who perished there in 194445.

Zamperini first published his incredible story in 1956, telling of his wayward youth; his brilliant track career; his unbelievable 47-day survival in a rubber raft after his plane was shot down; the brutal torture, medical experimentation, and forced labor he endured at the hands of his Japanese captors; and finally, the peace he found in forgiveness as a witness for the Crusade ministry of the Reverend Dr. Billy Graham.

Now Zamperini has updated his story. He has enhanced his narrative with important new twists that add depth and intrigue to this already amazing tale. The new edition includes the added dimension of his discovery that a Japanese classmate at the University of Southern California, who was Zamperini's chief interrogator in the infamous Ofuna POW center, was indeed a spy while at USC; and the story of how CBS tracked down Zamperini's chief tormenter, interviewing him while the man's son wept off-camera.

For Zamperini, it's been quite a run. For the reader, this will be an incredible, unforgettable and inspiring page-turner. Linda Goetz Holmes

Linda Goetz Holmes, a historian of the War in the Pacific, is the author of Unjust Enrichment: How Japan's Companies Built Postwar Fortunes Using American POWs.

Publishers Weekly

Zamperini, the son of Italian immigrants, was convinced by his younger brother to try out for the track team-and he eventually earned a spot on the 1936 U.S. Olympic team. In Berlin, he roomed with Jesse Owens and (alas) shook hands with Adolf Hitler. When WWII began, Zamperini entered the Army Air Corps and became a bombardier in a B-24 squadron. On May 27, 1943, during a search and rescue mission, Zamperini's plane crashed into the Pacific, leaving him and two other survivors in a life raft. Forty-seven days later, after one of the three had died, Louis and his pilot washed ashore on Wotje Atoll and were quickly scooped up by a Japanese patrol. Then followed more than two years of hell. After narrowly averting being executed, Zamperini wound up in prison camps in Japan itself, where his captors unsuccessfully tried to recruit him to broadcast propaganda for them. After the war, he returned home, married and tried to return to normal. But the flashbacks of his captivity, especially the psychopathic brutality of a guard nicknamed "The Bird," continued to haunt him. Alcoholism followed. Then, his wife persuaded Zamperini to attend one of evangelist Billy Graham's crusades. The author found salvation and even returned to Japan as a missionary. Although Zamperini published his story in 1957, this updated version, which includes his participation in the 1998 Winter Olympic Games ceremonies in Japan, resurrects Zamperini's heroism via Rensin, a veteran of similar collaborations. It's difficult to argue with the account they have produced of a harrowing life constantly redirected toward good works. (Feb.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Zamperini was an intractable troublemaker of a youth who became a champion runner, competing in the 1936 Olympics and shaking hands with Hitler and Goebbels. When war seemed inevitable, he joined the Army Air Corps and flew a number of combat missions in the Pacific as a B-24 bombardier. In May 1943, his plane crashed on a routine search mission, and Zamperini and two survivors floated on a raft for 47 days before being taken prisoner by the Japanese. He spent the rest of the war in prison camps undergoing terrible abuse, as did many prisoners in Japan. After the war, disaffected and rootless, he attended an early Billy Graham revival and found religion. He became an inspirational speaker, eventually returned to Japan to confront and forgive his captors, and spent the rest of his life spreading Christianity and supporting various Christian endeavors. His memoir will fit well in inspirational collections, but it is also a well-written addition to the growing body of World War II personal narratives. Zamperini's positive attitude, resilience, and narrative strength make this a reasonable purchase for many public libraries and military collections. [During the 1998 Winter Olympics in Japan, Zamperini's story and dramatic return to face his torturer was chronicled on CBS's 48 Hours.-Ed.]-Edwin B. Burgess, U.S. Army Combined Arms Research Lib., Fort Leavenworth, KS

Kirkus Reviews

A 1936 Olympic runner and WWII bombardier recalls his troubled youth, his horrifying wartime experiences, his postwar decline, and his conversion to Christianity at a 1949 Billy Graham crusade.

Zamperini was a skinny, gawky kid who suffered the derision of his classmates and compensated by fighting, stealing, hopping trains, and flouting authorities. But his older brother, a talented long-distance runner, coaxed Bill into trying track. He did so, and found his gift. Practicing relentlessly, he became a great long-distance runner in high school and college (USC), then one day found himself performing with Jesse Owens on the Olympic track in Berlin--and exchanging a few words with the Führer himself. (No medals, though.) He was among a handful of runners approaching the four-minute mile, but nothing came easily. When war broke out, Zamperini trained as a bombardier and flew a few dangerous missions in the South Pacific. During an attempt to rescue some other downed fliers, his plane was shot down; he and fellow crewmembers survived for 47 days in an open rubber raft by catching rainwater and fish. (They also survived an attack by a great white shark.) The Japanese eventually picked them up, and Zamperini moved from one unsavory site to another, enduring two years of poor diet and physical and psychological abuse. His family back in America presumed he was dead. When the war ended, he became a temporary celebrity, then slipped into a slough of alcoholic despond from which he did not emerge until his wife convinced him to go hear Billy Graham. A conversion to Christianity ensued, and Zamperini thereafter lived an exemplary life, delivering countless testimonies at gatherings of thefaithful. He has published his story once before in 1955 (same title, different ghost writer, foreword by Graham) and here deviates little from the I-was-a-no-good-backsliding-slob-until-I-found-Jesus tale so common in the Christian conversion genre.

