World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Prepare to be entranced by this addictively readable oral history of the great war between humans and zombies.”—Entertainment Weekly
 
We survived the zombie apocalypse, but how many of us are still haunted by that terrible time? We have (temporarily?) defeated the living dead, but at what cost? Told in the haunting and riveting voices of the men and women who witnessed the horror firsthand, World War Z is the only record of the pandemic.
 
The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.

THE INSPIRATION FOR THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE

“Will spook you for real.”The New York Times Book Review
 
“Possesses more creativity and zip than entire crates of other new fiction titles. Think Mad Max meets The Hot Zone. . . . It’s Apocalypse Now, pandemic-style. Creepy but fascinating.”USA Today
 
“Will grab you as tightly as a dead man’s fist. A.”Entertainment Weekly, EW Pick 
 
“Probably the most topical and literate scare since Orson Welles’s War of the Worlds radio broadcast . . . This is action-packed social-political satire with a global view.”Dallas Morning News

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Published Oct 16, 2007

342 pages

Average rating: 7.48

200 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *World War Z* is a unique take on zombie apocalypse fiction, praised for its realistic, multi-voiced narrative and exploration of societal...

Cynthia M.
Mar 28, 2026
8/10 stars
World War Z is a collective portrait of humanity under pressure. Through dozens of diverse voices, it explores human resilience with a realism that is more compelling than the horror itself. An intelligent masterpiece that makes you reflect on society, not on zombies.

doubleokay
Feb 22, 2026
8/10 stars
3.5
isareader
Dec 01, 2025
9/10 stars
wish another movie was made it to do it justice
Emz perz
Nov 28, 2025
6/10 stars
Okay
wardbunch
Mar 26, 2025
10/10 stars
Great audio book version. Loved the various actors doing the voice parts.

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