You Have to Own World War Z

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While in Jordan I devoured the novel by Max Brooks, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War.  Max was the author of the Zombie Survival Guide, which was billed as a humorous handbook on how to deal with the living dead.

Max took that work, which should be considered by zombie fans to be the definitive guide to all things zombie, and vastly expounded on it.  He creates a modern world where China suppresses information about a zombie outbreak and this plague eventually spreads worldwide.

But in many ways this book is not about zombies, but about how humans deal with disaster and tragedy and how the governments would respond to a world-changing crisis.  It is not Brooks’ expertise on zombies that makes this such a compelling read, but his story of human struggle and the plausible actions of the political systems of the world that keeps you turning pages.

There are tear-jerking tragedies as related by the in-depth interviewing style of the author as well as triumphs that make you want to stand up and cheer.  One of the most horrifying tales is that of a Chinese submarine as it was running silent and trying to evade detection as it sat on the sea floor, and the sounds of zombies underwater trying to scrape and claw their way through the hull.

And a note to Hollywood:  This book would make an incredible miniseries or three-picture deal.  If someone hasn’t optioned this story, they should.