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{{Short description|2003 fictional survival manual by Max Brooks}}
{{Infobox_Book
{{Infobox Book
| name = The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection From the Living Dead
| name = The Zombie Survival Guide
| image = ]
| image = Zombiesurvivalguide.jpg
| author = ]
| alt = The cover to The Zombie Survival Guide
| cover_artist = ]
| country = ] | author = ]
| cover_artist = Max Werner
| language = ]
| country = United States
| subject = ]
| genre = ] | language = English
| subject = ]
| genre = ],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400049622 |title=The Zombie Survival Guide |access-date=2009-02-15 |publisher=Random House }}</ref> ], ]
| publisher = Three Rivers Press | publisher = Three Rivers Press
| release_date = ], ] | release_date = September 16, 2003
| media_type = Print (]) | media_type = Print (]), ]
| pages = 272 | pages = 272
| isbn = 1-4000-4962-8
| isbn = ]
| oclc = 51251720
| followed_by = ]
}} }}
{{Zombies}}
{{portal|Novels}}
'''''The Zombie Survival Guide''''' is the first book written by American author ], published in 2003. It is a ] ] about ], containing information about zombie physiology and behavior, defense strategies and tactics, and includes case studies of possible zombie outbreaks throughout history. Despite its fictional subject matter, the book also includes practical information on ], generally.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thepopbreak.com/2011/10/20/interview-author-max-brooks/ |title=Interview: Author Max Brooks |last=Barna |first=Maxwell |date=30 October 2011 |website=The Pop Break |access-date=2021-03-31 |quote=I think many of the things mentioned in the novel, things like self-defense techniques, types of terrain and how to traverse them, defending ones home, etc., are all very practical and useful pieces of knowledge for just about everyone, even if they’re not fighting off the zombie hordes.}}</ref>


Brooks' second book, '']'' (2006), is a follow-up to ''The Zombie Survival Guide'', describing the events of a ] possibly set in the same ].
'''''The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection From the Living Dead''''', published in ], is a ] survival manual that deals with the potentiality of an ] attack. Its author, ], lays out detailed plans for the average citizen to survive ] (alternatively referred to as ]s) uprisings of multiple intensities.


==Contents== ==Contents==
The book is divided into seven sections and an appendix. The first section contains information on the nature of "Solanum", a virus that causes zombification, as well as the physical attributes of zombies and a classification system for the severity of hypothetical zombie outbreaks. The next five sections cover practical survival skills and advice for coping with a zombie outbreak, including combat, defense preparations, methods of transportation, and adapting to a world overrun with zombies. The final section lists recorded zombie attacks throughout history.
The book is divided up into seven separate chapters, plus appendix.


The appendix is an "outbreak journal" for the reader to record incidents of possible zombie activity or outbreaks, including dates, locations, distance, specifics, and actions taken in response. It contains an example entry describing a suspicious news report about a family that had been murdered and partially eaten, and the preparedness steps taken by the entry's author as a result.
===Myths and Realities===
This chapter lays down the specific ground rules that are referenced repeatedly in the book. The most important of these is the description of Solanum, the ] that causes zombies, along with how it is spread, how to treat the infected, and why the zombie infection is not spread to non-human creatures.


==Background==
The introductory chapter also outlines what abilities zombies have, the differences between real zombies and ] zombies, and how to detect an outbreak in the media. Also listed are the four classes of zombie outbreaks, with Class 4 featuring the undead as the dominant life form on the planet.
In a 2013 interview with '']'', Brooks said he felt his literary agent had marketed the book as a parody, saying "How I think my agent pitched them was like, ]' son, who has just won an ] for 'S.N.L.,' wrote this unbelievable parody, tongue in cheek, he never breaks character. He's totally making fun of a zombie plague." However, he considered the book to be in the ] genre, rather than humor, saying "I can't think of anything less funny than dying in a zombie attack."<ref>{{cite news |last=Brodesser-Akner |first=Taffy |date=21 June 2013 |title=Max Brooks Is Not Kidding About the Zombie Apocalypse |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/23/magazine/max-brooks-is-not-kidding-about-the-zombie-apocalypse.html |access-date=1 April 2021}}</ref>


