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)

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!

Amazing!

First purchase on audible and it was as amazing as I heard it was! 5 out of 5 all the way!

Surprising and Amazing.

Makes you think about our society and world in new and insightful ways.
Great performances by the cast. A lot of fun, and freaky.

Very short no details

Is there anything you would change about this book?

It was a great story, but it seemed lacking the whole time...I know it abridged so maybe that was the problem...

Magnificent! More an audio play than just a book.

Where does World War Z rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Because of the variety of actors narrating the work, it was the single most gripping audio book I have heard. A truly magnificent experience.

What did you like best about this story?

The story was brought to life, and I lost myself within the drama.

Great

Great book, well written, easy to follow. I recommend this book to anyone. Read it

Great listen - very engaging

I greatly enjoyed listening to this book. It was a little short, could have listened to at least double the length. I thought it was a great concept and the way the story was broken up based on the individual perspective of the various interviews.

Interesting concept

An interesting and enjoyable concept, but I wish it was unabridged. The abridged version seemed choppy at times.