- Mass Market Paperback: 420 pages
- Publisher: Three Rivers Press (CA); Reprint edition (27 Sep 2011)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0307888681
- ISBN-13: 978-0307888686
- Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 2.4 x 17.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (182 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,121,836 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
World War Z
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More About the Author
Product Description
Simon Morden, ed. Vector (on The Zombie Survival Guide)
I doubt that I will read a more disturbing book all year ... Brilliantly written, morbidly funny, completely convincing
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"'I doubt that I will read a more disturbing book all year. Buy it for yourself, your friends, put a copy next to your toilet. Brilliantly written, morbidly funny, completely convincing' Simon Morden, ed. Vector (on The Zombie Survival Guide)"
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
112 of 122 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read Max Brook's previous book "The Zombie Survival Guide", and enjoyed most of it. I liked the realistic assessment of just how things might go down in the event of a zombie crisis, and it was the perfect book for know-it-alls like me who when watching a horror movie yell "aim for the head!!!" at the screen. It took de-zombification to the next level with very practical tips; shotguns and chainsaws might look cool in video games but once you're out of shells and out of gas you're screwed. Contrast that with a shaolin spade or a genine katana however... Anyway, where I felt that book was less interesting was the appendix in the back listing various zombie encounters throughout history. The problem is that all outbreaks follow a similar pattern; mysterious illness, reanimation, fear and ignorance causing more harm than the zombies, discovery of how to defeat them, then resolution (or total ahnhilation of the population involved). Right? Well that's not particularly interesting for isolated outbreaks in Papua New Guinea. But what if we had a big outbreak today; with cheap air travel and people smuggling and loose borders and human rights laws and the internet and thermonuclear stealth bombers... we'd be fine right?
Maybe not. Where Brooks excels is highlighting the worst elements of human society in its initial response to the outbreak. The Chinese try to cover it up, big pharma tries to make a buck out of it, the government release a safety video and then go about winning the next election, and if your kids get worried just bang them on Ritalin and Prozac. When the swarms finally attack mainland USA and western Europe, everyone is caught totally unprepared. Suddenly sweaty executives who've never done a day's manual labour in their lives are having to live rough in the woods with no Blackberry and no lattes in sight. Isolated pockets of trigger-happy gun nuts have their apocalyptic survivalist fantasies brought to life, and the governments of the world have to make some hard, hard choices.
But as bleak as this sounds, the individual stories of heroism and daring demonstrate why it is that humanity ever got this far in the first place. In a not-too-subtle swipe at the way the military is turning into a video game, all the "advanced warfighter" strategies of battlefield technology, GPS, infra-red goggles, armour piercing bullets etc. are all rendered utterly useless, and it turns out the most useful weapon in the arsenal of the world's greatest superpower is the little shovel that their grunts carry as an entrenching tool. Whack a zombie over the head with it, repeat as necessary.
Although it's become somewhat of a cliche to draw parallels with modern "anti-terrorist" warfare, the rise of the zombies has one major echo with today's suicide bombers and jihadists; there is no fear of death, no centralised infrastructure, and very little point deploying tanks against them.
All in all Brooks has created a convincing alterate universe which is well informed by accurate geopolitical knowledge, group psychology, military doctrine, and genuine humanity.
Finally, I should state that this is the only book I've ever read where, having finished it, I turned back to page one and started over.
Maybe not. Where Brooks excels is highlighting the worst elements of human society in its initial response to the outbreak. The Chinese try to cover it up, big pharma tries to make a buck out of it, the government release a safety video and then go about winning the next election, and if your kids get worried just bang them on Ritalin and Prozac. When the swarms finally attack mainland USA and western Europe, everyone is caught totally unprepared. Suddenly sweaty executives who've never done a day's manual labour in their lives are having to live rough in the woods with no Blackberry and no lattes in sight. Isolated pockets of trigger-happy gun nuts have their apocalyptic survivalist fantasies brought to life, and the governments of the world have to make some hard, hard choices.
But as bleak as this sounds, the individual stories of heroism and daring demonstrate why it is that humanity ever got this far in the first place. In a not-too-subtle swipe at the way the military is turning into a video game, all the "advanced warfighter" strategies of battlefield technology, GPS, infra-red goggles, armour piercing bullets etc. are all rendered utterly useless, and it turns out the most useful weapon in the arsenal of the world's greatest superpower is the little shovel that their grunts carry as an entrenching tool. Whack a zombie over the head with it, repeat as necessary.