Brooks' second book, ''World War Z'', is a follow-up to ''The Zombie Survival Guide''. Brooks has stated that the zombies in ''World War Z'' obey the same laws described in ''The Zombie Survival Guide'', and suggested that they may exist in the same fictional universe.<ref name=eat>{{cite web|url=http://www.eatmybrains.com/showfeature.php?id=55 |title=Exclusive Interview: Max Brooks on World War Z |work=Eat My Brains! |date=October 20, 2006 |access-date=1 April 2021}}</ref>
===Weapons and Combat Techniques===
The second chapter takes an exhaustive look at the myriad of weapons at the reader's disposal, and weighs them against the various threats that may be faced during an undead seige.


==Reception==
Weapon categories include ]s, manual-powered ranged weapons (such as ]s and ]s), ]s, and ]. Physical conditioning is also heavily stressed.
The book was generally well received as both informative and entertaining. However, some critics struggled to classify the book as either a satirical parody or a sincere exploration of the zombie genre. Recommending the book for zombie enthusiasts, ] of ] wrote "Most people assume that Brooks wrote this book as a joke, and perhaps he did — but I'm not laughing," and that "only a moron or an absolutely shameless zombie dork like myself would read these books and take every word at face value. But that's pretty much exactly what I do."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Halpern |first1=Jake |title=Beware, Zombies: This 'Guide' Will Save Humankind |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121713882 |website=NPR.org |access-date=9 March 2022}}</ref> ] called the book an "outrageous parody of a survival guide" which was amusing but "unnecessarily exhaustive".<ref>{{cite web |title=The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-4000-4962-2 |website=Publishers Weekly |access-date=9 March 2022 |date=15 September 2003}}</ref> ] described the book as akin to a "roleplaying game sourcebook", saying Brooks "uses a particular blend of dark humor and horror" and "treats the subject with such an earnest and serious tone".<ref>{{cite web |title=Primary Sources: The Zombie Survival Guide |url=http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=4645 |website=Steve Jackson Games |access-date=9 March 2022 |date=2 April 2004}}</ref>


==Adaptations==
===On the Defensive===
===Comic book===
As the chapter's name suggests, this portion of ''The Zombie Survival Guide'' is focused on remaining stationary in an undead ambush. Relevant to only Class 1 or 2 outbreaks, advice is dispensed in regards to how the reader can fortify their home (either single- or two-story), as well as what equipment should be kept on hand. A number of non-residential locales, such as ]s, ]s, and ]es, are taken into consideration. Advice is dispensed on what activities to avoid in the makeshift fortification to ensure the undead are not attracted to its location.
A promotional ] ], ''The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks'', was released on October 6, 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307405777 |title=The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks |access-date=2009-05-22 |work= Random House |date=October 6, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/recordedattacks/ |title=Max Brooks Zombie World |work= Random House |date= 2008-09-17}}</ref> It was written by Brooks and illustrated by Brazilian artist Ibraim Roberson.<ref>Langley, Nick. (November, 2008). . Retrieved March 15, 2009 from Rocket Llama World Headquarters</ref>


===Film adaptation===
For a Class 3 outbreak, a make-shift fortress is recommended. A list of potential buildings is given, along with instructions on fortifying the position.
A ] based on Brooks' follow-up novel ''World War Z'', directed by ] and starring ], was released in 2013.


===On the Run=== ==References==
{{Reflist}}
Chapter four deals with avoiding the undead while simultaneously remaining mobile. In the author's own words, "Crossing an infected area is generally the most dangerous thing you can do. You will never be safe, never be secure. you will know what it means to be prey."


==External links==
Due to the lack of access to a base of operations, suggestions for food rations and equipment necessary are scaled back for the sake of mobility, which gains more importance in such a situation. Mental and physical training is suggested prior to a group of survivors leaving their safe house. As in the previous chapter, emphasis is placed on remaining invisible to ghouls, with combat ranking lower than complete avoidance.
* {{official|http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/zombiesurvivalguide/}}
*
* in '']'' 2
*
*
*
*


{{World War Z}}
Though most of the advice assumes the reader is preparing for a trek on foot, several vehicles are considered, such as ]s, ]s, ]s, and ]s. Additional advice covers the various terrain types (see below) that the reader might encounter in their expedition, as well as specific sections dealing with areal and aquatic modes of transportation.