As Kirkus said 47 years ago: "For that Reader’s Digest reader who finds this type of personal examination and regeneration rewarding." (1 map, b&w photos)

Film rights to Saturn/Brillstein-Grey

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Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780060934217
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date: 2/3/2004
Series: Harper Perennial
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 320
Product dimensions: 5.31 (w) x 8.00 (h) x 0.72 (d)

Meet the Author

Louis Zamperini is the subject of Lauren Hillenbrand's critically acclaimed biography Unbroken, the research for which was conducted over the course of more than 75 phone calls between Zamperini and the author, resulting in hundreds of hours of interviews. Zamperini is a regular lecturer, appearing before student groups, veterans, troubled youth, sports clubs, senior citizens, and religious organizations. Zamperini, now 93, lives in Hollywood, and only recently gave up skateboarding.

David Rensin has written and cowritten thirteen books, five of them New York Times bestsellers. He lives in Los Angeles.

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Read an Excerpt

Devil at My Heels
A Heroic Olympian's Astonishing Story of Survival as a Japanese POW in World War II

Chapter One

That Tough Kid Down the Street

I've always been called Lucky Louie.

It's no mystery why. As a kid I made more than my share of trouble for my parents and the neighborhood, and mostly got away with it. At fifteen I turned my life around and became a championship runner; a few years later I went to the 1936 Olympics and at college was twice NCAA mile champion record holder that stood for years. In World War II my bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean on, ironically, a rescue mission. I went missing and everyone thought I was dead. Instead, I drifted two thousand miles for forty-seven days on a raft, and after the Japanese rescued/captured me I endured more than two years of torture and humiliation, facing death more times than I care to remember. Somehow I made it home, and people called me a hero. I don't know why. To me, heroes are guys with missing arms or legs -- or lives -- and the families they've left behind. All I did in the war was survive. My trouble reconciling the reality with the perception is partly why I slid into anger and alcoholism and almost lost my wife, family, and friends before I hit bottom, looked up -- literally and figuratively -- and found faith instead. A year later I returned to Japan, confronted my prison guards, now in a prison of their own, and forgave even the most sadistic. Back at home, I started an outreach camp program for boys as wayward as I had once been, or worse, and I began to tell my story to anyone who would listen. I have never ceased to be amazed at the response. My missionthen was the same as it is now: to inspire and help people by leading a life of good example, quiet strength, and perpetual influence.

I've always been called Lucky Louie. It's no mystery why.

I was born in Olean, New York, on January 26, 1917, the second of four children. My father, Anthony Zamperini, came from Verona, Italy. He grew up on beautiful Lake Garda, where as a youngster he did some landscaping for Admiral Dewey. My dad looked a little bit like Burt Lancaster, not as tall but built like a boxer. His parents died when he was thirteen, and soon after that he came to America and got a job working in the coal mines. At first he used a pick and shovel and breathed the black dust. Then he drove the big electric flatcars that towed coal out of the mines. He worked hard all his life, always had a job, always made money. But he wanted more, so he bought a set of books and educated himself in electrical engineering.

Anthony Zamperini wasn't what you'd call a big intellect, but he was wise, and that's more important. His wisdom sustained us.

My mother, Louise, was half-Austrian, half-Italian, and born in Pennsylvania. A handsome woman, of medium height and build, Mom was full of life, and a good storyteller. She liked to reminisce about the old days when my big brother, Pete, my little sisters, Virginia and Sylvia, and I were young. Of course, most mothers do. Her favorite stories -- or maybe they were just so numerous -- were about all the times I escaped serious injury or worse.

She'd begin with how, when I was two and Pete was four, we both came down with double pneumonia. The doctor in Olean (in upper-central New York State) told my parents, "You have to get your kids out of this cold climate to where the weather is warmer. Go to California so they don't die." We didn't have much money, but my parents did not deliberate. My uncle Nick already lived in San Pedro, south of Los Angeles, and my parents decided to travel west.

At Grand Central Station my mother walked Pete and me along the platform and onto the train. But five minutes after rolling out, she couldn't find me anywhere. She searched all the cars and then did it again. Frantic, she demanded the conductor back up to New York, and she wouldn't take no for an answer. That's where they found me: waiting on the platform, saying in Italian, "I knew you'd come back. I knew you'd come back."

