World War Z, my review

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


OK, I'm late for the party. The simple fact is I have never liked zombie stories for several reasons, and I first heard of the book by way of the awful movie that has nothing to do with the actual book. But I'm burning out on actual history books, so I thought I'd give it a try, as it had so many excellent reviews.

The setup is simple. In the aftermath of the Zombie War, our narrator is part of the team assembling the final UN report. He complains that the report is too dry; just statistics, charts, and numbers, and lacks the stories of the people who came through the zombie outbreak. Annoyed by the constant complaints, his boss tells him to write his own book. Which he does.

There is no plot here, it is just a set of oral histories of the zombie uprising that nearly destroyed civilization and came close to exterminating humanity. Broken down into several sections, starting with the early days of the outbreak through to the point where recovery is underway and the UN is confident that all the remaining "white zones" (areas under zombie control) will be cleared in a few years.

The actual oral histories run from people on the ground dealing with the outbreak, a Chinese doctor who may have witnessed the first victims, a soldier who fought in the Battle of Yonkers where the Army tried and failed to contain the mass of zombies coming out of Manhattan, to the movers and influencers who were at the center of trying to handle the amazing speed of the outbreaks.

A constant theme is the terrible plans that had to be enacted to save humanity. Referred to as "Redeker Plans" after the first of these implemented in South Africa, they sacrifice millions to establish safe zones. The human cost of these plans is terrifying, but more than any other zombie story I've encountered, address the very real math of such a war. As one interviewed military officer points out, normally you fight a war with the goal of ending the enemy's ability to make war. You destroy his supply lines, attack headquarters, demoralize enemy forces until they desert or surrender. But zombies don't need supplies, have no organization to attack, and never give up.

It's an amazing read. Brooks gives each person interviewed such personality and unique ways of expressing themselves. Some of them are heroes, others are pretty vile, but they all tell the global story of World War Z. Really a great book.



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