{{DEFAULTSORT:Zombie Survival Guide, The}}
====Terrain Types====
]
The following terrain types are referenced throughout chapters four, five, and six.
]

]
* ]
]
* ]s
]
* ]s
]
* ]s
* ]s
* ]
* ]
* ]

===On the Attack===
While chapters three and four emphasized ''avoiding'' the undead, chapter five is specifically about engaging ghouls to ensure their destruction.

The first portion of this chapter outlines several rules to be followed to allow for a successful threat elimination. Also covered are weapons and transportation. As this chapter recommends that zombie destruction squads launch from a primary base of operations (presumably with a sizable supply cache), equipment requirements are much lower, and advice presented in the previous chapter in regards to vehicles (with the emphasis on ]) is reversed to match the shift of priorities.

Additional advice is given for various anti-zombie strategies, as well as specifics for securing the various terrain types listed above. Extra advice is given for subaquatic undead eradication.

===Living in an Undead World===
Billed as a ], a Class 4 outbreak would see battle for humanity's survival shift in the zombies' favor. Advice for this section is adapted from previous sections; recommendations for surviving a seige is repeated, though altered for relevancy to the long-term entrenchment a Class 4 outbreak represents.

''The Zombie Survival Guide'' recommends putting together a team ''before'' a zombie outbreak; by pooling resources, a group can construct and stock a more secure bunker and purchase more land further away from possible infestation zones. Aside from the physical conditioning mentioned in chapter four, additional preventive measures involve substantial reading and studying, primarily in form of other survival guides, but also in history (such as early European American colonists) and ]; to round out a library, fictional survival stories (such as ]) are also recommended.

Stealth is emphasized more in this chapter than in previous sections, with strict guidelines recommended to protect the reader both from the undead and from rogue humans who might prove untrustworthy. Once again, various terrain types are examined; the reader is recommended to build their fortress in the harshest conditions possible, to further reduce the risk of ghoul attack.

===Recorded Attacks===
The guide concludes with a partial list of documented zombie encounters throughout history, ranging from mere anecdotes to full-blown infestations. Several entries run together, with a lone zombie "survivor" from one outbreak traveling a great distance to start another outbreak hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Not all of these connected entries are chronologically contiguous, however. Several entries relate anecdotes where the subject has run across a locale whose outbreak occurred dozens of years before their arrival; one minor outbreak was sparked by the thawing of a 415 year-old zombie.

The oldest entry is ], in Katanda, ], although the author expresses doubt to its validity. Instead, he presents evidence from ] in Hieraconpolis, ] as the first verifiable instance of a zombie outbreak. The most recent entry is ], ].

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

==Cultural Appeal==
As a primarily niche-oriented piece of fiction, ''The Zombie Survival Guide'' appeals largely to two groups:

===Humor Fans===
The book's humor is derived from its ] delivery. While examining the menace that zombies represent in great detail, from the biological makeup of a zombie to anti-zombie tactics in different strategic situations, the book never alludes to considering its subject as anything less than a real, plausible threat to mankind.

Throughout the book, unnamed "research" is cited as the backup for most arguments, though individual events (as listed in the '''Recorded Attacks''' chapter) are also cited where relevant. The reader is frequently warned that the advice is ignored at the reader's own peril, with the end result of "cold hands gripping your arm and dirty, worn teeth biting into your flesh" being a very real possibility.

===Zombie Fans===
The book attempts to definitively state the rules for zombie-related ]. Clarified subjects include:
*How zombies are created (though it is never explained where they come from)
*Why exactly zombies can only be killed by damage done to the head
*How zombies are unaffected by standard offensive tactics
*Why zombies qualify as "undead"

Presented facts are largely compatible with events and/or concepts seen in various ], adding another level of authenticity for fans of the genre.

