World War Z

An Oral History of the Zombie War

By: Max Brooks

Narrated by: Max Brooks, Alan Alda, John Turturro, Rob Reiner

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)

Great!

Enjoyed this book quite a bit. The "interviews" and historical document construction were neat, liked how they converted to audiobook.

Agree with others, we should have an Unabridged version.

zombie apocalypse

This is one of the most enjoyable listens I've had. The use of actors to portray the voices of the individual characters fit perfectly with the oral history style of the book. The consistency provided by the single narrator (Max Brooks, the author) helped to tie the entire work together.

I generally prefer unabridged books. However, the excellent production values and use of some of my favorite actors as characters induced me to make an exception for this book. I am glad that I took the time to listen.

awsome book, but i'm a little bummed.

I love this book! and i love the incredible voice acting lended to i. it's got a great plot, i delivers a compeling story while maintaing the floating omni presence of a great narrator. but i'm feeling a little bumned now that i know it was the abbridge version...

Great Book

Great story, and wonderfully performed. I would have preferred an unabridged version, however.

AWESOME!!!!

This book rocked! I really enjoyed this book!

Using interviews to tell this story from so many varied view points is genius. The author truly has a knack for character development and connecting key world events to each other.

I HOPE THERE IS A SEQUAL!

As for one post I read complaining about a hidden agenda - Zombies have been metaphors for communism, disease and any social movement that might turn our American dream on it's head. That is what real nightmares are made of. If you really believe Government can save you from anything, you are already the walking dead.

I love this book.

I love this book. I've read it many times before this. This is my first audiobook. It's not bad. However I'm kind of annoyed that I cannot listen to this without wifi. I was hoping to be able to listen on my way to work. I don't have any kind of data plan for my tablet and it doesn't work without internet.

Almost Excellent

What was one of the most memorable moments of World War Z?

I really enjoyed his book. There were so many interesting thoughts of Zombie-lore.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

Alan Alda alone is worth the purchase.

Could you see World War Z being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

I've heard the movie is like this book only in title. Too bad.

Any additional comments?

I reserved a perfect rating for the unabridged version that really should have been made to begin with. It's still EXCELLENTLY performed.

Great book overall

Disappointed because this audiobook didn't have the entire story, the rest is "The Lost Files"

Amazing voice cast! Better than the movie!

This is the best auido book experience ever. Max put together a great cast to really bring the story to life don't miss this one.

Good, but way too quick

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes and no. Audible no, reading yes. Its too short for the price.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

Amazing crew