In the world of zombie lore, no author is as respected as the legendary Max Brooks. While he is well known for his work on “World War Z”. We aren’t going to be covering that book today. Instead we will be taking a look at one of his other works “The Zombie Survival Guide”. The book is interesting in that it uses references to conventional texts, gives advice on how to attack, run from and defend against, the hordes of the undead. After all, who wants to be eaten alive by a pack of bloodthirsty undead Ghouls? The book is categorized into several key sections; these sections talk about a certain part of Zombie survival. The first of these is the introduction followed immediately by a section titled “Undead: Myths and Realities”. This section talks about the physical and psychological makeup of zombies as well dismissing popular myths and legends like how zombies can be tamed or how they spare former loved ones. It also dismisses the idea of Zombies being any more than slowly decaying corpses, along with the notion of the “Hollywood Zombie” and the “Voodoo Zombie is an actual zombie”. It also classifies the size of outbreaks and how to recognize an outbreak for what it truly is. The next section is where the action really begins to occur. This section talks the type of weapons to bring into combat against the undead. For example you should NOT bring a chainsaw or any other power tool into undead combat scenarios. As this does nothing but attract about twice as many zombies for every one you kill. It also talks about firearms, to exemplify; bolt action or semi-automatic rifles are the best weapons to bring into undead combat. Because you need to go for carefully well placed headshots. Not running around with a Machine Gun shooting and screaming like you’re and action hero in a cheesy 80’s action flick. No zombie killing is more of an art than anything else. This section would probably be one of the most important for any home owner as home defense manual tactics are completely worthless against the undead. We are talking about how to defend your home from the living dead. It describes how to fortify and keep your family (if you have one) safe from the cold dead hands of the monstrous Ghouls literally at the doors. In any zombie scenario the higher place you have with no real access, the safer you will be against the undead. So when you start hearing hellish moans and screams. The time has come to grab what you need, get upstairs and destroy that staircase. “On The Run” is possibly one of the most important parts of this book. This section details how to escape from zombies in case your refuge gets overrun or needs to be abandoned. It also gives tips on what terrain to use and what vehicle a person should use and what to do when travelling through an infested area. One important tip is to avoid Urban Areas at all costs. This is because of the massive amount of zombies that congregate there because that is where most of the food is likely to be and of how long it also takes to search a decently sized city like Tampa. The next portion of the guide is on how to HUNT zombies. The exact opposite of the previous section. This tells you how to use the terrain to find and eliminate zombies in about any environment. From the dry, hot deserts like the Mojave to the dark underwater depths of bays like Tampa Bay or the Great Lakes. This information is crucial if you want to clear an infested area of zombies when no other option is available. This last section is the most theoretical of the bunch. This section describes what to do to survive when all of civilization has collapsed and the undead rule the earth. It gives tips on what terrain types are preferable in the face of raiders and legions of the undead. For example: a secluded island is much better for this type of survival than a temperate forest on the mainland. This is only theoretical as this has never been known to have occurred ever. If it did your best bet is to go to the islands ASAP.
This last section would probably be the most debatable of the whole book. This section describes every major historically recorded attack in Human history. Going all way back to about 60,000 BC, to the most recent one around 2002 AD on the US Virgin Isles. This section is highly debatable and can either be argued as fiction or nonfiction. Making this a hotly discussed book between believers and nonbelievers. Overall this book presents itself as a book of nonfiction and a manual on how to survive the undead. If this book is to be believed then it should be heeded. This book is pretty accurate with zombie lore and even goes as far as to provide an “accurate” timeline to undead history. I would have to give this book a 4.5 out of 5. Sure while it does express itself in a clear and consistent manner. The content just makes the whole of this book laughable and just downright absurd to someone who doesn'tMax Brooks believe in zombies. I personally don’t but I would still recommend getting this book. It is a great read and is a New York Times bestseller. After all, when the zombies come you want to be prepared, don’t you?
The book is categorized into several key sections; these sections talk about a certain part of Zombie survival. The first of these is the introduction followed immediately by a section titled “Undead: Myths and Realities”. This section talks about the physical and psychological makeup of zombies as well dismissing popular myths and legends like how zombies can be tamed or how they spare former loved ones. It also dismisses the idea of Zombies being any more than slowly decaying corpses, along with the notion of the “Hollywood Zombie” and the “Voodoo Zombie is an actual zombie”. It also classifies the size of outbreaks and how to recognize an outbreak for what it truly is.
The next section is where the action really begins to occur. This section talks the type of weapons to bring into combat against the undead. For example you should NOT bring a chainsaw or any other power tool into undead combat scenarios. As this does nothing but attract about twice as many zombies for every one you kill. It also talks about firearms, to exemplify; bolt action or semi-automatic rifles are the best weapons to bring into undead combat. Because you need to go for carefully well placed headshots. Not running around with a Machine Gun shooting and screaming like you’re and action hero in a cheesy 80’s action flick. No zombie killing is more of an art than anything else.
This section would probably be one of the most important for any home owner as home defense manual tactics are completely worthless against the undead. We are talking about how to defend your home from the living dead. It describes how to fortify and keep your family (if you have one) safe from the cold dead hands of the monstrous Ghouls literally at the doors. In any zombie scenario the higher place you have with no real access, the safer you will be against the undead. So when you start hearing hellish moans and screams. The time has come to grab what you need, get upstairs and destroy that staircase.
“On The Run” is possibly one of the most important parts of this book. This section details how to escape from zombies in case your refuge gets overrun or needs to be abandoned. It also gives tips on what terrain to use and what vehicle a person should use and what to do when travelling through an infested area. One important tip is to avoid Urban Areas at all costs. This is because of the massive amount of zombies that congregate there because that is where most of the food is likely to be and of how long it also takes to search a decently sized city like Tampa. The next portion of the guide is on how to HUNT zombies. The exact opposite of the previous section. This tells you how to use the terrain to find and eliminate zombies in about any environment. From the dry, hot deserts like the Mojave to the dark underwater depths of bays like Tampa Bay or the Great Lakes. This information is crucial if you want to clear an infested area of zombies when no other option is available.
This last section is the most theoretical of the bunch. This section describes what to do to survive when all of civilization has collapsed and the undead rule the earth. It gives tips on what terrain types are preferable in the face of raiders and legions of the undead. For example: a secluded island is much better for this type of survival than a temperate forest on the mainland. This is only theoretical as this has never been known to have occurred ever. If it did your best bet is to go to the islands ASAP.
This last section would probably be the most debatable of the whole book. This section describes every major historically recorded attack in Human history. Going all way back to about 60,000 BC, to the most recent one around 2002 AD on the US Virgin Isles. This section is highly debatable and can either be argued as fiction or nonfiction. Making this a hotly discussed book between believers and nonbelievers.
Overall this book presents itself as a book of nonfiction and a manual on how to survive the undead. If this book is to be believed then it should be heeded. This book is pretty accurate with zombie lore and even goes as far as to provide an “accurate” timeline to undead history. I would have to give this book a 4.5 out of 5. Sure while it does express itself in a clear and consistent manner. The content just makes the whole of this book laughable and just downright absurd to someone who doesn'tMax Brooks believe in zombies. I personally don’t but I would still recommend getting this book. It is a great read and is a New York Times bestseller. After all, when the zombies come you want to be prepared, don’t you?