Although it's become somewhat of a cliche to draw parallels with modern "anti-terrorist" warfare, the rise of the zombies has one major echo with today's suicide bombers and jihadists; there is no fear of death, no centralised infrastructure, and very little point deploying tanks against them.
All in all Brooks has created a convincing alterate universe which is well informed by accurate geopolitical knowledge, group psychology, military doctrine, and genuine humanity.
Finally, I should state that this is the only book I've ever read where, having finished it, I turned back to page one and started over.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm a big fan of the Apocalypse genre of Sci-Fi writing, and this book has to be one of the most interesting I have read for a while. It is set after a Zombie Apocalypse, with the author interviewing various people in the aftermath. The book is divided into sections that are broadly composed of before World War Z, during World War Z and after World War Z.
It is the interviewees and their individual stories that make this book so compelling. Some of my favourites were the American girl, who fled north with her family whilst she was only a child and had to endure so many hardships along the way. There is the Chinese submarine officer aboard his vessel with him and the crew in isolation of what is happening in the world outside. And there is the astronaut stuck on the International Space Station, doing what he can to ensure that sat navs and communications still work on Earth.
There are so many other stories, each one brilliantly crafted using different dialect depending on who is speaking to the interviewer. Some of them were so good, I hope the author expands some of them in future publications - I could definitely see a World War Z universe of books or comics appearing.
The author clearly did a lot of background work to ensure that each interviewee was consistent with the overall story of the war.
Thoroughly recommended - not just to Zombie fans - but those who enjoy narratives through the eyes of many different people.
It is the interviewees and their individual stories that make this book so compelling. Some of my favourites were the American girl, who fled north with her family whilst she was only a child and had to endure so many hardships along the way. There is the Chinese submarine officer aboard his vessel with him and the crew in isolation of what is happening in the world outside. And there is the astronaut stuck on the International Space Station, doing what he can to ensure that sat navs and communications still work on Earth.
There are so many other stories, each one brilliantly crafted using different dialect depending on who is speaking to the interviewer. Some of them were so good, I hope the author expands some of them in future publications - I could definitely see a World War Z universe of books or comics appearing.
The author clearly did a lot of background work to ensure that each interviewee was consistent with the overall story of the war.
Thoroughly recommended - not just to Zombie fans - but those who enjoy narratives through the eyes of many different people.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
This book was a wonderful surprise in that it was written far better than the subject matter would seem to warrant. Excellent and moving, well researched, mature and intelligent fiction. Apart from the zombies of course.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Quirky. But not captivating.
I bought this book a little while back, I've only just gotten to the 40 percent mark and I have decided to stop reading it. Read more
Published 17 days ago by Scott 'ArchaicInsanity' Moffat
WORLD WAR Z - FANTASTIC
I bought this book only a few days ago and am so engrossed in to it.
The style of writing gives you detailed insight to the post war world (hindsight) from various... Read more
The style of writing gives you detailed insight to the post war world (hindsight) from various... Read more
Published 1 month ago by MementoVivere
Utter rubbish
Although I hadn't read the zombie survival guide (and probably never will) I assumed this book would be a lot better than I was. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ashley Gilder
A fresh look
I absolutely LOVED this book. It's a fictional account of a worldwide outbreak of a zombie virus, and more than being about the zombies, it's about people's reactions to war and to... Read more
Published 2 months ago by C. N. Ghabhann
un-original recycled ideas. same old same old
Having seen a lot of zombie movies over the years. some great, some rubbish I became irritated with this book for just compiling all the good ideas from the old films and offering... Read more
Published 2 months ago by jamo
Best...
... Zombie scenario ever!!! Love max Brooke's work! Cannot wait for the movie to come out, but quite dissatisfied that it does not follow the storyline in the book.
Published 2 months ago by ZombieAddict
Good fun - and truly horrific
With this book and its prequel "The Zombie Survival Guide", Brooks pretty much brought the zombie genre of horror back to life, if you'll pardon the expression. Read more
Published 2 months ago by D. R. Cantrell
Huge Disappointment
I've been quite a fan of the zombie genre for a number of years now and noticed this book by the same author as The Zombie Survival Guide. Read more
Published 3 months ago by James
Not brain dead.
I loved this book, absolutely loved it. The groupings of disparate narrative voices brought together in an "oral history", told as true tale, works amazingly well in giving a... Read more
Published 3 months ago by V G Harwood
Fantastic piece of Non-Fiction Fiction.
I bought this book in anticipation of the World War Z film that has been announced. I'd previously seen it referenced when looking at other "Zombie" films and friends had told me... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. T. Bennington
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