World War Z - Max Brooks

World War Z

By Max Brooks

  • Release Date: 2006-09-12
  • Genre: Horror
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 5,232 Ratings

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

Reviews

  • Amazing

    5
    By !Reap¡
    Must read for folks interested in this genre. Great novel through and through. The accounts and descriptions are vivid and captivating
  • Very Superficial

    2
    By DSmith8
    It's never difficult to spot an author whose overseas working experience hasn't involved so much as putting their pants on 10 mornings in a foreign city much less grocery shopping. I suppose it might have been the author's intent to portray world society as a mix of Hollywood cartoonish and cable network news, nothing that would challenge readers' preconceived opinions of life outside the USA. In addition, when the author calls upon historical record it suggests an impoverished education. Churchill lost to Attlee because he never won an prewar election and his war cabinet was a coalition government--and had to be.
  • Liked it, didn’t love it

    3
    By donthaveone666
    Felt kind on lost with the way the “interviews” jumped around, not a good flow to the story. But I did like it.
  • Very entertaining!

    5
    By BeastMode1128218
    It’s an entertaining take on the zombie apocalypse. I recommend it.
  • Boring

    2
    By bdjdhddjjdjd
    We’ll written book but no protagonist or antagonist just bouncing around everywhere
  • Fascinating

    5
    By Xxq12!$z
    I wish my American History textbook was written this compellingly. It might have changed my entire career path!
  • Absolutely phenomenal.

    5
    By śüçç
    I couldn’t stop reading, every “interview” was so interesting and engaging in their own ways. I 100% recommend this book for people who like horror, humor, and zombies.
  • Different

    3
    By Sdfrdeghfrjed
    A lot of places and people to keep up with. I could barely remember anyone. Otherwise, good read
  • Literary technique grows tiresome and leaves narrative flat.

    3
    By filmguyryan
    While I can appreciate the interesting take on this tale through the viewpoint of the survivor interviews, I am ultimately left uninvested in the characters or the greater story arc due to the disjointed and abbreviated nature of the testimonies. There are some really interesting perspectives on the events of World War Z seen through the lens of a cultural and geo-political framework, however they are captured in such a fragmented way that the reader is never able to emotionally buy into the struggle in a meaningful way.
  • One of my favorite historical novels

    5
    By completethesquare
    Written like a historical review of past events, cataloged by interviews, this book’s storytelling and format is one of the most interesting and engaging I’ve ever read. Re-readable and exciting!