Ever since I can remember I've been fascinated by Zombies. World War Z adds a new chapter to my fascination. Max Brooks writes brilliantly. The Zombie war happened and here is told the aftermath. Very realistic. Documentary style. What would happen and how would different cultures and different social classes react to the Zombie invasion. Loved it! ( )

I just couldn't get into it; I quit halfway through and it was a bit of a struggle to get that far. I don't blame the author -- it is interesting and well-written, and I felt like I SHOULD like it, but it just didn't work for me. "It's not you, it's me." ( )

Although WORLD WAR Z is, without a doubt, fiction, it's also so much more than that. You can call it a satire; what you can't call it is a totally made up story that could never happen in the real world.

Told in an interview style, WORLD WAR Z is the story of the Zombie War that nearly decimated Earth. From the Great Panic to VA Day, every possible voice is heard from--politicians, soldiers, divers, dissidents, deserters, and the everyday, average Joe who found himself fighting for his life and way of existence in the face of the undead.

Max Brooks has a very unique writing style, a very loud "voice" that draws you into his story from page one and never lets go. Although there's never been an actual war against an insurgent tide of undead, there have been plenty of wars and squirmishes throughout history that the author had to draw from. From the Vietnam and Korean wars, from World War I & II and the fight against Hitler, from Desert Storm to the current fight against terrorism in Iraq, Mr. Brooks has managed to pull the best--and worst--from everyone involved and use it in his fictional account.

There's no doubt that WORLD WAR Z is an amazing, addictive, wonderful read. It's also emotional, disturbing, and thought-provoking. Although I may not worry, per se, about an upcoming fight against zombies, I do worry about the world that my children, and future grandchildren, will be left to inhabit after I'm gone. In that respect, this story is frightening. It's scary to think that the world, whether it be the mighty democracy of the United States or the iron fist of Russia or China, would not be prepared to defend themselves against a global attack from something outside of their human enemies.

Kudos to Mr. Brooks for such a great read. Fiction or satire, pure speculation or hard fact, WORLD WAR Z is one book you don't want to miss. ( )

I think the greatest thing about this book is that it doesn't read like a zombie book. One could easily substitute zombism for any disease. Brooks has obviously taken the time to think about how a disease like zombism would spread, how governments would react, how the public would react. When reading this book, you start to believe that this could happen, that at any moment a special broadcast will appear on the television saying that zombies are coming. But the most wonderful thing is, after reading this book you feel like you are just a little more prepared for the impending disaster. I would recommend this book to anyone, no matter their usual tastes, as this book has something for everyone. ( )

I’m not normally attracted to zombie stuff. Movies about the living dead? No, thanks. Zombie pub crawls? Nah, I’ll pass. But I’d be lying if I said World War Z hadn’t caught my eye more than a few times when I was browsing the shelves at bookstores. So I finally checked it out from my local library and it turned out to be a rather pleasurable read.

Not many authors can put together a cohesive story through a series of vignettes from different characters’ perspectives, but I think Max Brooks does this effectively. The characters have unique enough voices in their interviews conducted by the narrator, but sometimes they begin to feel like just more of the same. Some of the interviews were especially chilling, like the narrator’s interview with Sharon, a “feral child,” and Jesika Hendricks’ retelling of how her family and others resorted to cannibalism to survive the winter at a refugee settlement in Canada. When reading, I often found myself grimacing, laughing or staring at the pages in awe of some of the interviewee accounts of what happened during the Zombie War. I probably said “Ugh, gross!” or “Retreat! Retreat!” aloud too many times to count.

One touch that I thought was really cool was how Brooks injected tidbits of pop culture into the narrative. In T. Sean Collins’ interview this was the most prominent, with obvious references to two popular political commentators from opposite sides of the spectrum getting it on while hell breaks loose around them and, let’s just say, Tinkerbell. I thought this brought a realistic touch to World War Z as it made it well known that not even super-wealthy socialites could escape from the affects of the world being overrun by the living dead.

Overall, World War Z was a good, enjoyable read. Quick, too. Only took me about three days to finish, but that may be because it sucked me in from the first page. I’m now listening to the audio book, which is just as good as the novel and the voice actors are spot on. This definitely won’t be the last book by Brooks I pick up. I’ve already requested The Zombie Survival Guide from the library. ( )

I am quite surprised by how engaging this novel is: I had expected something campy and self-aware (ala P&P&Z), but there are parts of this which are quite moving. And the zombies are not much in the foreground: it's really about fear and loss and grief and courage... ( )

I am not a horror reader. When I was younger I read a few Stephen King books, but that was about it. So a book about the Zombie war isn't really my usual reading material. The reason I picked this book was not the Zombies, but is was the oral history format.

