"The Crisis" nearly wiped out humanity. Brooks (son of Mel Brooks and
author of The Zombie Survival Guide, 2003) has taken it upon himself to
document the "first hand" experiences and testimonies of those lucky to
survive 10 years after the fictitious zombie war. Like a horror fan's
version of Studs Terkel's The Good War (1984), the "historical account"
format gives Brooks room to explore the zombie plague from numerous
different views and characters. In a deadpan voice, Brooks exhaustively
details zombie incidents from isolated attacks to full-scale military
combat: "what if the enemy can't be shocked and awed? Not just won't,
but biologically can't!" With the exception of a weak BAT-21 story in
the second act, the "interviews" and personal accounts capture the
universal fear of the collapse of society--a living nightmare in which
anyone can become a mindless, insatiable predator at a moment's notice.
Alas, Brad Pitt's production company has purchased the film rights to
the book--while it does have a chronological element, it's more similar
to a collection of short stories: it would make for an excellent 24-style
TV series or an animated serial. Regardless, horror fans won't be
disappointed: like George Romero's Dead trilogy, World War Z is another
milestone in the zombie mythos.

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