World War Z

An Oral History of the Zombie War

By: Max Brooks

Narrated by: Max Brooks, Alan Alda, John Turturro, Rob Reiner

Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

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 from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of 30 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.

Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the 12-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War.

Note: Some of the numerical and factual material contained in this edition was previously published under the auspices of the United Nations Postwar Commission.

©2006 Max Brooks (P)2006 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Winner of Audio Publishers Association 2007 Audie Award, Multi-Voiced Performance
• Audie Award Finalist, Audiobook of the Year, 2007

"Hard to put down." (Publishers Weekly)

"A literate, ironic, strangely tasty treat." (Kirkus Reviews)

"Horror fans won't be disappointed: like George Romero's Dead trilogy, World War Z is another milestone in the zombie mythos." (Booklist)

Wonderfully Human

This is a must listen. The cast of performers is wonderful...I think I even heard Jurgen Prochnow in there as the Tank Commander. The story itself is well written and the humanity in them is both painful and touching at times. This is not standard Zombie fare.

Not clearly marked as abridged!

I loved this book when I read it a few years back and thought I'd enjoy hearing it again, but was disappointed to realize at the end that many of my favorite parts had been left out! Where was the interview with the feral girl? And I loved the story the young Japanese teen told about escaping his high-rise apartment, and the story of the Indian soldier who blew up a bridge or pass to stop the zombies from following the refugees, and the tour of the ocean floor, and what about the trained dogs? I felt cheated when I got to the last chapter and realized these stories were all omitted. This book's abridgment should be more clearly highlighted!

World War Z...a zombie documentry

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I'd recommend this book to a friend because it has a very documentary feel to it. The performance by the voice actors was also very, very good.

What other book might you compare World War Z to and why?

I'd compare this book to "Killer Angels" because both books had the historical feel that these major events had transpired. In Killer Angels it was based on actuality while World War Z was based on fictional accounts.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrators give the book more of a movie feel to it rather than my inner voice.

Who was the most memorable character of World War Z and why?

I forgot her name but the Pilot that was trapped was the most memorable character. Her story was very compelling. That and the little twist at the end was great!.

could not put it down

What made the experience of listening to World War Z the most enjoyable?

Awesome. I listened to the entire book in one day. I could not put it down. Great story and excellent performance

Meh, its different...

Any additional comments?

I never understood the rave over this book. its ok and gives a post apocalypse view of what the zombie war was and how certain people around the world reacted. But it wasn't really exciting, wasn't funny, wasn’t intense, wasn't scary, wasn't witty...
Basically if you were going to write a book report on what happened when the zombies started to destroy the world then this would be a good reference. So basically it’s just a fictional reference guide to something that never happened. Sound fun? Didn’t think so.
But the production of the audio book was pretty cool. I mean they got Alan Alda to read a part...awesome!

mark hamil

that's all I gotta say, he fucking nailed this!

the book has a great cast, but man the chapters with Mark Hamil were amazing.

A great summary of the story

Would you consider the audio edition of World War Z to be better than the print version?

No

What was one of the most memorable moments of World War Z?

The story of the lady pilot

Which scene was your favorite?

The battles descriptions in general

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Where they are indirectly referring to Nelson Mandela as the one who requested the general.

Any additional comments?

We need an unabridged version.

Outstanding

I loved it. Great cast (more names then I could count Alan Alda and Mark Hammil amoung them), well written. Very enjoyable.

YES!

An amazing performance for a great book I loved even before I heard this audio version of it.
Very recommended!

Just okay

Would you try another book from Max Brooks and/or the narrators?

The narrators did a good job.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

What makes books such as Atlas Shrugged exciting reads is that they examine how individual interactions contribute to a larger system. World War Z portrays how the world's political systems might react to a large disturbance such as a zombie apocalypse, but the personal aspect is not strong. If I were to change the story, I would have had a couple fewer characters, interlaced the telling of different characters' stories, and had more than passing interaction between the main characters.

Which scene was your favorite?

Although the battle in New York was the most exciting, my favorite scene was probably the story of the Chinese doctor in the beginning.

Was World War Z worth the listening time?

It was worth some of the listening time, but not all of it.

Any additional comments?

I wish more books had a full cast of narrators. I like when books are narrated by the author, but this was a good format too.