World War Z has as subtitle: An oral history of the Zombie War. And that's exactly what it is. The premise is that the writer had to write a report about the Zombie War, and wasn't allowed to use all his interview material, because this would make the report too personal. At the advise of his supervisor he wrote a book which is basically a collection of short (4/5 pages) interviews with people that survived World War Z. These people did all kinds of jobs and come from all over the world.

While reading the book you get a picture of the war against the Zombies. How discoveries were made, how attacks happened, how the crisis was (or wasn't managed). The book assumes you know what happened, you know the names for periods, but even when you don't, it is very easy to follow.

The book isn't horror in the gore sense. The horror lies in the experience of a war against an enemy that is unknown (and undead). The horror lies in the impending end of humanity, in the suffering, in the loss. This is described very well, and makes this an extremely good and memorable book. ( )

http://books.moonsoar.com/archives/20... ( )

A very different take on a zombie war. I like that some stories aren’t finished, the zombies are still around, and the world is still adapting. There’s isn’t a happy ending to tie up in a neat bow.
The various interviews of the survivors have different voices and different points of view. I enjoyed having to put the pieces together after reading several interviews. ( )

A wonderfully written book that tracks the first reports of the Zombie outbreak, through the different responses around the world, to the eventual outcome of World War Z. Love Romero Zombies? Then this is required (and un-put-down-able) required reading. ( )

Zombies...yay!
Probably a good account of what might happen if there were zombies and we did have an outbreak. Very well written with an interesting view on "real world" accounts of the zombie apocolypse ( )

I really enjoyed this, although I've not read the first one of Max Brook's books.His idea of what would happen if Zombies really did appear and grew in such numbers as to threaten humanity were really interesting.It's written in a journalistic style - lots of 'interviews' with survivors and fighters - from all over the world. What is interesting and frightening is how he imagines governments reacting to the threat, sometimes it really feels like it's every man for himself in some ways.

I can't believe I read a zombie novel. I can't believe I really liked that zombie novel. World War Z was a kick and a fairly fast read. It packs a fair amount of critical observation of the state of the real world within the pages of the imaginary world. Although there is plenty of zombie stuff, what the book is really about is human nature, the good and the bad, the selfish and the giving. Which is probably why it appealed to me.

It is written almost entirely as a series of short interviews with survivors from a years long war against a plague that left most of the world's humans undead. The good part of this format is also the bad part. Good because you get a lot of little vignettes, really dozens of very short stories that tell the larger story, that tell (usually) some interesting stories, but bad because with all the bouncing around of the stories and characters you sometimes miss the depth of a longer reflection on an issue. It also it makes for some disjointed reading in putting it all together. But my quibbles are mostly minor, because the big picture does come together. I really liked some of the characters, and I found the book to be very well written. Check it out. ( )

A fantastic, fun book with a rich sociological, political, and economic message. The originality of posing this book as a collection of interviews over the course of a global investigation on the Zombie War really made it feel authentic and engaging versus predictable (zombies are a bit overdone right now). The anticipated human reaction of quite a crisis made it really believable. Definitely recommend this for a summer book. ( )

Memorable. ( )

first line (of the introduction): "It goes by many names: 'The Crisis,' 'The Dark Years,' 'The Walking Plague,' as well as newer and more 'hip' titles such as 'World War Z' or 'Z War One.'"

For a book about a zombie pandemic, the resultant wars and defensive measures, and the aftermath of all these things, Brooks' documentary-style book is startlingly believable. The fact that he's the son of Mel Brooks and the author of the humorous Zombie Survival Guide makes the gravity of this effort that much more surprising. One of the things that makes this work so well is the fact that the zombies aren't the only horrors in the book: the inhumanity of many of the humans is just as horrific. ( )

I actually liked this book despite its lack of full on zombie fighting action, which I thought was great, he gives a sadly well integrated story. Though there are some parts of the book that gave me the WTF feel I enjoyed it as a whole. ( )

I sort of understand why people just couldn't get through this book. The format is very different. The entire book is all interviews of people who lived through the war against zombies. So you get interviews from military personnel, doctors, politicians, etc etc. The format is different and a little hard to get used to. I didn't mind it, and after a few more pages it started to flow. Some parts were hard to read as there's a lot of different military weapon terminology I just couldn't get used to. Also there was some slang (again, army terminology/slang) so those parts were muddled and confusing for me. Some parts were just hard to read because they were awful to imagine and quite possibly realistic should something like that really happen (Hey! you'll never know! haha) it's just hard to imagine us as human beings reduced to living like savage animals when the world just goes all to chaos. However, it's very much real if you've read books on war and how people survived in times of crisis. Aside from trying to read through the military jargon and slang I would say this book is pretty good. Their stories are filled with a good retelling of the action or events they have gone through. All in all, a very good fictional oral history of something that would never happen (well..would it? it makes you wonder now). If you can get used to the format it's in, you'll enjoy this book as much as I did. ( )

