World War Z
An Oral History of the Zombie War
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4.3 • 5.3K Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Prepare to be entranced by this addictively readable oral history of the great war between humans and zombies.”—Entertainment Weekly
We survived the zombie apocalypse, but how many of us are still haunted by that terrible time? We have (temporarily?) defeated the living dead, but at what cost? Told in the haunting and riveting voices of the men and women who witnessed the horror firsthand, World War Z is the only record of the pandemic.
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, 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.
THE INSPIRATION FOR THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE
“Will spook you for real.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Possesses more creativity and zip than entire crates of other new fiction titles. Think Mad Max meets The Hot Zone. . . . It’s Apocalypse Now, pandemic-style. Creepy but fascinating.”—USA Today
“Will grab you as tightly as a dead man’s fist. A.”—Entertainment Weekly, EW Pick
“Probably the most topical and literate scare since Orson Welles’s War of the Worlds radio broadcast . . . This is action-packed social-political satire with a global view.”—Dallas Morning News
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
What would the world be like 20 years into a zombie apocalypse? World War Z is narrated by an investigator for the United Nations Postwar Commission. His name is Max Brooks (just like the author himself) and he travels the world interviewing survivors of the global plague that wiped out huge swaths of humanity starting two decades earlier. The novel’s inventive structure alternates the survivors’ intensely personal stories with a more matter-of-fact account of the apocalypse and the response—or lack thereof—of various nations. (In case you’re wondering: The book is way different from the Brad Pitt action movie adapted from it.) Brooks’ driving prose propels his stoic narrator through a terrifyingly plausible time line, but his curiosity and humanity give World War Z a heartfelt quality that makes it far more than just a scary zombie story.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Brooks, the author of the determinedly straight-faced parody The Zombie Survival Guide (2003), returns in all seriousness to the zombie theme for his second outing, a future history in the style of Theodore Judson's Fitzpatrick's War. Brooks tells the story of the world's desperate battle against the zombie threat with a series of first-person accounts "as told to the author" by various characters around the world. A Chinese doctor encounters one of the earliest zombie cases at a time when the Chinese government is ruthlessly suppressing any information about the outbreak that will soon spread across the globe. The tale then follows the outbreak via testimony of smugglers, intelligence officials, military personnel and many others who struggle to defeat the zombie menace. Despite its implausible premise and choppy delivery, the novel is surprisingly hard to put down. The subtle, and not so subtle, jabs at various contemporary politicians and policies are an added bonus.
Customer Reviews
who knew?
I really enjoyed this book. It has a clever way of attacking the zombie genre ( which i'm not personally into.. but thought i'd give this book a try). Quick, thought provoking "excerpts." You can read it 10 minutes at a time or blast the book in a quick 4 hours>> give it a try though>> just read a sample and I bet you get captivated.
Zombie Best!
This is by far the best zombie story ever written. Based on an entirely believable progression of a fictitious epidemic. A truly imaginable and well explained disease that makes the idea of the walking dead seem absolutely plausible.
This book should cause a feeling of urgent need to read The Zombie Survival Guide.
If you need a hero to follow, watch a movie. I recommend Zombie Land.
When you want a vivid picture of the world littered with walking corpses and the desperation of the living human race, read World War Z.
Great
I've been into zombies all my life , it's one of my favorite genres . Max Brooks got it right with this one!!!!!