Laura hillenbrand stum-bled upon Olympic runner Louis Zamperini in the course of researching Seabiscuit, her debut book about the celebrated racehorse. "Louie and Seabiscuit were famous runners at the same time in the '30s," she says. "They were both at their peak and both in California." Since she was doing a lot of her digging in old California newspapers, "it was impossible to miss Louie. Eventually I came across things from later-his war saga-and I wrote his name down. I thought, when I'm done with Seabiscuit, I'm calling this guy. And that's what I did. He told me his story, and I thought, I have to do a book."
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