Everyone knows the rules of zombies. They are horrifying beings, unstoppable except by brain damage, who crave human flesh and who infect other humans with their curse. We know this because zombie films are numerous and terrifying, from "The Night of the Living Dead" to "28 Days Later." And yet, Max Brook's "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War" is unlike any other zombie tale.
Most films take a narrow view of their topic, showing the trials of a few characters as they endeavor to survive the undead onslaught. The approach of "World War Z" couldn't be more different. Brooks chronicles the spread of the "disease" from Patient Zero in China to the entire planet in a collection of narratives, excerpts from perhaps 50 interviews 10 years after "the Crisis" ended, to the global effort to reclaim the world from the walking dead. Writing his history in broad strokes, Brooks uses his characters as witnesses, not persons; even those interview subjects with the most face time have perhaps 25 pages.
This is intentional. Brooks knows his strength lies not in characterization but in an understanding of not only the nature of zombies but also the nature of humans. Early warnings are missed, crucial reports go unheeded, profiteers make millions selling placebos, the army equips itself with tools perfect for the last war they fought and populations ignore the extent of threat until it is staring them in the face - this is, surprisingly, a post-Katrina zombie tale. While most attention is paid to the United States, Brooks casts a wide eye, and shows the variety of reactions to the Crisis from various nations. Without spoiling anything, let it be said that North Korea's fate seems in line with Kim Jong-Il's persona - and it terrifies.
Actually, the entire book is sufficiently terrifying for most readers, and not always in a blood-and-guts way, either. The book's ends-justify-the-means ethos excites more fear than any walking dead. People are forced to do the unthinkable for the Greater Good or their own skins, knowing it will haunt them for the rest of their lives. The Redeker Plan, the strategy which ultimately saves the human race, is effective on such a level that Machiavelli would have paled. But what could have been done differently? That is the terror that lingers, long after the book is closed.
