Zombie survival guide

Zombie survival guide

Could you survive a zombie apocalypse? Could you turn your home into a fortress against zombie infestation? Could you reach the safety of your friends in time? Find out with the Zombie Survival Guide – a tongue-in-cheek manual explaining exactly how to survive a zombie attack.

The Zombie Survival Guide, published in 2003, is a tongue-in-cheek 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. It’s well-written, witty, disturbingly believable… And definitive. After reading the first 50 pages you will be an expert on zombie defence strategies and never look at humble garden tools in the same light again.

The Zombie Survival Guide is divided into six separate chapters, a fictional 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 fictional 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 (note the American spelling, world citizens), 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.

Elimate all your undead concerns with the definitive Zombie Survival Guide. Before it’s too late.


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