World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

I waited anxiously for World War Z to be released in paperback for ages (I rarely buy hardback books, just too heavy to carry around with me), and when it finally was released I snatched it up so fast I might have knocked over some nuns on my way to the counter. After reading it, I would have bought it in hardback it was so good.

In World War Z, Max Brooks creates much more than just a zombie story. He takes that step that most zombie films have tried to do since Night of the Living Dead. He uses zombies to address the real possibilities of a global epidemic and how the world might be after the war is finished and peace is reached. It’s amazing. Brooks tells the story of the Zombie War, a true World War that affects every corner of the earth, from small province to large city using a series of first-person accounts and interviews. It creates such a feeling of history and truth that it’s almost spine chilling. The story covers tales from military folks, smugglers, doctors, teenagers and children, political officials, and regular Joes, all who in their own way dealt with the 200 million plus zombie horde. The ones that stick out to me, even now after weeks of reading it, are the stories from the young woman whose family fled to Canada to ride out the zombie horde, the military team with the trained dogs, and the military personnel who recount the stories of PTSD and the Battle of Yonkers.

I’m definitely going to pick up Max Brooks’ other book, The Zombie Survival Guide, just to see if it is just as good. I really can’t recommend this book enough. It’s scary as a horror novel, but it’s even scarier as a contemporary history or story of one of our possible futures. It feels impossibly real but never loses its entertainment value.

Rating: 5 Purrs for zombies with a purpose. Buy this now.