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The Zombie Survival Guide

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The Zombie Survival Guide
The cover to The Zombie Survival Guide
AuthorMax Brooks
Cover artistMax Werner
LanguageEnglish
SubjectZombies
GenreHumor[1], Horror, Informative
PublisherThree Rivers Press
Publication date
September 16, 2003
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Paperback), Ebook
Pages272
ISBN1400049628
OCLC51251720

The Zombie Survival Guide, published in 2003, is a survival manual dealing with the potentiality of a zombie attack. Its author, Max Brooks, lays out detailed plans for the average citizen to survive zombie uprisings of varying intensity and reach.

Contents

The book is divided into six separate chapters, a list of attacks throughout history and an appendix.

The first chapter is entitled "The Undead: Myths and Realities". It lays down the specific ground rules that are referenced repeatedly in the book. The first of these describes "Solanum", the virus that creates a zombie, along with details on how it is spread (such as through an open wound, when coming in contact with infected blood or saliva), and treatment of the infected (suicide or amputation). The middle of this chapter explains the abilities and behavioral patterns of the Undead and the differences between "voodoo" zombies and zombies created by "Solanum". The end of the chapter discusses the levels of zombie outbreaks and how severe of a threat each is to mankind.

The second chapter, "Weapons and Combat Techniques", discusses the weapons at the average reader's disposal and weighs them against the various threats that may be faced during confrontations with the undead. The book recommends the M1 carbine and a machete, as portrayed on the cover of the book.

The third chapter, "On the Defense", focuses on how to turn residential or public building into a base. It discusses the pros and cons for each different type of building, what supplies to gather, where to find a new shelter and maintain a new one should it ever be over-run.

The fourth chapter, "On the Run", discusses the rules and necessities of traveling through zombie-infested territory. It also discusses types of terrain and the pros and cons of different types of transportation.

While all previous chapters emphasize avoiding zombies at all costs, chapter five, "On the Attack", however specifically deals with engaging ghouls to ensure their destruction. It discusses the strategies and tools to eradicate zombies from an area.

The sixth chapter, "Living in an Undead World" looks at survival during a doomsday scenario that would see zombies becoming the dominant species on Earth. Advice in this section is adapted from previous sections by referring to a more serious Class-4 outbreak (previous chapters discussed a less widespread Class-3 outbreak). Brooks explains the separate chapter is only useful in the case of a nearly-impossible outbreak, and primarily focuses on creating a new civilization as far away from current civilizations as possible.

The guide concludes with a fictional list of documented zombie encounters throughout history. The oldest entry is 60,000 BC, in Katanga, Central Africa, although the author expresses doubt to its validity. Instead, he presents evidence from 3,000 BC in Hieraconpolis, Egypt as the first verifiable instance of a zombie outbreak. The most recent entry is 2002, in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Appendix takes the form of a sample "Outbreak Journal", with the author noting a covered-up zombie outbreak being seen on the local news and the preparation steps he takes in the event that the outbreak worsens. The following pages are blank entries, for the reader to use as a basis for their own journal; their inclusion furthers the overall feel that the book is a survival guide to a life-threatening possibility.

Comic

Random House will be publishing a comic based on the The Zombie Survival Guide to be written by Brooks. It will be titled The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks and will be released on October 6, 2009.[2][3] Brazilian artist Ibraim Roberson is drawing the book.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Zombie Survival Guide". Random House. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
  2. ^ "The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks". Random House. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
  3. ^ "Recorded Attacks video". Random House. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
  4. ^ Langley, Nick. (November, 2008). Max Brooks, Mao Tse Tung, and the Mystery of the Missing Snapple. Retrieved March 15, 2009 from Rocket Llama World Headquarters: http://www.rocketllama.com/blog-it/2008/11/09/max-brooks-mao-tse-tung-and-the-mystery-of-the-missing-snapple/
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