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The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead

Author: Max Brooks
Publisher: Gerald Duckworth & Co Ltd
Category: Book

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

42 reviews
Sales Rank: 623

Media: Paperback
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 4.8 x 0.7

ISBN: 071563318X
Dewey Decimal Number: 817
EAN: 9780715633182
ASIN: 071563318X

Publication Date: August 27, 2004
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New. Shipped from UK Mainland. Delivery is usually 2 - 3 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail.

Customer Reviews:

Showing reviews 6-10 of 42

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Excellent! December 26, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I've always been interested in zombies for some reason ever since watching the newer Dawn of the Dead (according to this book those zombies are completely unrealistic, and the zombies in the old Dawn of the Dead are much more accurate). So I saw this book and purchased it. I have read this book several times over now, and I never lose interest in it. The way it's written makes you think there is a 100% genuine chance that your neighbours are going to shuffle up the drive, wailing as they go. The book describes so many different aspects of zombie survival, including the behaviour of a true zombie, ways of turning a home in to a mini fortress and even goes into great detail on each different type of gun, and how effective it is against your undead foe. Whenever I walk around my house now, I subconsciouly check that the residents of my street are not undead (which is particularly hard because most of them are 80+). Sad, I know, but that's what this book does to you.

It actually made me double check I knew where the key to the cupboard where I keep my shotgun and cartridges was.

I'd recomend this book to anyone, whether they're interested in zombies or not.

3 out of 5 stars

be prepared! November 30, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

"the zombie survival guide" is really and truly a survival guide that tackles the question of how to survive if zombies were to unleash themselves upon the world. it is deadly serious, thoroughly researched and very carefully thought out. in fact, "thought out" has connotations of something that is invented, a fancy - so that isn't perhaps the right turn of phrase. planned, is better. yes, planned. max brooks has a plan - and its in this book.

brooks covers everything imaginable - the only things that he doesn't cover are those which one could find in other sources, like first aid etc. every eventuality, every consideration, every variable with regards to zombies has been considered. he covers weapons, terrain, combat techniques, battle strategies, transport, preparation guidelines and defending your stronghold. with each section he looks into the variables and the pros and cons of each option.

i was seriously impressed by his planning as i was reading the book and then there was one point that i got to when i realised "whoa, he really has thought of everything". it was in the chapter when he discusses how to maintain a stronghold and one of his points was "entertainment". he describes how every group must find out about the skills (whatever they be) of the group members and encourage them to learn songs or write skits or whatever, and perform them, the reason being that it is of vital importance for relaxation and morale. brooks really has thought of everything.

the end of the book contains a chronology of suspected outbreaks of zombie attacks, to provide a quasi-record. it also provides guidance on what to do (and what not to do) in a zombie attack.

i tell you, if one follows everything in this book then one has a serious chance at survival.

but, as good as this book is, as a read it left me a bit cold. to be frank, i found it a bit boring.

thats an odd thing to say, isn't it, considering how good it is and how much i love zombies - it doesn't seem to make sense. but the fact of the matter is the book is simply too dry. too factual. "yes, of course it is" you say, "its a survival guide". but, i guess, even though i knew it was a survival guide in my heart i still expected to be entertained.

brooks goes to tiresome lengths to cover everything and there is a stage, when one is halfway through the book, when one pretty much knows what he's going to say in most sentences. thats because the logic has already been established by then - the basic advantages and disadvantages of every strategy. the rest one can pretty much work out for oneself.

also, the book repeats itself. once the reader understands the advantage of a certain terrain then there really is no need for any further mention of it - but brooks devotes an entire chapter on how to use terrains when one is on the run or on the offence. granted, there are some differences as to how one uses it in defence, but something which could have been tacked on in the "defence" chapter or been a few pages in length, becomes several pages. and especially when one reads about bloody tundra or the dangers to safety in city streets for the third time, one's patience wears very thin indeed.

but then, i think if this is a failing, it is a failing because brooks is too thorough, too careful. he considers that one has read what has gone before, but for the most part he has written the book so that every section can be a self-contained piece of guidance. and so if there is a problem, it is perhaps not with the way brooks wrote the book, but with the way i read it. in retrospect, this is definitely a dip in and dip out kind of book. a coffee table book. a book for that moment when you think to yourself "i wonder which hideouts would be safest?".

although, as i sit here and write this, i think why couldn't there have been a little humour, a bit of horror, a bit of fun? is that so wrong? but i guess thats part of the book's whole angle - that it takes its premise so seriously. if it is humorous, then it was so dry that it totally passed me by (although, i must say, i couldn't help but find the illustrations funny. however, every time i did laugh i found myself feeling like a little boy, laughing at pictures in the bible or something).

the other thing to say is that while this is almost exclusively advertised as the "perfect companion to `world war z' " i must tell you that this is not true. yes, it might be interesting to pick up the survival guide and look and gauge how effective a weapon a character has chosen is, or read about a hideout that a group has chosen, but when i read it i didn't pick the guide up once. for one thing "world war z" is totally self-contained. the advantages and disadvantages behind the characters choices are given or inferred, because the book is a retrospective telling and the narrators all have the benefit of hindsight. the other thing is that the book is written for you, the individual, and how to survive by yourself or within a group, but a lot of the book looks at official organisations and how they dealt with the crisis.

so, while it is an interesting companion piece, it is by no means essential. at the very least i can tell you that you definitely don't have to "read it before you read `world war z' " as i told myself i had to. the best way to enjoy it is to grab whenever curiosity takes you. for that, this book is perfect. if you're like me and have spent any length of time seriously contemplating how to make a castle habitable, then this book is for you. if you have a question, theory, or if you're just curious as to how to kill zombies underwater (you hadn't thought of that one had you?! (well, i hadn't)), then theres a good chance brooks has the answer!

5 out of 5 stars

A laugh on every page November 16, 2007
2 out of 4 found this review helpful

This is a work of pure genius! It's tongue in cheek approach is perfectly weighted, this had me giggling along with every paragraph. Remember - your crowbar is your best friend!

5 out of 5 stars

wow September 24, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This book is perfect for anyone, like myself, who walks into a room and instantly scans for anything that could be used as a bludgeon on an undead attacker and for anyone, like myself, who has a plan for any scenario when zombies finaly do rise. This book answers all the questions you have asked yourself and even some you would have never thought of. My long term zombie plan went straight out of the window when i read this book. With the help of Max Brooks and his amazing book I have an all new plan that i am certain will hold up in any class of outbreak.

Now we just have to wait.

5 out of 5 stars

Zombie survival September 23, 2007
6 out of 7 found this review helpful

Like many reviewers here I spent time in my youth discussing zombie survival with friends after another gore-fest night in front of the TV. This book captures those conversations perfectly and elaborates them with real imagination and with an unnerving touch of reality. Again, as many reviewers note, you start reading it for fun, but as you let yourself get immersed in the ideas, and you relive your own musings on the theme, you find yourself starting to seriously consider your options in the light of this comprehensive survival guide. It is funny in places, no doubt, but it is also a great addition to the Zombie genre and a new take on an old theme. Well written, great little illustrations and well thought out ideas make for an enjoyable read. Worth a go.