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100 Books in One Year #45: The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks

Cannonball Read / Brian Prisco

Book Reviews | February 13, 2009 | Comments (32)

I really think this is labeled humor, because it defies category. It’s assuredly hysterical, but only because it takes itself so incredibly seriously. It’s just what the title suggests: a handbook on how to survive a zombie uprising.

But, my God, it’s literally an in-depth study on the history of zombies and zombie attacks. It goes into different categories of zombie outbreaks, the virus that causes zombie infection (Solanum), and a listing of the pros and cons of various weapons and environments. It also breaks down a pretty intensive list of necessary supplies for surviving. The book wraps with an account of various zombie attacks through history. (Which is my favorite part of the book by far.)

Brooks favors the shambler zombies — the category I support as a Romeroist — and he builds and conforms to an incredible mythology. His commitment to the material is what makes the survival guide work so well. At no point is he joking. At no point is he making clever winks or aside. It’s almost like the conspiracy theorist novels I’ve been reading. What he speaks of is vaguely outlandish, but entirely plausible, and he handles it seriously.

I am really anxious to read World War Z now, because Brooks has already built his world, so now I get to see his methods in action.

This review is part of the Cannonball Read series. Details are here and the growing number of participants and their blogs are here.









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Comments

World War Z is a great read. It's a book that could be made into a "Cloverfield" type (Cinema Veritas? somebody help me out here) and just be fantastic.

Posted by: MrCreosote at February 13, 2009 9:47 AM

World War Z is one of my favorite books, and I am really, really hoping they do it justice in the movie.

Posted by: Snath at February 13, 2009 9:50 AM

You mean it's fiction!?

World War Z was great, you'll enjoy it. I agree with MrCreosote, the whole time I was reading it I was thinking that it would make a great movie. If done properly.

Posted by: admin at February 13, 2009 9:52 AM

WWZis not only wonderful for all the reasons cited above but also because if you substitute a more probable virus/disease outbreak for zombies, it's scarily possible.

Posted by: clocker at February 13, 2009 9:53 AM

Wow I forgot what I was going to say about the actual book in review here.

I haven't read this one yet, because I'm afraid somehow it is going to ruin my love of World War Z. I don't really know how, I think it's a stupid fear, so maybe it's about time I read this one.

Posted by: Snath at February 13, 2009 9:53 AM

Exactly, that's why it works. It reads just like one of those "How to Survive in the Wilderness" books, to which I am inexplicably drawn, even though a walk in the park constitutes "wilderness" to me.

If there had been anything precious about it at all, I would have given up after the first couple of chapters.

I keep meaning to read World War Z but my daughter brought it to school and her friends keep borrowing it.

Posted by: Wednesday at February 13, 2009 10:00 AM

I gave my husband this book for Christmas a couple of years ago. He hates zombie movies because they often end with an "end of the world" scenario (I think he's strangely addicted to this "hope" crap). Anyway, I don't think he ever read the book, but I did. Now I habitually evaluate every place we consider living on the basis of how easily it can be defended in the case of a zombie attack.

Posted by: peachfish at February 13, 2009 10:22 AM

Just because the zombie contest is over doesn't mean we can't post random zombie upgrade projects on zombie threads, right? Should still count for EE, and I have a shirt to win for Kayanne.

So ...

"LassZ"

A boy and his undead dog.

rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr *

"What is it, girl?"

rrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR **

"Timmy's in trouble?"

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR ***

"Take us to him gir- OHMYGOD GET HER OFF ME AGGGH HELP HEEEEEELP SHE'S BITING MY HEAD AGGGGGGHHH!!!"

*-"brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrains"

**-"brrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAINS"

***-"BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAINS"

Posted by: bucdaddy at February 13, 2009 10:23 AM

Just keep hopin', bucdaddy. Just keep hopin'.

Posted by: Snath at February 13, 2009 10:44 AM

Mel Brooks was obviously an awesome parent! Thanks again, Mel!

Posted by: Bucko at February 13, 2009 10:45 AM

I don't know if it's the city or what, but as soon as I moved to Austin everyone I met asked me about my zombie survival plan at one point or another. Hurricane plans I've got in spades, but zombie? Seriously?
It was kind of like when you learn a new word and suddenly everyone around you is mysteriously using it.

Posted by: Sharon at February 13, 2009 10:50 AM

Snath, I have avoided reading this book for the same reason. I would be crushed if it was all twee and tongue-in-cheek, ruining my perception of Max Brooks as one of the best damn zombie apocalypse writers out there. World War Z was comprehensive and realistic. It even answered the ridiculously absurd question I had half way through the book, "What about the whales?"

Posted by: Leigh Hacksaw at February 13, 2009 10:55 AM

I'd love to think that a World War Z movie is possible, but - come on, the scope of the story and the way it was constructed is almost entirely anti-filmic. The overall story is too big and the individual stories too small. I don't think it's possible to do anything moviewise with it. Maybe a mock-doc.

Posted by: mightygodking at February 13, 2009 11:04 AM

But Max Brooks approved the current script for it and says they found a way to make it work that he's happy with. I'm still hopeful.

Posted by: Snath at February 13, 2009 11:26 AM

If you get the chance listen to the WWZ audiobook its abso-fucking-lutly fantastic. full cast radio play.

Posted by: slave of the page at February 13, 2009 11:28 AM

When I read this book I literally had to stop every few paragraphs to think, "hmmmm, what would I do in that situtation".

