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)

Amazing Book, Amazing Audiobook

This is by far the best audio recreation of a novel I've ever heard. A star-studded cast, including known stars like Alan Alda, Mark Hamil and John Turturro (though you'll be hard pressed to hear where he comes in because his accent is so good!), along with some excellent "unknown" voice actors, create one of the finest audiobooks I've heard!

The nature of the "oral history" documentary of World War Z lends itself well to the audiobook format, and the acting is so real and believable that you can actually imagine you're hearing first-hand accounts in a real documentary.

As for the book itself, masterfully done. I expected gore, zombies and suspense, but was treated to something altogether different and more interesting. Though you will find some of the carnage and excitement you might expect with any zombie-related book, Max Brooks focuses more on the socioeconomic events that occurred as a result of the Zombie War. It is because he chooses to treat it more as a true-to-life documentary, wherein you hear many different stories from all different parts of the globe and walks of life, that the story is absolutely believable. You can share in the real tragedies and victories, despairs and hopes of an entire world population which must come to grips with a nightmare-come-true!

And in the end, World War Z has a very satisfying basic moral theme: when it comes down to it, humans are humans--no matter your race or skin color--and if you've got a heartbeat, you're one of us.

World War Z is a must-read (or -hear)!

A Fictious "nonfiction"

The book, obviously, is fiction but it is read and presented as if it was non-fiction, and this is done very well. If one didn't know better (i.e. one was from off-planet), it would seem as though these events really did happen, which makes it pretty interesting.

The reading is very well done - engaging and lively. I didn't realize the story was abridged (never heard of it before seeing it here on Audible) but I can see how whole sections might have been cut out as each "interview" stands alone so there's no way to know what was left out. I don't think the abridgment is bad though because I don't feel like I missed something, and as it was, parts of the story were a bit slow (some of the individual's stories were much more interesting than others). If someone hadn't told me it was abridged, I don't think I'd have known.

It is definitely worth a credit. I'd have given it 5 stars except, as I said, there a a couple parts (mainly the politicians I guess) where the "interviews" weren't as interesting as some others. The concept (fiction presented as reality) is different and enjoyable.

Should not be missed!

A few words sum this book up. Engaging, scary, fun, thought provoking. While some of the voice acting is questionable, the overall sum/story makes this a great read. I am a true believer in the unabridged, and I really wanted to keep hearing more. I have listened to this 4 times!

Maybe I should have read this instead of listening

Yeah I was really excited to finally read this book knowing it’s a must read if you’re a zombie/apocalyptic fan. But it was a little slow and boring. It defiantly had some really good parts but with all the narrators some just didn’t work to this audio’s advantage. I know they are supposed to nail the accent of different countries but you can still do that and have them be understandable. I couldn’t understand like two or three of them and it made me wish audible had subtitles with its books. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I read the book.

Sci Fi with a twist

I saw the Movie Commercial and it peaked my interest. The audio book was enjoyable, but slightly dated, I would assume the book must have been written in the mid 90s. The twist to this was that the entire book consists of a series of retrospective interviews of war participants from around the globe. The performance was outstanding, the only issue I had was it was anticlimactic since from the beginning the story is of about the results of a war that happened in the past. I was kind of hoping for a suspense element, still all things considered it was an enjoyable listen. I see that Audible has added another version of this very book that has 5-6 more hours and has some kind of tie in to the movie - might be a better choice.

Unabridged

I loved this story! Like others have said, this would have been a 5 star production if it had been unabridged. I would unquestioningly recommend this.

Decent Listen... but a little slow

First, I have to say this was not at all what I had expected. I had seen the movie and steered away from this because I hate "reading" a book when it's exactly the same as the movie. This was nothing like the movie at all. It was more like listening to a documentary... a genre I don't normally watch. I won't say this was bad... just not for me.

Not crazy about it

I have listened to almost every zombie story on here - I was really not that crazy about this book, don't get me wrong, it was good if you like interviews and such, the narrators were amazing, the concept is great, but I am more of a Zombie story fanatic, not the interviews behind the scenes - other than than decent listen

Entertaining performances

I work in oral history and I'm currently obsessed with post apocalyptic literature, especially zombie apocalypses, so I was eager to use my Audible credit on World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. It is entertaining and the performances are very good. The oral history premise makes this book especially well suited to the audio book format. However, I found this book lacking in plot and character development. Each character's story was too short to develop much attachment or empathy for them. When I do oral history interviews I aim for recordings of at least 1 to 2 hours in length as I find this is usually enough time to begin to know and care about the interviewee and his/her experiences. Almost all of the fictitious oral history interviews in World War Z are shorter than 1 hour. While this did not give me enough time to develop true interest in the characters and their struggles, I was at least entertained by the stories and performances. Finally, the story arc and plot climax were not nearly as thrilling as they could have been, given the title and premise of the book.

Just look at the cast!

The book is great, I have read a lot of reviews and own a hard copy of the book itself (which I read when it was first released) but the cast makes this one of the greatest audiobooks of all time!