Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand, 5/5

Several people recommended this book to me, so naturally, I expected it to suck (following the observable and direct correlation between popularity and shitness… *ahem* 50 Shades of Grey, Twilight *ahem*).  Given this [realistic, not pessimistic] expectation, I was first surprised to find myself not hating the beginning chapter, then shocked to find the rest of the book to be an extremely enjoyable page-turner.  Not only does the story have enough drama and action for four movies, but it is based on a true account and is written sensibly.  Hillenbrand doesn’t waste the reader’s time or make loads of obnoxious speculations about characters’ subjective feelings.  The book is well-formatted, with pictures placed strategically throughout instead of in annoying inserts.  The last time I was this surprised to love a book was War and Peace.