World War Z - An Oral History of the Zombie War
First edition, 2006
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (2006) is a post-apocalyptic novel by Max Brooks structured as a series of survivor testimonies gathered by a UN investigator in the aftermath of a global zombie outbreak that came close to ending human civilization. The format mimics documentary nonfiction, with interviewees drawn from across the world: soldiers, politicians, refugees, submarine crews, astronauts stranded on the International Space Station. Each account adds a piece to the larger picture of how the outbreak began, how governments failed to respond, how societies collapsed, and how humanity eventually fought back.
The zombie premise is the vehicle rather than the point. Brooks is more interested in the political and institutional failures that allowed a manageable crisis to become a catastrophe, examining denial, disinformation, bureaucratic paralysis, and the cynical exploitation of fear. The novel is as much social and political satire as horror, drawing comparisons to Studs Terkel's oral histories in its structure and ambition. It was adapted as a 2013 film starring Brad Pitt, though the film largely abandoned the novel's structure and satirical dimension. Brooks is the son of filmmaker Mel Brooks.
Hardcover. First Edition, First Printing. Octavo, cloth-backed boards. New York: Crown, 2006. ISBN: 0307346609. #11481.
Near fine in near fine dust jacket.
The zombie premise is the vehicle rather than the point. Brooks is more interested in the political and institutional failures that allowed a manageable crisis to become a catastrophe, examining denial, disinformation, bureaucratic paralysis, and the cynical exploitation of fear. The novel is as much social and political satire as horror, drawing comparisons to Studs Terkel's oral histories in its structure and ambition. It was adapted as a 2013 film starring Brad Pitt, though the film largely abandoned the novel's structure and satirical dimension. Brooks is the son of filmmaker Mel Brooks.
Hardcover. First Edition, First Printing. Octavo, cloth-backed boards. New York: Crown, 2006. ISBN: 0307346609. #11481.
Near fine in near fine dust jacket.