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First Chapter

Devil at My Heels
A World War II Hero's Epic Saga of Torment, Survival, and Forgiveness

Chapter One

That Tough Kid Down the Street

I've always been called Lucky Louie.

It's no mystery why. As a kid I made more than my share of trouble for my parents and the neighborhood, and mostly got away with it. At fifteen I turned my life around and became a championship runner; a few years later I went to the 1936 Olympics and at college was twice NCAA mile champion record holder that stood for years. In World War II my bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean on, ironically, a rescue mission. I went missing and everyone thought I was dead. Instead, I drifted two thousand miles for forty-seven days on a raft, and after the Japanese rescued/captured me I endured more than two years of torture and humiliation, facing death more times than I care to remember. Somehow I made it home, and people called me a hero. I don't know why. To me, heroes are guys with missing arms or legs -- or lives -- and the families they've left behind. All I did in the war was survive. My trouble reconciling the reality with the perception is partly why I slid into anger and alcoholism and almost lost my wife, family, and friends before I hit bottom, looked up -- literally and figuratively -- and found faith instead. A year later I returned to Japan, confronted my prison guards, now in a prison of their own, and forgave even the most sadistic. Back at home, I started an outreach camp program for boys as wayward as I had once been, or worse, and I began to tell my story to anyone who would listen. I have never ceased to be amazed at the response. My mission then was the same as it is now: to inspire and help people by leading a life of good example, quiet strength, and perpetual influence.

I've always been called Lucky Louie. It's no mystery why.

Anthony Zamperini wasn't what you'd call a big intellect, but he was wise, and that's more important. His wisdom sustained us.

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Interviews & Essays

An Interview with Lou Zamperini

Barnes &Noble.com: Lou, your book relates your ordeal as a Japanese POW during WWII. Who was "the devil" nipping at your heels when you finally came home at the end of the war?

Lou Zamperini: It was "The Bird" [Zamperini's chief tormentor, Sgt. Matsaharu Watanabe]. My hatred for him consumed -- and almost destroyed -- my life, until one night in 1949 when I let go of that hatred with the help of the Reverend Billy Graham.

And I haven't had a nightmare since! Forgiveness is a self-survival thing. When you hate, you don¹t live long.

B&N.com: What strengths and insights are in this new edition of Devil at My Heels that were not in the original 1956 book?

LZ: Finding my wartime diary, in a box in my mother's basement, has given great strength to this edition. I didn't have my diary when I wrote the first book. It has allowed me to accurately recall my correspondence with our counterintelligence people, my testimony at the Tokyo War Crimes trials, and my conversations with Jimmy Sasaki [Zamperini's former classmate at the University of Southern California who turned up as his chief interrogator at one POW camp] in Sugamo prison. He had always been an enigma to me. I also got confirmation recently that Jimmy was a spy when I knew him at USC, and I mention that in this new edition.

B&N.com: What have been the biggest highlights for you lately?

LZ: First, the 1997 phone call from the producer at CBS News. That paved the way for CBS's spending a year doing a documentary about my story, which was shown in 1998 as a one-hour special on 48 Hours as part of the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. That documentary is shown in schools all over the country. Seeing CBS track down and interview "The Bird" answered a lot of questions for me. I almost got to meet him again myself, but it didn't happen. Participating in the Winter Olympics as a torch bearer was certainly a highlight. Nagano was right near the POW camp at Naoetsu, and it felt good to go back there with such an honor.

B&N.com: What is your biggest source of satisfaction, now that you are in your ninth decade?

LZ: The beautiful letters I get, especially from kids, telling me how they forgave their worst enemy after seeing my story. And my volunteer work. Volunteers live longer than other people. Doing something that makes you feel good increases your T-cells. The war took ten years off my life, and I'm busy getting them back. I still ski double-diamond runs; I chop wood for my cabin; I stand up straight. And I'm at peace.

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Devil at My Heels: A Heroic Olympian's Astonishing Story of Survival as a Japanese POW in World War II

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Available on NOOK devices and apps Nook Devices NOOK HD/HD+ Tablet NOOK NOOK Color NOOK Tablet Tablet/Phone NOOK for Windows 8 Tablet NOOK for iOS NOOK for Android NOOK Kids for iPad PC/Mac NOOK for Windows 8 NOOK for PC NOOK for Mac NOOK Study NOOK for Web

All Available Formats & Editions

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Chapter One

That Tough Kid Down the Street

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Chapter One

That Tough Kid Down the Street

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Skip this unpolished account and read Unbroken

Gary

Devil At My Heels is an inspiring true story!

Fantastic, inspiring and a must read

Great story

An Exciting, Inspirational Page-Turner

highly recommended

This book is great!

Haven't read it. But, I know it'll be good

great story

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