A fun book, but not a great one. The oral history genre works very well for disease narratives—think And the Band Played On, one of the best non-fiction books I've read. But the author isn't quite up to the task of unforced plausibility, and sometimes takes the easy road into caricature and the quick laugh. The result is enjoyable and even stimulating, but also somewhat unsatisfying and unfulfilled. ( )

I literally could not put the book down, as cheesy and cliché as that sounds. Max Brooks presents a great story that really captivates the reader. If you are at all into the "Zombie/Horror genre", you will love this book. The different stories that are told create a diversified read and really show how the zombie apocalypse affected the entire world. The post-zombie world that the author creates really is another intriguing aspect of the book. I have suggested the book to several non-readers, who are simply into the story and idea and even they said it was very good. Rumors say a movie script is in the works for sometime next years, fingers crossed. ( )

O livro World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, de Max Brooks (em inglês, sem edição no Brasil), visita de uma maneira inusitada o bom e velho cenário pós-apocalíptico: Ele é um livro reportagem que entrevista os sobreviventes da invasão zumbi que assolou o planeta no começo do século XXI.

Esse estratagema dá uma sensação de realidade que talvez uma narrativa convencional não atingiria. As personagens “entrevistadas” vão desde pessoas comuns, perdidas em meio a uma situação que rapidamente fugiu ao controle, a grandes autoridades, como o ex-presidente dos EUA e generais chineses, cada um empurrando a culpa para os outros. O chefão da CIA chega até mesmo culpar “a administração que iniciou a guerra do Iraque” pelo ocorrido.

Cérebros…

A epidemia retratada no livro começa na China, próximo à represa de Três Gargantas. O governo chinês hesita em passar informações para a população com medo de perder a estabilidade social e tenta controlar a situação na linha dura, com tropas de elite para “limpar” os infectados e suspeitos de infecção, com uma injeção de chumbo na testa. Se é que você me entende…

Os zumbis do livro são do estilo clássico, como os idealizados pelo diretor George Romero em filmes como Noite dos Mortos Vivos e suas continuações. Nada de correrias como em filmes mais recentes de cenários mais recentes como Eu Sou a Lenda e Extermínio. Os mortos-vivos aqui andam devagar, e leva dias ou até semanas para um infectado se tornar um zumbi.

Bola de neve

A obra de Max Brooks tem uma característica que eu aprecio muito na fantasia e ficção científica: usar um mundo fantasioso para falar do nosso. Salvo o absurdo de uma praga zumbi, a burocracia, despreparo e corrupção das autoridades mundiais poderiam causar uma catástrofe dessa magnitude em um caso de pandemia de qualquer doença, como de gripe aviário, por exemplo.

E tome generais mais preocupados em parecer bem na mídia do que ajudar a população, vacinas com os quais a indústria farmacêutica ganha milhões que se revelam ser placebos e assim por diante.

Brazil

Pois é, nem mesmo a gente escapou da ameaça zumbi. Uma seção à parte dessa resenha à parte precisa ser dedicada ao tratamento que o “Brazil” recebe no livro, confirmando muito da mitologia criada pelos gringos sobre nossa terrinha. Em primeiro lugar, o jornalista/narrador vai até a Amazônia, para uma aldeia “yanomami” que resistiu à praga dos mortos-vivos pois “eles constroem suas aldeias nos topos das mais altas árvores”. Raios, eles são ianomâmi ou ewoks?

Lá ele escuta o relato de um médico carioca que, sem motivo aparente, age como o louco da selva igual ao Marlon Brando em Apocalypse Now.

Aí ele revela que trabalhava naquilo que sabemos ser uma das mais corriqueiras no Brazil, a venda de órgãos para estrangeiros endinheirados. Longe de mim achar que moramos em um país seguro, mas de onde nasceu esse meme na cabeça dos gringos, como vemos no filme Turistas? Vai entender.

Em um trecho o entrevistado disse que quando ouviu os barulhos foi até o carro pegar a sua arma. “Você andava armado?”, inquiriu o jornalista. “Eu morava no Rio. O que você acha?”. Ziriguidum.

No final tudo acaba em pizza, quando o médico suborna os policiais para fazerem vista grossa ao ricaço alemão que se reanimou na mesa de operação depois de receber um coração infectado que veio da China. Mesmo.

No final…

A humanidade dá a volta por cima e consegue se salvar, mostrando que o que ela faz bem é, como diz um colega meu, “dançar conforme a música”.