Bring on the Zombies already!

Posted by: braaaaains at February 13, 2009 11:33 AM

I don't know if it's the city or what, but as soon as I moved to Austin everyone I met asked me about my zombie survival plan at one point or another.

Maybe it's a college town thing. Me and my friends were discussing zombie survival plans over 15 years ago back when I was in college in Ann Arbor.


If you get the chance listen to the WWZ audiobook its abso-fucking-lutly fantastic. full cast radio play.

I totally agree. I just wish it wasn't abridged.

Posted by: Forbiddendonut at February 13, 2009 11:38 AM

Anybody read Robert Kirkman's "The Walking Dead?"

Fantastic series!

Posted by: Bucko at February 13, 2009 12:44 PM

I'm slowly collecting the trades. I only have the first three, but it's a really, really great series.

Posted by: Snath at February 13, 2009 1:40 PM

World War Z is the shit. It draws you in and next thing you know it's 2 in the fucking morning....I hope the people who've picked it up for Pitts production company do this movie right...

Posted by: jotthedot at February 13, 2009 2:00 PM

World War Z is the shit. It draws you in and next thing you know it's 2 in the fucking morning....I hope the people who've picked it up for Pitts production company do this movie right...

Posted by: jotthedot at February 13, 2009 2:01 PM

Bucko, The Walking Dead is in fact amazing. Realistically heartbreaking and unpredictable, but amazing nonetheless. And I also cast my vote of awesomeness for WWZ's audiobook.

Posted by: Mike R. at February 13, 2009 3:21 PM

World War Z was a great book, period. Not just as a Zombie novel. I'd like to see it filmed as a trilogy similar to the tri-part form of the book but that could be because I just love zombie movies. Even if I know in advance it will be godtopus-awful, I'll still watch. And, bucdaddy, the Lassie zombie angle was covered in a nicely humorous way in Fido where Fido the man-zombie pet leads the mother of a boy under attack by zombies to her childs rescue. Complete with "Is something wrong with Timmy, Fido?" "Urggggghh" "Can you take me to Timmy, Fido?" "Urgggghhh". All kinds of awesome!

Posted by: Sharopa at February 13, 2009 3:21 PM

For those of you worried that TZSG will ruin your enjoyment of WWZ, stop worrying. Think of TZSG as a practical guide written about 5 - 10 years after the initial infection. It's not tongue-in-cheek, and treats the subject with the same seriousness as WWZ.

Posted by: longcoat000 at February 13, 2009 4:14 PM

This book.

God, this book.

I still can't bring myself to finish it after having it for over a year.

Not that it is bad, mind you. In fact it is fantastic. But it is so real and engrossing that it freaked me right the hell out.

Just like Romero convinced me that zombies fucking suck, this book convinced me I was right in that initial assertion.

FUCKING ZOMBIES SUCK ASS. AND MAX BROOKS SUCKS ASS FOR WRITING SO AWESOMELY ABOUT FUCKING ZOMBIES.

P.S. Of course, I still have it, for survival purposes. I'm not stupid.

Posted by: Vermillion at February 13, 2009 4:24 PM

I keep a machete in my 4x4 truck...just in case.

Posted by: hugeinjapan at February 13, 2009 5:16 PM

I read this before WWZ and it's funny that Brooks goes to cite the Survival Guide as a failure in WWZ.

But for those picking it up for the first time, be aware, it's written as a survival guide. So Brooks goes into detail on survival tactics like listing the right and wrong type of weapons (say yes to machetes and single-bolt rifles but no to flamethrowers and machine guns) survival kits, things to avoid doing, places to stay and how to scrounge for what you need during the outbreak.

And yes, the history lesson at the end is a worthwhile extra.

BTW, Joe Straczynski (Babylon 5) has apparently nailed the script for the movie adaptation of WWZ. Fingers crossed it gets done right.

Posted by: Fredo at February 13, 2009 5:45 PM

Max Brooks did a talk at my school in which he, in all seriousness, essentially lectured the important bits of information on surviving the zombie holocaust. It was hilarious and awesome, and he was one of the nicest guys ever. (Even showed us a picture of his new baby!)

He looked confused and asked me what my major was when I told him that shooting a zombie area the lower cerebellum part of the brain rather than between the eyes would cause instantaneous death and be more effective than shooting it between the eyes, and in hindsight, I probably shouldn't have told him he looked like James Marsden's less attractive brother. I'm an ass.

Posted by: MoJo at February 13, 2009 7:33 PM

I have a friend from college who claims to believe this book is not a work of fiction.

Other than that, he seems mentally normal, in case you were wondering.

Posted by: NF at February 14, 2009 1:40 AM

A while back in the service, me and two other guys planned on creating a wilderness style, team building retreat in the middle of Iowa. Basically use paint ball guns and train people to rebuild society after the Zombie takeover. Sell it as both serious yet goofy fun weekend thing. The plan hit a snag when my friend killed himself at his mom's wedding. Kind of sad cause I always expected for him to die at the hands of the Feds during a "Heat" style shootout on top of a bank....Jesus I had some weird, yet wonderful friends in the military.

Posted by: Diablo at February 14, 2009 3:41 PM

::Slowly backs out of thread::

Posted by: Bucko at February 15, 2009 3:02 AM

You know, Bucko, the ones that doesn't believe in zombies are always the first to be feasted upon.

Posted by: piedlourde at February 16, 2009 7:47 AM