World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

Max Brooks' first book was The Zombie Survival Guide, a clever take on all the self-help books out there with instructions on how to survive an attack by the undead. It's what got me to seriously think about zombies in the first place, and how I would deal with them. Obviously they're not real, but if they were, I have an idea of how to protect myself. That work can be found in the humor section of bookstores, but Brooks' next work is viewed as pretty much straight horror. It's a story of a zombie infestation that takes over the whole planet and lasts for years, told in an interesting way: all the little "chapters" are stories told by people who survived the war. It's set up like Brooks is interviewing the victims, and there are many different perspectives and personalities explored.

The book's not so much legitimately scary as it is just interesting. It's hard to worry about the characters when you know they survive by virtue of the fact they're talking about what happened. It doesn't really try to shock you, it's more of a cautionary tale trying to show what's wrong with the world. Most of the problems caused in the story are a result of improper and tardy response to a very real threat that was ignored, partly because of how silly it sounds. And zombies aren't the only thing to worry about, as the book often goes into how many other things can go wrong in a world turned upside down, like lack of resources, surviving in the wild during the harsh winter, and how people can just break down mentally in the face of such a bleak future. There are some legitimately creepy and entertaining anecdotes to be found, and the narration by several of the characters can be quite funny. There are some clever coincidences and inside jokes sprinkled throughout, and World War Z is generally a fun read. It's hard to go wrong with a planet full of zombies.