==External link==

]

Latest revision as of 19:40, 26 September 2024

2003 fictional survival manual by Max Brooks
The Zombie Survival Guide
The cover to The Zombie Survival Guide
AuthorMax Brooks
Cover artistMax Werner
LanguageEnglish
SubjectZombies
GenreHumor, Horror, Informative
PublisherThree Rivers Press
Publication dateSeptember 16, 2003
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Paperback), Ebook
Pages272
ISBN1-4000-4962-8
OCLC51251720
Followed byWorld War Z 
Zombies
In media

The Zombie Survival Guide is the first book written by American author Max Brooks, published in 2003. It is a fictional survival manual about zombies, containing information about zombie physiology and behavior, defense strategies and tactics, and includes case studies of possible zombie outbreaks throughout history. Despite its fictional subject matter, the book also includes practical information on disaster preparedness, generally.

Brooks' second book, World War Z (2006), is a follow-up to The Zombie Survival Guide, describing the events of a zombie apocalypse possibly set in the same fictional universe.

Contents

The book is divided into seven sections and an appendix. The first section contains information on the nature of "Solanum", a virus that causes zombification, as well as the physical attributes of zombies and a classification system for the severity of hypothetical zombie outbreaks. The next five sections cover practical survival skills and advice for coping with a zombie outbreak, including combat, defense preparations, methods of transportation, and adapting to a world overrun with zombies. The final section lists recorded zombie attacks throughout history.

The appendix is an "outbreak journal" for the reader to record incidents of possible zombie activity or outbreaks, including dates, locations, distance, specifics, and actions taken in response. It contains an example entry describing a suspicious news report about a family that had been murdered and partially eaten, and the preparedness steps taken by the entry's author as a result.

Background

In a 2013 interview with The New York Times, Brooks said he felt his literary agent had marketed the book as a parody, saying "How I think my agent pitched them was like, Mel Brooks' son, who has just won an Emmy for 'S.N.L.,' wrote this unbelievable parody, tongue in cheek, he never breaks character. He's totally making fun of a zombie plague." However, he considered the book to be in the self-help genre, rather than humor, saying "I can't think of anything less funny than dying in a zombie attack."

Brooks' second book, World War Z, is a follow-up to The Zombie Survival Guide. Brooks has stated that the zombies in World War Z obey the same laws described in The Zombie Survival Guide, and suggested that they may exist in the same fictional universe.

Reception

The book was generally well received as both informative and entertaining. However, some critics struggled to classify the book as either a satirical parody or a sincere exploration of the zombie genre. Recommending the book for zombie enthusiasts, Jake Halpern of NPR wrote "Most people assume that Brooks wrote this book as a joke, and perhaps he did — but I'm not laughing," and that "only a moron or an absolutely shameless zombie dork like myself would read these books and take every word at face value. But that's pretty much exactly what I do." Publishers Weekly called the book an "outrageous parody of a survival guide" which was amusing but "unnecessarily exhaustive". Pyramid described the book as akin to a "roleplaying game sourcebook", saying Brooks "uses a particular blend of dark humor and horror" and "treats the subject with such an earnest and serious tone".

Adaptations

Comic book

A promotional tie-in comic book, The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks, was released on October 6, 2008. It was written by Brooks and illustrated by Brazilian artist Ibraim Roberson.

Film adaptation

A film adaptation based on Brooks' follow-up novel World War Z, directed by Marc Forster and starring Brad Pitt, was released in 2013.

References

  1. "The Zombie Survival Guide". Random House. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
  2. Barna, Maxwell (30 October 2011). "Interview: Author Max Brooks". The Pop Break. Retrieved 2021-03-31. I think many of the things mentioned in the novel, things like self-defense techniques, types of terrain and how to traverse them, defending ones home, etc., are all very practical and useful pieces of knowledge for just about everyone, even if they're not fighting off the zombie hordes.
  3. Brodesser-Akner, Taffy (21 June 2013). "Max Brooks Is Not Kidding About the Zombie Apocalypse". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  4. "Exclusive Interview: Max Brooks on World War Z". Eat My Brains!. October 20, 2006. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  5. Halpern, Jake. "Beware, Zombies: This 'Guide' Will Save Humankind". NPR.org. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  6. "The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead". Publishers Weekly. 15 September 2003. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  7. "Primary Sources: The Zombie Survival Guide". Steve Jackson Games. 2 April 2004. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  8. "The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks". Random House. October 6, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
  9. "Max Brooks Zombie World". Random House. 2008-09-17.
  10. 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

External links

World War Z
Max Brooks
Novels
Film
Video games
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