World War Z by Max Brooks

Title: World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
Author: Max Brooks
Published: September 12, 2006 by Crown
(342 pages, paperback)
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 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 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.
--
My thoughts: I got this book as an early Christmas present, and despite not meeting a lot of my expectations, I actually enjoyed World War Z. More than anything, it was more of a look on government, and how our society would react to zombies. Because of the fact I'm more of an action fan, and wasn't totally looking forward to 342 pages of political opinions, I found myself engaged in this book. It wasn't fantastic, and it certainly didn't contain the proper amount (in my zombie-obsessed opinion) of zombies, but Brooks does a good job of portraying a possibility if the world were to be suddenly overrun with the undead.
--
My favorite parts, and also the most well-written and interesting parts, were the ones about how regular civilians reacted to the onslaught of zombies. The stories (er, interviews) with regular, every day citizens from different countries, were the most intriguing and descriptive. I loved reading about how the survivors managed to become survivors. Brooks is a great writer when it comes to battles too, and I was really engrossed in the stories. Some of the more political parts, with interviews from government officials and presidents, were a little boring to me, but I'm sure it would have been more interesting to someone more involved. It was well-written throughout, if a little slow, and I found myself kind of invested in just how horrible the world had become.
--
World War Z isn't so much a zombie book as a reaction to zombies book, and while it wasn't what I expected, it was still an entertaining, interesting novel. I'd recommend it more to people interested in the government and how they respond to crisis', but if you're a die-hard zombie fan, it was a good novel to read.
--
Overall rating: 3 stars