What makes World War Z so amazing isn't the Zombies. The undead are so common in fiction these days that they are even invading the classics. What makes World War Z an amazing book is the realism it finds in what seems like a silly premise. Written like a non-fiction account of the recent Zombie Wars, World War Z is amazingly researched and truly makes the reader feel like they are reading real stories from the trenches. Sometimes there is humor. Sometimes horror. But Brooks makes it all seem very real and very true. ( )

I filed this as "read" and "abandoned" because I read about 2/3 of the book before I put it down. I have no intention of finishing it. If you like zombies, read this. If you like apocalyptic literature, then this is kinda your thing. I hate the concept of zombies and thought, in theory, this book would help. It didn't. Brad Pitt's production company has picked up the rights for this book and the film release is scheduled for 2010. If you want to be that guy that can legitimately discuss how you read the book before it was big, better get this soon. ( )

I filed this as "read" and "abandoned" because I read about 2/3 of the book before I put it down. I have no intention of finishing it. If you like zombies, read this. If you like apocalyptic literature, then this is kinda your thing. I hate the concept of zombies and thought, in theory, this book would help. It didn't. Brad Pitt's production company has picked up the rights for this book and the film release is scheduled for 2010. If you want to be that guy that can legitimately discuss how you read the book before it was big, better get this soon. ( )

This is the book I wish I could write. It's a dark cautionary tale that brilliantly nails the diffrent cultural attitudes in the world today. Certainly grisly at times (Brooks does offer his gratitude to George Romero among others), but at it's core this book holds up a mirror to the world to reflect what we've become and the impact upon a cross-section of cultural attitudes. Sometimes un-nerving, somtimes bleakly funny, this is an outstanding piece of fiction. ( )

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. ( )