World War Z
An Oral History of the Zombie War
by Max Brooks · first published 2006
48% recommend46% neutral5% critical
Why HN recommends it
Zombie apocalypse told as interview-style oral history, with varied voices and a plausible look at how societies, governments and militaries react to crisis. Works especially well as an audiobook with its large cast.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
“The end was near.” —Voices from the Zombie War 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 thirty 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
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…other zombie flicks just aren't that good. The comic The Walking Dead is without a doubt some of the best zombie media out there (I collect it in TPBs, and need to grab the latest.) Max Brooks' books World War Z (interview-like retelling of the Zombie War with veterans,) and Zombie Survival Guide (Almost like a 'for Dummies' book) are must-reads. And the game Urban Dead http://www.urbandead.com is pretty fun…
World War Z Roadside picnic
on “Ask HN: What is your favorite fiction book?” ↗Speaking of which, I highly recommend World War Z by Max Brooks. It is a brilliant book and provides an amazing insight into human and society behaviour in time of crisis. http://www.amazon.com/World-War-Oral-History-Zombie/dp/03073...
…you look at it this way, it CAN be done in fantasy. Check out Brandon Sanderson's Warbreaker (a great one-off), or the Mistborn series. (There are quite a few similarities between them.) Or Max Brooks' World War Z was great in this way, I think. Although it's been quite a while since I read that. (I know this is an older thread, so I hope you'll find this comment. Made a HN account for this. :D )
on “What are your favourite sci-fi books?” ↗…(IMHO) adds to the book. He does use "voices" for different characters and it works really well. Most other readers will try to do this has well. It can be hit or miss. A really good ensemble book is World War Z by Max Brooks. The cast is incredible (Alan Alda, Martin Scorsese, Simon Pegg, and more)
on “Summer Reading List” ↗I recently read Max Brooks's World War Z and (a) even before Covid-19, he was able to lay out a plausible scenario of stupidity and selfishness that led to a global collapse and (2) as he's said in interviews [1] he couldn't have predicted how…
on “Scientists find life in dead brain cells” ↗By sheer coincidence I’ve been reading World War Z and it’s amazing how in the real world we’re making the same mistakes that countries in the book made against the zombies. Of course the situation is entirely different, but it’s interesting. Why doesn’t…
on “Super-spreading wedding demonstrates Covid-19 risk posed by holiday gatherings” ↗…"The Reality Dysfunction" which deals with a pandemic of possession. A favourite childhood video game is "Halo: Combat Evoloved" which centres on alien space zombies. Speaking of zombies, I really like "World War Z" (the book, not the film). And, in my efforts to have better job prospects, I am studying biostatistics which includes plenty of content on epi/pandemics. It's bit like how nature and animals pervades…
on “On Pandemic and Literature” ↗If you enjoy zombie science fiction, there is a scene in World War Z (the book, not the atrocious movie of the same name) which you would appreciate. Blink and you'll miss it, but the author distills some of the best parts of the British national character into two sentences…
on “'WWIII Queen's speech' script revealed” ↗Have you read World War Z? It covers that very question in great detail. One problem it highlights is that modern armies and military tactics are incredibly inefficient. The amount of fuel, munitions and calories they use for…
on “Drug for treating obesity cuts body weight by 20 percent” ↗…article, but Anarconomy by the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies was a very interesting read (http://www.cifs.dk/doc/medlemsrapporter/MR0309UK.pdf). If you are willing to check out an audiobook, World War Z is truly an amazing book. Absolutely the best audiobook I have heard so far. Enjoy your weeks off!
on “Ask HN: Summer Reading Recommendations?” ↗I would also like to recommend World war Z. cuz a zombie plague is much more dangerous than flu
on “Hong Kong Confirms First Human Case of Bird Flu” ↗…"Existence" by David Brin made me want to puke it had so many good ideas. A tiny bit dated, but very smart. "The Martian" I expect you've read it. Good romp, easy to read. Reminded me of a Michael Crichton. "World War Z" was good.
on “Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?” ↗The novel "World War Z" basically touches on this resemblance. The author seems to have read lots of information about what real humans due when plagues and diseases strike and how human society reacts, and then transposed…
on “DNA confirms cause of 1665 London's Great Plague” ↗…"Three Cups of Tea" (Oliver, I think) Greg Mortensen starts building schools in Pakistan / Afghanistan. Adventure ensues. There's some definite political bias here but it's worth a read. Fun summer read: "World War Z". Unrelated, I use Shelfari [http://www.shelfari.com/] to organize my books-to-read, if you need an organization tool.
on “Ask HN: Summer Reading Recommendations?” ↗