The Zombie Survival Guide

click the zombie, Tor Johnson, to enlarge

The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection From the Living Dead (2003), by Max Brooks, is a detailed physiology and genealogy of the undead, with a road map for survival against zombie attacks—random attacks as well as more concerted, global uprisings. I am reading this book now. The Survival Guide delves into the zombie myth from the ground up and explains the role of the solanus virus in creating the undead. It's a good read. . .at least if you're a zombie fan. There are clearly parallels with the world of greys and aliens, although the promulgators of the zombie myth seem to have—shall we say?—more of a sense of humor about their subject matter than the UFOlogists. This isn't surprising when you consider that Max Brooks is the son of Mel Brooks.

Top 10 Lessons for Surviving a Zombie Attack

1. Organize before they rise!
2. They feel no fear, why should you?
3. Use your head: cut off theirs.
4. Blades don’t need reloading.
5. Ideal protection = tight clothes, short hair.
6. Get up the staircase, then destroy it.
7. Get out of the car, get onto the bike.
8. Keep moving, keep low, keep quiet, keep alert!
9. No place is safe, only safer.
10. The zombie may be gone, but the threat lives on.

Some of my favorite horror movies star zombies, notably, Romero's The Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead/Day of the Dead/Land of the Dead series. But don't forget White Zombie, and Zombi II, Peter Jackson's Braindead, and of course, the recent Shaun of the Dead, and 28 Days Later. As for videogames, I do have a soft spot in my heart for games like Silent Hill, Resident Evil, House of the Dead, and one of my quirky Japanese favorites, Typing of the Dead.



The guide goes into detail on:

1.1 Myths and Realities
1.2 Weapons and Combat Techniques
1.3 On the Defensive
1.4 On the Run
1.4.1 Terrain types
1.5 On the Attack
1.6 Living in an Undead World
1.7 Recorded Attacks
1.8 Appendix
2 Solanum
2.1 How it works
2.2 Cross-species infection
2.3 Symptoms
3 Cultural appeal
3.1 Humor fans
3.2 Zombie fans

Brooks' suggests that the best defense is an M1 Carbine semi-automatic rifle, a good handgun with a mounted sight, and a machete. Shotguns and swords also do the job, of course. Brooks warns against fully automatic weapons (only one bullet will takw down a zombie; using any more is a waste of ammo). If you love zombies, you'll want to buy this book! The chapter on Recorded Attacks provides enough ammo to spook any group ranged around a campfire.
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