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World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War Paperback – October 16, 2007

by Max Brooks (Author)

5,445 customer reviews

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“The end was near.” —Voices from the Zombie War

The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.

Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War.

Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brooks says in his introduction, “By excluding the human factor, aren’t we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isn’t the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as ‘the living dead’?”

Note: Some of the numerical and factual material contained in this edition was previously published under the auspices of the United Nations Postwar Commission.

Eyewitness reports from the first truly global war

“I found ‘Patient Zero’ behind the locked door of an abandoned apartment across town. . . . His wrists and feet were bound with plastic packing twine. Although he’d rubbed off the skin around his bonds, there was no blood. There was also no blood on his other wounds. . . . He was writhing like an animal; a gag muffled his growls. At first the villagers tried to hold me back. They warned me not to touch him, that he was ‘cursed.’ I shrugged them off and reached for my mask and gloves. The boy’s skin was . . . cold and gray . . . I could find neither his heartbeat nor his pulse.” —Dr. Kwang Jingshu, Greater Chongqing, United Federation of China

“‘Shock and Awe’? Perfect name. . . . But what if the enemy can’t be shocked and awed? Not just won’t, but biologically can’t! That’s what happened that day outside New York City, that’s the failure that almost lost us the whole damn war. The fact that we couldn’t shock and awe Zack boomeranged right back in our faces and actually allowed Zack to shock and awe us! They’re not afraid! No matter what we do, no matter how many we kill, they will never, ever be afraid!” —Todd Wainio, former U.S. Army infantryman and veteran of the Battle of Yonkers

“Two hundred million zombies. Who can even visualize that type of number, let alone combat it? . . . For the first time in history, we faced an enemy that was actively waging total war. They had no limits of endurance. They would never negotiate, never surrender. They would fight until the very end because, unlike us, every single one of them, every second of every day, was devoted to consuming all life on Earth.” —General Travis D’Ambrosia, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the wake of the great zombie war, Brooks's fictional alter ego travels around the world to ask tough questions of individuals and leaders about their experience and actions before, during and after the undead menace decimated the human population. Brooks remarkably identifies and articulates the nuances and unconsidered realities of what a zombie war would look like. This intriguing "oral history" stands apart from his previous zombie-related book, The Zombie Survival Guide, as Brooks uses the postwar culture here to provide political and social commentary on a wide range of real-life individuals and institutions. An all-star cast including Alan Alda, Mark Hamill, Jürgen Prochnow, Henry Rollins, John Turturro, Rob and Carl Reiner, and many others deliver their parts with such fervor and intensity that listeners cannot help but empathize with these characters. Max Brooks acts as the interviewer, providing an inquisitive but stagnant demeanor. The abridgment keeps the story tight but struggles with the interviewer's narration during interviews. When Brooks interrupts characters to indicate that the person rolled his eyes or appeared apprehensive, his comments are often moot because the performers are already portraying such body language with their tone.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

From Booklist

"The Crisis" nearly wiped out humanity. Brooks (son of Mel Brooks and author of The Zombie Survival Guide, 2003) has taken it upon himself to document the "first hand" experiences and testimonies of those lucky to survive 10 years after the fictitious zombie war. Like a horror fan's version of Studs Terkel's The Good War (1984), the "historical account" format gives Brooks room to explore the zombie plague from numerous different views and characters. In a deadpan voice, Brooks exhaustively details zombie incidents from isolated attacks to full-scale military combat: "what if the enemy can't be shocked and awed? Not just won't, but biologically can't!" With the exception of a weak BAT-21 story in the second act, the "interviews" and personal accounts capture the universal fear of the collapse of society--a living nightmare in which anyone can become a mindless, insatiable predator at a moment's notice. Alas, Brad Pitt's production company has purchased the film rights to the book--while it does have a chronological element, it's more similar to a collection of short stories: it would make for an excellent 24-style TV series or an animated serial. Regardless, horror fans won't be disappointed: like George Romero's Dead trilogy, World War Z is another milestone in the zombie mythos. Carlos Orellana
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

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Product details

Paperback: 342 pages
Publisher: Three Rivers Press; 1st edition (October 16, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307346617
ISBN-13: 978-0307346612
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.9 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 5,445 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,164 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #98 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical > Thrillers
- #111 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > War
- #150 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers & Suspense > Military

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Top customer reviews

A great book (even if you hate zombies)...

ByBig Calon August 6, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

It is hard not to like this book... it is well written, well thought-out and has that rare ability to make extreme fiction seem plausible in the real-world.

I read this book right after it came out years ago and have gifted probably a dozen or more copies to friends along with the statement of: "No, really... it isn't some cheesy horror story". But I felt I should re-read it after I gave my wife a copy to read some months back... (by the way, she is VERY anti-horror, anti-science fiction, etc.. so it took some convincing for her to pick it up)...

...and she ended up loving it!

She, (like most of the folks I've given it to), said that she kept wanting to write things down that were in the book because they were so insightful or just plain interesting... (THIS from a cheesy "Zombie Book"?... you're kidding me...). She completely fell into the world that was created by the author with little effort needed to suspend disbelief.

