World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

· Sold by Del Rey
4.2
5.77K reviews
Ebook
352
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

#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

Ratings and reviews

4.2
5.77K reviews
A Google user
June 7, 2010
world war z is about a guy going a round and asking people who had 1st hand Exposure to the zombie attacks. and he finds this one guy who was the 1st person to see and handle theses cannibals.and then another dude who saw someone turn into a zombie.and then a guy that was walking right into a town where they had the 1st outbrake and he didnt know that and then he ran into one and almost got killed.and then the last lady he talked to so far saw her spose get killed and she ripped one of the zombies head off after she heard they the only way to kill them is by stabbing in the head which is a good thing for this book because if someone wants to read a good zombie book then they should pick this one for the reasons listed above. but they may not like for the follwing reasons. the 1st couple of chatpers are really boreding because no one really comes in to zombies besides like 1 person so they may think that its boreding.its also a book for people who like zombies but hate reading.and think that the other max brooke zombie books are good then this should be one better then all the rest. But if they stick with it then they will find out that the longer this book goes on that the better it gets. “its like a fine cheese.the old it gets the better it is.” with a saying like that then it should be good.
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A Google user
February 28, 2012
I 1st read World War Z about 5 yrs ago. Max Brook's Zombie survival guide was pretty good so I decided to give this one a try. This is the only novel I have read more than once, reading it now on my phone will make it my 4th time. Its like an old friend that can tell the same old story, a story filled with fear, panic, pain, anger, and revenge. A wide range of human emotions that you can feel as they fight their way back from the brink. I probably wont be long before I read this a 5th time, its just that good. This book is so much deeper than taking a gun and blowing zombies away.
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Vita Gravecall
June 27, 2013
I love this book. The movie is good but it is not really more than loosely based upon this very excellent series of vignettes. Its a faux-documentary, collected stories from survivors of the Zombie Apocalypse. I do think the movie did some things right - following one family through the events was probably a wise decision, and the visuals were horrifying and the action was fast and furious. Its *almost* a prequel to the book, really. But... It was not the focus of the book. the book is about *after* the events, and there was no easy clean up. So - the book had some really intense, sometimes barely believable but still gripping stories of survival and desperation. People from all sorts of backgrounds, countries and cultures are represented. This book is not for the squeamish or easily frightened - i wouldn't recommend it for sensitive kids either - i shouldn't have to tell people this but i sat through Silent Hill with two toddlers behind me at the theater. One of my favorite storylines was the stranded pilot trying to slog through the zombie infestation to get to an extraction point. The other was the japanese internet junkie and the swordsman. Enjoyed much
59 people found this review helpful
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About the author

Max Brooks is an author, public speaker, and nonresident fellow at the Modern War Institute at West Point. His bestselling books include Minecraft: The Island, The Zombie Survival Guide. and World War Z, which was adapted into a 2013 movie starring Brad Pitt. His graphic novels include The Extinction Parade, G.I. Joe: Hearts & Minds, and the #1 New York Times bestseller The Harlem Hellfighters.

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