World War Z : An Oral History of the Zombie War
Author:
Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy
Book Type: Hardcover
Author:
Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy
Book Type: Hardcover
Helpful Score: 3
I've never read anything quite like World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. But I can say one thing with absolute certainty: I can add the book to the list of novels that I feel compelled to tell people about. It's been awhile since I've finished a book that made such an impression on me.
The book is structured as a series of first-person interviews that detail all aspects of the zombie war, told by people from varying walks of life from countries all over the world. The 10-year global pandemic and subsequent war has been over for 10 years, making it 20 years since the Great Panic occurred across the Earth. From the Chinese physician that encountered Patient Zero in a village in rural Mongolia, to the American infantry that lost New York City to the undead in the Battle of Yonkers, to the "feral" 24-year-old developmentally stuck at age 4 (the age when her mother tried to strangle her to save her from being killed and reanimated), the stories are intimate and fascinating. I found some more interesting than others -- there is a lot of political detail about policy and military initiatives that sometimes got dry -- but it's easy to skim over a vignette or two without losing much of the actual story.
Max Brooks -- yes, son of comic genius Mel Brooks -- has inherited his father's penchant for satire. This is one of the smartest books I have ever read, with humor so subtle you might even miss it at the first pass. One of my favorite interviews was the one provided by the former US White House Chief of Staff. He and the interviewer are on-site at the pilot energy program where he now works, and during the whole interview, the former chief of staff is shoveling the future energy source -- cow patties. See, he's still shoveling shit. Priceless.
I hope the zombie element doesn't alienate people from trying World War Z. I don't think you have to be a horror fan to read this book and enjoy it - yes, there are some horrible things included here. Yes, it's a little surreal to have a zombie plague discussed without the filter of the supernatural. But this book is as much a war story, a political analysis of a global crisis, a plague tale, and a societal survival story.
You should really pick up World War Z and see for yourself. Yes, you. Whoever is reading this. It is just that good. [close]
The book is structured as a series of first-person interviews that detail all aspects of the zombie war, told by people from varying walks of life from countries all over the world. The 10-year global pandemic and subsequent war has been over for 10 years, making it 20 years since the Great Panic occurred across the Earth. From the Chinese physician that encountered Patient Zero in a village in rural Mongolia, to the American infantry that lost New York City to the undead in the Battle of Yonkers, to the "feral" 24-year-old developmentally stuck at age 4 (the age when her mother tried to strangle her to save her from being killed and reanimated), the stories are intimate and fascinating. I found some more interesting than others -- there is a lot of political detail about policy and military initiatives that sometimes got dry -- but it's easy to skim over a vignette or two without losing much of the actual story.
Max Brooks -- yes, son of comic genius Mel Brooks -- has inherited his father's penchant for satire. This is one of the smartest books I have ever read, with humor so subtle you might even miss it at the first pass. One of my favorite interviews was the one provided by the former US White House Chief of Staff. He and the interviewer are on-site at the pilot energy program where he now works, and during the whole interview, the former chief of staff is shoveling the future energy source -- cow patties. See, he's still shoveling shit. Priceless.
I hope the zombie element doesn't alienate people from trying World War Z. I don't think you have to be a horror fan to read this book and enjoy it - yes, there are some horrible things included here. Yes, it's a little surreal to have a zombie plague discussed without the filter of the supernatural. But this book is as much a war story, a political analysis of a global crisis, a plague tale, and a societal survival story.
You should really pick up World War Z and see for yourself. Yes, you. Whoever is reading this. It is just that good. [close]
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