Neil Gaiman www.NeilgaimanBoard.com www.NeilgaimanBoard.com The World's End Other Writers Max Brooks: World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
www.NeilgaimanBoard.com www.NeilgaimanBoard.com The World's End Other Writers Max Brooks: World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War|
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Put simply: A non-fiction book about a fictional global infestation of the undead.
The author though, is a genius. Writing as if an after-action investigator, who presents a plethora of one-on-one interviews with characters from all over the world over the various phases of the war: the outset and outbreak, the "Great Panic", the retreat of mankind, and finally stabilization and containment. Max Brooks is very good at assessing possible geopolitical outcomes...for example, Israel self-quarantines early on, because of its governments' largely no-nonsense approach to threats. When the outbreak becomes global, Iran and Pakistan have a border skirmish over the millions of refugees, which escalates into a low-level nuclear exchange. The US Army gets trounced at 'Yonkers', and he goes through precisely why this is, very plausibly. He's certainly done his homework and the interviews detail personal accounts of bravery and survival but also of common stupidity and error and luck. Different countries approach the matter in different ways. The solution to the Undead is cold-hearted and shocking, but make sense. Ah! I can't explain enough...there's so much I want to say! Anyway I loved this book. You should all read it  Wikipedia has an article on the book and it details briefly what happened to the mentioned countries.It's amusing that Cuba emerges as a rich, capitalist democracy and the US gets universal healthcare. "There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know." |
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Sittin' at the dock of the Bayeaux Tapestry Member  |
Ahem. Forgot I was still usuing old Handcuff.
 "The other night I dreamed that King George VI was dead, and that Helen Hardinge had somehow or other got herself proclaimed Queen of England, and that I was detailed to go and tell her that it wouldn't do at all; and when I did this, all she said was, 'You see, I am really Queen Mary,' and I said, 'Oh very well' - words to that effect, and woke up. Last night I dreamed that Eisenhower came to stay with us, and he insisted on being put to sleep in the dog kennel, with a collar and chain about his neck." - Sir Alan Lascelles, 19 February 1980 |
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Lexis Nexus Member  |
sounds pretty cool
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is part of the international oatmeal conspiracy Member  |
its mine next, don't forget
 High Ranking Official of the Realm of Unproductivity and Procrastination, Dean of the UUP, First Class member of the order of the Pineapple. scruffy ambulating reanimated hypothetical vegetarian leigonairre of the undead. ~ Cav Look, I've got a cape and a tendency towards violence. It does not make me a superhero! ~ Domitella |
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Sittin' at the dock of the Bayeaux Tapestry Member |
It is!
And I hope you're enjoying it  "The other night I dreamed that King George VI was dead, and that Helen Hardinge had somehow or other got herself proclaimed Queen of England, and that I was detailed to go and tell her that it wouldn't do at all; and when I did this, all she said was, 'You see, I am really Queen Mary,' and I said, 'Oh very well' - words to that effect, and woke up. Last night I dreamed that Eisenhower came to stay with us, and he insisted on being put to sleep in the dog kennel, with a collar and chain about his neck." - Sir Alan Lascelles, 19 February 1980 |
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Neil Gaiman www.NeilgaimanBoard.com www.NeilgaimanBoard.com The World's End Other Writers Max Brooks: World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
www.NeilgaimanBoard.com www.NeilgaimanBoard.com The World's End Other Writers Max Brooks: World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War© YourCopy 2001