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)

Utterly unique and entertaining!

Expecting a chronological telling of the fictional zombie future, I bought this thinking I would be entertained but unsurprised- I am happy to say I was wrong on one count. WWZ presents a unique form of information convention- more like a NPR report on public radio than the telling of a story. The actors used were also a splendid edition, adding to the suspension of reality, drawing you into the idea, making it feel right and real. Thsi has to be one of the most entertaining audio books I've ever downloaded- I listened start to finish and could barely peel myself away to use the restroom. 5 stars all around- I recommend it to all, especialy the real zombie apocolypse/end of the world/horror connoisseur!

It is okay

The star power is second to none. But, the story was a bit of a let down.

The definative living dead/zombie story

Would you listen to World War Z again? Why?

The performance was the best of any audio book I have ever listen too with the different celebrity performers. It gave a very nuts and bolts description of what it would really be like if this actually happened. It was told in sections from individual perspectives, this making it feel personable. If you like walking dead/zombie stories at all, you must read this one.

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

The little girl telling of how her parents tried to survive and keep her alive this post apocalyptic world, hanging on to whatever shred of humanity they can.

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

The visceral emotion of the narrator.

Great listen, gripping and touching

My best audiobook so far. The well crafted story, cleverly told, and, above all, the excellent dramatization of the different characters, their accents and expressions, which made the whole book seem so real. I also appreciated the sense of irony when looking at our current world, and in this respect (social/geopolitical subtle critique) is a great sci-fi book. It made me think about countries, organizations, survival, etc. almost as much as my previous listen, the economics best seller 'Why nations fail'

I used to entertain myself during the long runs needed to train for my 14th marathon, and they have never been so enjoyable!

In short, I reccommend it warmly to everyone.

SCARY!

I got through this book alot faster than I thought I would. The format is more like a written report instead of a novel, like a documentary as opposed to a movie. There is no specific story line, but instead, accounts of events and occurences. The protagonist is interviewing people and taking their statements on their experiences of the war, gathering facts. It's quite interesting and it documents where this decade long war started, how they fought/survived through out the war, and strategies on how it ends. I am curious to see how this will play out in the film that is about to be released.

ABRIDGED VERSION!!

Any additional comments?

Very good book and wonderful cast of readers. But THIS RECORDING IS ABRIDGED! I feel like I need to read the real book to see what parts got cut, and why. I avoid abridged audiobooks as they tend to remove minor parts that are important for flavor. I'm very disappointed to see Audible doesn't have an unabridged version of such a popular book.

World War Zzzzzz

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Was mildly entertaining. I have not read the book but the audio version left me asking

Would you ever listen to anything by Max Brooks again?

Yes, I did enjoy how the story was presented by the author.

Could you see World War Z being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Can't see it.

Unexpected format

Would you be willing to try another book from Max Brooks? Why or why not?

Yes, the writing was excellent.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

It depends on how the screenplay was written. If it were simply all interview scenes, then no, I think that would be very boring, but if it also had scenes depicting what the interviewed people were talking about, then yes.

could fit in a sub-category of Survival Fiction

"World War Z" is written in, what I would call, an "Historical Narrative". In other words, the author is looking back on past events, from multiple eye-witnesses to explain the cataclysmic events that brought us to the present time (ie., contagion of a virus that spreads worldwide affecting a majority of the population, devastates the economy, ruins the food supply- and, oh yeah, renders the host brain-dead).

"World War Z" is also a Character study of individuals and groups as they reflect upon the impending disasters. The characters who present their point of view are from various walks of life; The tragedy affects each one differently. Some rise to the challenge, others become brutal, still others find they cannot cope.

"Z" could easily be classified as a sub-genre in the Survival Fiction library.


If you've never read a Zombie story, or watched anything on TV about the "undead" this would be the kind of "Z" book I would recommend, as it is not really a "kill 'em all" book nor is it a gross study of anatomy.

Although summarized, pretty entertaining!

The parts that weren't in the audiobook were really missed, like stopping for reading without audio was a bummer, but still pretty good! how they managed the accents and pace of the narration. still, try to find a complete version, I saw there's one after I finished this!