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

By Louis Zamperini and David Rensin

The bestselling autobiography of the legendary Louis Zamperini, hero of the blockbuster Unbroken.

A modern classic by an American legend, Devil at My Heels is the riveting and deeply personal memoir by U.S. Olympian, World War II bombardier, and POW survivor Louis Zamperini. His inspiring story of courage, resilience, and faith has captivated readers and audiences of Unbroken, now a major motion picture directed by Angelina Jolie. In Devil at My Heels, his official autobiography (co-written with longtime collaborator David Rensin), Zamperini shares his own first-hand account of extraordinary journey—hailed as “one of the most incredible American lives of the past century” (People).

A youthful troublemaker, a world-class NCAA miler, a 1936 Olympian, a WWII bombardier: Louis Zamperini had a fuller life than most. But on May 27, 1943, it all changed in an instant when his B-24 crashed into the Pacific Ocean, leaving Louis and two other survivors drifting on a raft for forty-seven days and two thousand miles, waiting in vain to be rescued. And the worst was yet to come when they finally reached land, only to be captured by the Japanese. Louis spent the next two years as a prisoner of war—tortured and humiliated, routinely beaten, starved and forced into slave labor—while the Army Air Corps declared him dead and sent official condolences to his family. On his return home, memories of the war haunted him nearly destroyed his marriage until a spiritual rebirth transformed him and led him to dedicate the rest of his long and happy life to helping at-risk youth. 

Told in Zamperini’s own voice, Devil at My Heels is an unforgettable memoir from one of the greatest of the “Greatest Generation,” a living document about the brutality of war, the tenacity of the human spirit, and the power of faith.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 6, 2009
• ISBN: 9780061972768

Louis Zamperini

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.

Reviews for Devil at My Heels

[nkmunn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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”

[mary_beth_robb · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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

[kslade-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.]

[greytlibrarian-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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 miss Louie, then read this one as well.