Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks

I'm at odds with myself over this book. I enjoyed it because it was funny, but I can't help the feeling that instead of paying homage to the movies that helped spawn such a guide, it looks down at them. Mainly it does this with its origin of the zombies. Most zombies on the big screen are created by various means be it radiation, chemicals, voodoo, pissing off Satan, etc. In Brooks' book, zombies are created by a virus that is passable through blood and bites and gives them superhuman powers of hearing and sight. This was a necessary invention to help decide where to begin with dealing with a zombie outbreak since you could write several chapters easily on the different types of outbreaks, but it seems to me this also cheats the main buyers of the book who would be familiar with zombie movies and different types of the undead.

The book describes in true survival fashion what you would need to survive outbreaks of varying degrees, including different types of terrain, building choices, weapons, fighting, hunting and more. The detail is very precise and each element is cohesive and adds to what comes before to give the guide a true survivalist feeling. It is an enjoyable read, if you like the subject matter, and it is handled very seriously which only adds to the absurd humor of the book. I can recommend this book to zombie fans everywhere but I don't think the appeal will be broad enough to make this a hit with the masses.