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Title: World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War |
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Review of World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
- âThe end was near.â âVoices 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, âBy excluding the human factor, arenât we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isnât the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as âthe living deadâ?â
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
âI found âPatient Zeroâ behind the locked door of an abandoned apartment across town. . . . His wrists and feet were bound with plastic packing twine. Although heâd 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 âcursed.â I shrugged them off and reached for my mask and gloves. The boyâs skin was . . . cold and gray . . . I could find neither his heartbeat nor his pulse.â âDr. Kwang Jingshu, Greater Chongqing, United Federation of China
ââShock and Aweâ? Perfect name. . . . But what if the enemy canât be shocked and awed? Not just wonât, but biologically canât! Thatâs what happened that day outside New York City, thatâs the failure that almost lost us the whole damn war. The fact that we couldnât shock and awe Zack boomeranged right back in our faces and actually allowed Zack to shock and awe us! Theyâre not afraid! No matter what we do, no matter how many we kill, they will never, ever be afraid!â âTodd Wainio, former U.S. Army infantryman and veteran of the Battle of Yonkers
âTwo 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.â âGeneral Travis DâAmbrosia, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe
From the Hardcover edition.
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Comments for World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
- Posted on 2008-07-02
Very entertaining.
This book is not really a horror book filled with gore, but it is a fascinating page turner nonetheless. Through the multiple first person accounts of the battle for survival in a post apocalyptic zombie ruled world, Brooks is able to emerge the reader into a world that has been consumed by the living dead. His references to contemporary foreign policy and his accurate accounting of and maneuvering through the contemporary military mindset and lingo (at least American, according to this former Marine) gives his book a, "Wow, I could see this actually happening!" feel.
And rather than exploring the "LaMOE" (Last Man on Earth) perspective commonly found in zombie media, this delves into every reasonable facet of culture. If there were a WWZ, this book goes very far into encompassing all the elements that would make up contemporary policy and life on this little blue planet.
Score: 5
- Posted on 2008-07-01
Brilliance shadowed by bias
What can I say about Max Brooks that hasn't been said already? On many levels this is an absolutely brilliant book that not only complements the zombie/post apocalyptic genre but actually transcends it. Max may well have surpassed George Romero as the authority of the Zombie genre. While George had inserted social commentary into a then new but often maligned genre and had elevated that genre to a more thoughtful and substantive level than the more conventional avenues of the general horror genre (i.e. the -YAWN--vampire, supernatural or slasher flicks), Max has brought it to a new level. To me, you might say that he's the Tom Clancy of the zombie genre. His take one the apocalyptic siege addresses both the individual and society in ways that Romero never did.
I must admit that I didn't buy this novel for more than a year because it was framed as a compilation of individual historical accounts of a zombie apocalypse. I was originally uninterested because I don't think there would be the possibility of a society to survive and tell their accounts.
I'm going to keep this short though I could go off for pages... and that is what Max had done. He made me think. Society has many levels to it and, in Max's book, many of them are addressed. This book is a fabricated account of not just individual's surviving but how societies survived only after difficult choices. And the plan to follow came from South Africa of all places and not the USA or another first world country. Cold and merciless pragmatism was the key and the individual who conceived of such a plan of survival was personally doomed from unrealized personal morals. Necessity and cold sacrifice decided by third parties and geographical advantage.
The scope of this novel is grand. It touches upon individual, national and global concerns. It features the perspective of everyday survivors, soldiers, leaders, beaurocrats (can we ever ditch them?) and head of states. Regret, shame, loyalty, madness and peace are all represented in accounts that are uniquely personal and yet cohesive in how they all worked together.
This is a thinking man's take on the zombie genre. And yet, how it plays out in each interview, it is a realistic template of how we as individuals and a society would react to any extreme situation. Again, it transcends.
In many ways, this is my favorite zombie related book. But it is so much more. It is a well done comprehensive analysis of us as individuals and as a society. Again, I could go off for pages and that's why I didn't go into details.... Or else I'd get trapped into describing each account in their glory (though one or two didn't ring... nothing's perfect.)
Max has accomplished, for the second time, something so unique and remarkable within the zombie genre. Except, this second time, he's gone further and has successfully described why the zombie genre is so appealing. It's not really about zombies, it's about us... more to the point, it's a hard look at us on all levels when presented with the extreme test.
Now a book of this level is impossible to write without the author's personal political perspective becoming obvious. Max thinly veils the Gulf/current war as the Brush war. I gather that I'm on the opposite side of the spectrum to his view of current/real events.) For me, that doesn't take away from what he's crafted. This book is brilliant.
I've actually listened to the audio version many times and read the book once. Though the audio version is abridged (wish it wasn't,) I'd recommend getting both. Each version is satisfying in different ways.
I understand that there is a movie in the making. I am doubtful that any two hour movie would capture this book's brilliance... even though an equally brilliant screenwriter, J. Michael Stravensky is writing said screen play. He's uniquely qualified but I don't know how he'd condense it into two hours for mass consumption. To do this book justice would take a six hour movie. I'd even go with a no frills 6 or 8 part documentary format on the history channel. This book is that good and so comprehensive... you don't need theater or special effects. Just having actors narrate the written word would be powerful enough. But then again, what do I know? I'm just another worthless opinion.
Score: 5 - Posted on 2008-06-28
World War Z
This book was not at all what I expected. It is not about a War, as the title indicates. It "jumps" from one scenario to another every few pages. It is very hard to follow the story line.. The Earth is supposedly being overrun by the Un-dead, yet, people appear to be living normal lives and paying little attention to the possible end of life as they know it. It is just a lot of words.
Score: 2
- Posted on 2008-06-28
Great Fun Book that thoughtfully weaves in current events, history, culture and poltiics.
I am a big fan of the George Romero movies, 28 Days etc...but this book is truly the best. If you like political/current events literature or movies AND Zombie movies this book is the perfect mix. It weaves current political, social, economic and cultural events with a Zombie attack together for a thought provoking, fun, and sometimes deep but light hearted read. Great Book! It's like Meet the Press meets Zombies.
Score: 5 - Posted on 2008-06-23
A great approach
Another world war...only this time it is against ZOMBIES!
Max Brooks brings us a new approach to the zombie tales. This book contains the interviews of a reporter during this war. The interviews range from military personel, civilians, etc. The books do not delve into how the zombie plague started, just on how people were effected and the correct and incorrect solutions that people and governments tried.
WWZ was an enjoyable read. It looked at this zombie war through a nubmer of different individuals which made it interesting. While the book didn't go into the causes of the outbreak, it definitely went into the effects of the outbreak. The reporter takes us to several different countries.
It is a good summer read. Not too scary or graphic. Some of the interviews are great and bring the tension of the battles against the zombies and the struggles to sruvive. This book was far better than Brooks' 'Zombie Survival Guide' which I found too repetative.
I would recommend this book to all zombie fans.
Score: 4