Writer: Max Brooks
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Sub-Title: Complete Protection From The Living Dead
Category: Book, Zombie
Synopsis: This book was designed to help you prepare for an outbreak. Whether that outbreak is small or doomsday, after reading this text, you will be ready. The book also outlines many other very important things; such as best and worst weapons to use when on the attack or defense, best and worst places to hide, how to fortify a building (residential, commercial, or industrial), best and worst terrains for attacking and retreating. The list goes on…so let’s just get right to it, shall we…?
Ch. 1: This chapter was designed to explain the causation of a zombie and the differences between actual zombies, Hollywood zombies, and Voodoo zombies. Also, this chapter explains the physiology of an actual zombie including myths and legends. Ending this chapter is a detailed explanation of four separate classes of zombie outbreaks; ranging from just a handful to complete, world-wide domination!
Ch. 2: This chapter details weapons, armor, and combat strategies. It explains which weapons will aid your attack and which ones will hinder it. Armor, on the other hand, although explained still, is highly cautioned against. Not that armor is bad, but the kind of armor that we see in movies is not of any aid to your journey.
Ch. 3: This chapter describes, in detail, how to secure almost any type of building; from domestic, to corporate, to military. Also details what you would need to survive for the duration of your hold-up. Includes which domiciles, domestic or otherwise, are best for a safe hold-up.
Ch. 4: Chapter four was designed to instruct you on how to escape and elude the living dead. This includes terrain types travel methods and supplies needed. Turns out that a nice Hum-V isn’t on Mr. Brook’s list of getaway vehicles.
Ch. 5: This chapter was designed to help aid you in your offensive. This includes dos and don’ts, best and worst offensive methods, and how to use the terrain to your advantage. Also details strategic plans for different search-and-destroy missions and how they should be conducted.
Ch. 6: This chapter archives the coming years of you and your party, as you hold up in your safe-house. Lists ways to help you decide where to place your stronghold, and how to manage it. Also instructs on how to keep busy and use down-time wisely. Probably one of the most important chapters apart from Ch. 2; the weapons chapter.
Ch. 7: This chapter chronicles as many recorded attacks as could be compiled over time. Includes detailed descriptions of these unfortunate attacks, and citations of excerpts from actual texts documenting the tales. Ranging from pre-B.C. to the early years of the 21st century, this is a woeful tale of humanities inability to squelch this undead threat.
Review: I would have to say that after reading about this book for the first time, it was less than two weeks before it was mine…all mine. After reading it twice I decided it was time to share this masterpiece with you.
Many surprising things were revealed in this book that, I think, many people do not understand. From how to decipher a Voodoo zombie from an actual zombie, to understanding that a chainsaw is probably not your best bet against your undead assailant. It was the weapons chapter that hooked me the most; I never actually sat and thought about the repercussions of using a gas-powered device, or even fire. But scientifically proven strategies have gone in one eye and festered in my brain. I had actually bought this book for my brother for Christmas; because when the day comes when it’s time to go…I don’t want to be the only one in the family who knows what to do!
Overall I would have to say that this text really, really impressed me. I was not expecting such attention to detail or even a serious context at all. Apart from the fictional virus Solanum, of which is actually “…a large, variable genus of annual plants and perennial plants, forbs, vines, sub-shrubs, shrubs, and small trees”, everything else is centered around the actual physiology of the zombie. This text should not be taken lightly; what would you do when the living dead converge on your measly little two-bedroom bungalow? Cry for mommy? Boo-hoo, boo-hoo…
P.S. I have no sympathy for the ignorant.
Rating: 25. There is no question as to the rating. Any text devoted to the deciphering of, defending against, and disposal of the living dead should be a number-one, best-seller! I would like to take this time to say something…
Thank you, Max Brooks, for opening my eyes to the pitiful, ignorant world around me. Thank you for helping me prepare for the end of the world as we know it; consequently saving my wife and daughter. Thank you for instructing me on the proper ways of disposal of the undead and how to combat them successfully. Once again…thank you.
A compilation of fact and fiction wonderfully betrothed into a first-ever guide against the living dead. (25of25).
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