Vale muito a leitura para quem gosta do gênero, ou livros-reportagem em geral. Esse é melhor do que muitos que eu já li. ( )

http://www.fnordinc.com/2009/06-10/bo...

NOW, for a book i really enjoyed.
World War Z: an oral history of the zombie war

Max brooks, author of the Zombie Survival Guide (2003), nailed this book down with the fervor of an angry UK chimp beating a kitten to death. this book was emotional and in some parts, difficult to read with your mouth closed. the level of graphic descriptions varies depending on the section you are reading. it is as stated, an oral history, stories told by those who experienced the horror.

The book opens with an author note advising the background on the book. in this world, the author worked for a world organization, and after the “war” was over was asked to tour affected areas (globally in essence) and collect data on the human population impact. all of the stories were then included in an all point status report, where the human element of each story was “black lined” down to just the bare statistics.

the report’s author felt that the stories themselves only mattered when the human element was kept in tact, and got governmental go ahead to write a documentary book with all the omitted details.

this is the culmination of that work. stories from around the world. stories of hope, sadness, death, decay, glory, and cynical humor. as each story is presented as interview form, the first person accounts carry more weight and feel more realistic. as the book chronicles the war from beginning to end,you are left with more than just a collection of short stories, instead, a full fledged recollection detailing the experiences of humans faced with one of the largest survival issues ever encountered.

i would recommend this book highly to anyone who enjoys humanitarian documentaries and horror stories. ( )

Upon first glance World War Z seemed like the perfect book for me. Zombie war, innovative writing style. But once I got past the first few narratives, the style seemed to fall flat. I struggled to get through even a few pages at a time. Clearly, I had overestimated the idea of an 'oral history'.

Most of my complaints with this book are stylistic ones. Because I know that half the people reading this hate me for daring to rate this book a one star, I'll try to keep it simple.

One of the things that bothered me most was the fact that every single person interviewed sounded exactly the same. Male, female, soldier, civilian, politician--same voice, different story. Brooks goes to such pains to give each person interviewed their own unique narrative about the war but I really wouldn't be able to assign a gender or nationality to any one of them if each wasn't clearly indicated.

Although the book did grab me very quickly from the beginning, it didn't take long for it to get tedious. I'm a big fan of well drawn characters and there was none of that in this book. Each new person showed up every couple of pages, told their little tale of the war and it moved on. There wasn't a main character to love or hate or even be indifference toward. The closest thing to a protagonist is the interviewer whom there is nothing to other than to be just that--the interviewer.

Another thing the style took from the book was the element of suspense, something that I find essential in a zombie novel. Since the novel takes place after the fact, and since the beginning pretty much says so, we know that the war has been resolved. And since the characters are being interviewed and they're...well...alive, we don't feel a grip of suspense when a zombie is in close range since we know that they'll survive. It's not impossible to weave suspense into a book with this style--a few stories even managed to get me hooked and wonder what would happen next--but it's difficult to do for as many stories that this book included.

As for the book itself, I could only read a few pages at a time before getting bored and picking up something else. Some of the stories were dead boring and I ended up just skimming them. There wasn't much of a moving plot that I could discern. It read for the most part like a book of short stories that all had same voice and focused on the exact same thing. In fact, I could probably turn to just about any page in the book and not feel lost at all.

Would I recommend this book? Probably. I'm sure that I'm the blacksheep minority of the horror fans with this book and that most out there will enjoy this a lot more than I did. That said, I know I'll probably get ripped to pieces for this one. But it's okay. I'm a big girl; I can take it. ( )

I thought perhaps because Max Brooks is Mel Brooks’ son that as well as a zombie book this would be funny. No, he plays it very straight.

This is an oral history of the first ten years of the Zombie War, in fact, it’s like he’s channeling Studs Terkel. Governments lie, hide and allow terrible things to go on. An American drug company puts out the wrong drug because putting out the right one would cost money, a CIA analyst and an Israeli spy put together a report and the American government and most of the world hides it from the people. The Israelis immediately cease war with the Palestinians and seal their borders. A few lucky Europeans wall themselves up behind castle walls, an American filmmaker makes a movie of students fighting zombies and some people are less likely to commit suicide. And we hear about it all from the people: soldiers, a Japanese computer geek, a translator at Radio Free Earth, the first officer on a Chinese sub that escapes, the South Korean soldiers who notice that North Korea is no longer there, the Chinese doctor who first sees the zombie plague, the first cases in South Africa, and South Africa’s chilling response. The overriding theme is loss; he never says but I bet ½ - 2/3 of the world’s population dies.
An amazing, chilling novel, that has little to do with zombies and everything to do with not giving up. ( )