World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

Max Brooks' World War Z turns zombie-lore on its bloody, severed head and presents it in a brand new way. Humanity has already won the war on Zombie when the book begins, the struggle for survival has been triumphant. But Brooks is out to tally the physical and spiritual losses humanity endured by interviewing survivors from every continent.

The voices of these survivors, from Cuba, China, America, South Africa, Britian, Canada are real, believable and unique. They are civilians, soldiers, politicians, and doctors. With amazing detail, the humanity of the stories shines through even the bleakest experiences.

Ultimately, Brooks succeeds in more than writing a good story; he creates a world, a world of his own vision that mirrors our own in all its horror and glory.

This amazing read details the beginning, climax, and mop-up of the zombie apocalypse using a series of interviews with everyone from heads of military departments to farmers and industrymen. This book shows the human species' tenacity and undying willpower, but it also shows how thick-headed and corrupt people can really be.

Although the subject matter may not directly relate to many people, the underlying social narrative relates to everyone and everything in our society today.

At first I was doubtful that a zombie novel would be better than classic fliks. Man am I surprised, this is the real Zombie $#!T. I don't think a Zombie movie has ever captured the worldwide effect of a Zombie attack as good as this book. The story is set in the present depicting real places, real historical moments making it believable. Makes you wonder what would happen if this really happened. Great book and hope to find more from the author. Recommended for any Zombie fan.

This book is a badge of honor to which I will proudly announce that I have read. You would not be wasting your money if you purchased this book and were truly afraid for the future. It's realistic, well written, and leaves enough for the imagination to let your mind spin with gruesome possibilities that would be present with legions of the shambling undead breaking in your front door to feed on your flesh...

The only negative gouging I would offer for this book is that the ending was a little soft for my taste. A personal opinion, but I, like so many others, actually thought Star Wars episode 1 was a good idea...before I actually saw it... (drastically reducing my credibility in reviewing this book) so don't take my critiques too seriously or you'll end up with a brain tumor and a serious distrust of politicians...

Anyway, regardless, it's a good and solid read, A serious bit of fun that I would recommend getting your hands on, if nothing else but to hold up in front of your basement dwelling- dice throwing friends to say, 'HA! I'm prepared for the end of the world! I Tarzan, you- Zombie meat!'

For anyone who is starting to grow tired of the new Zombie cycle in culture, World War Z should safisfy as a departure from the usual.

The fresh take is that unlike most zombie stories, WWZ goes far beyond the initial outbreak, and unlike Romero, the epidemic is viewed on a global scale, not just middle-America.

This may be a detraction for those who want a more horror-centric, flesh feast. But that card has been played out ad nauseum. It takes far more ambition to attempt what Max Brooks has done.

The only detractions I can pick at is the anecdotal style doesn't vary much, so many chapters have similar patterns. Also, the characters met in the book have very similar speech patterns, and usually all talk in a rhetoric that fails to provide much room for character development. Finally, a few scenarios feel a bit far fetched, such as one where an armed militia forms an assault line and literally walks across the US to clear out the undead. Logistically, this would be one hell of an undertaking, and would probably take decades to accomplish with a fairly unorganized and resource starved society in a post-apocalypse.

Minor gripes aside, this is a farily fresh take on the genre, who's real fear factor is not being eaten by a zombie, but surviving the collapse of our interdependent global state, and the many conflicts across the world in the present that could use the plague as a catalyst for all out war on their enemies.