Ok... enough of the self-absorbed pontificating... Here is the low down on this book if you are trying to decide to buy it:

Just go ahead and buy it.

If you are even considering it, you won't be disappointed... and if you are thinking of giving it as a gift to someone that "may" like "that kind of book"... definitely do it... they (and you) will be pleasantly surprised.

Oh... and one last thing that I probably don't need to tell you... DON'T judge it by the movie... the movie was "not bad" despite the fact that it was almost totally unrelated to the book... (I know, not much of a surprise there, eh?)... but, as is the norm for blockbusters with costly effects and actors... it was little more than a one-dimensional series of scenes stitched together to create emotional reactions... (which it did fairly well).

But, believe me, this book has MUCH more depth in every way possible... characters, plots, supporting science, you name it... (and you won't have the ardent desire to hold down Brad Pitt and wash his hair... (ick)... ;-)

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

Its really not about zombies...

ByPilgrimPon July 18, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This is the best book that I have read in the last year. The oral history aspect is very hard to do, but, with minor exceptions, Brooks excels at it. And thoroughly enjoyable.

Its really not about zombies...

Really. This book is a giant "thought experiment". What would happen if there was a global pandemic in our time? Whether you realize it or not, this book explores immigration, nationalism, nuclear war, nuclear winter, environmental collapse, changes in warfare, capitalism and global economic shifts. It even looks at religion, as Russia turns back to religion and the motherland. All wrapped up in a gripping interview format. It is like the indie documentaries you see on Netflix and Apple TV, only more intense.
This book explores immigration in nations completely overwhelmed by refugees, survival, what would we *really* do as a last resort? And it also deeply explores what would happen to the US, Russia, France, North Korea, China, Pakistan, India, and even Cuba, which becomes a world power. And Israel, that shuts its border wall and lets no one in. Despite all this it is not preachy.
The zombie part is interesting, and has some chilling moments. What would happen to the military if you had an enemy that could not be blasted off the face of the earth with techno weaponry? It returns to a pre-Civil War skirmish line, hand to hand if necessary.

The movie is *not* like this book, despite the title. You've seen the movie trailers with the Zombies swarming faster and faster. That breaks all of Brooks' rules. They don't do that in this book.

So why not five stars? It is really really difficult to present dialog that is unique to every individual. Most fiction authors stray mid-book to where their characters speak in the same voice (Orson Scott Card, for example, does it for most of his books). Brooks for the most part doesn't do this - I only noticed it mildly - once about one third into the book, and then once near the end. Otherwise near perfect characterization and dialog.

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

Good Read - Great Format (Interviews Post-Apocalypse)

ByDylanon August 11, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I dunno why I liked this book so much because, just as I was getting into one viewpoint, it'd change to another one (I've read it twice already)! I purchased it after watching the movie and there are so many details that aren't in the movie, but the book left me with more interesting questions.
He actually could've written it almost like The Stand - kept those viewpoints coming back again and again. Really good and I hope there's more to come somehow...

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

Disjointed accounts of misery and mistakes that led to an outbreak as opposed to an actual story

ByJas Pon June 23, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I decided to read this before the movie came out as I normally do, but could not get into it.
It is basically accounts of stories from different people affected by the outbreak, written in a very disjointed fashion.
It's not an easy flowing story, difficult to get into and not particularly enjoyable.
Whilst I am never a fan of a straight word for word adaptation of a movie from a book, I did expect that there was going to be something a little closer to a story as such, rather than just different counts of peoples misery and mistakes that led to the outbreak.
I will give it points for being well edited and some credit for being clever, but it just lacked something that made me finish it.
Not really worth it for me, maybe for someone else.

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

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Most recent customer reviews

A compelling look into how the world could recover from the zombiocalypse.

Max Brooks does a great job in crafting humanity's response to its near extinction at the hands of a rapidly spread zombie virus.Read more

Published 4 hours ago by Anorak

Each story has unique flavor.

Best audiobook production quality. Full cast. It is a shame that the movie bears no resemblance to the book or audiobook.Read more

Published 23 hours ago by Raggedy Edge

Still the best!

A very good book! Written from many different perspectives, making a person think about dealing with society ending events.

Published 5 days ago by R Speer

Five Stars

One of my favorite novels of all time!

Published 9 days ago by Nina L Spencer

Excellent read for zombie story fanatics

Just a great way to tell an intriguing zombie story. Far better than the movies. Oh yeah I would recommend

Published 12 days ago by Alex Tenorio-Torres

Great seller

Book came exactly as described and came within 5 business days. Really good seller.

Published 13 days ago by Emmanuel L.

Awesome

Read this book many times, will read it many more times, cannot recommend this book enough, must read for any fan of zombie novels

Published 15 days ago by Kindle Customer

Good enough to read and read again.

I have re-read this book three times now and have thoroughly enjoyed discovering different nuances with each pass.Read more

Published 15 days ago by tex-teressa

Engaging, thoughtful, well written

I was leery of a "zombie" book but this was a really novel and well thought out book. Thoroughly enjoyable reading

Published 24 days ago by Crystal

Great book if you like zombies

Gives you a different perspective that's for sure. IT'S NOT THE MOVIE! Great book if you like zombies.

Published 24 days ago by Shelly

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