World War Z

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
by Max Brooks
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Crown (September 12, 2006)
ISBN: 0307346609

FROM ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Remember the final scene in Night of the Living Dead where the black guy gets blown away by that gun-toting redneck and you realize, Whoa, this movie is about more than just the undead? Max Brooks' first novel, World War Z, has about 10 times the number of moments like that. Of course, great zombie stories have never been solely about walking corpses. There's always a great metaphor at their core, the films of George Romero being prime examples.

Max Brooks (who's trod this ground before with 2003's entertaining but slight faux manual, The Zombie Survival Guide) concocts an addictively readable oral history — basically a collection of interviews — with people involved in the great human-zombie war. The conflict starts in China with a virus and spreads around the globe until the undead are everywhere. People panic, retreat, and then start to fight back.

The sheer number of voices (Russian priests, blind Japanese warriors, American grunts) that Brooks channels is impressive, and the abundance of movie-ready scenes (a Chinese submarine being attacked by clawing underwater zombies) is geekily cool. Yet World War Z is more than just an endless succession of filmable set pieces. With his surprisingly realistic takes on government inadequacy, disaster preparedness, and public panic, Brooks subconsciously references worldwide crises from 9/11 to tribal civil wars to Hurricane Katrina, producing a debut that will grab you as tightly as a dead man's fist. Grade: A

Copyright © 2006 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc.

All rights reserved.

I bought this book based on the review (above) I read in Entertainment Weekly. I thought the premise was interesting enough (I'm almost exclusively a Scifi/Fantasy/Horror reader) but what caught my eye was the grade of A bestowed upon a book in the Zombie genre. It must be good.
I picked it up from my neighborhood Borders book store on a Saturday afternoon. I had finished it by early Sunday morning. I can count on one hand, the number of books I've read in one day.
I enjoyed so many aspects of the book, from it's Ken Burns-style presentation to the grand scale of the world stage while Brooks communicates the individual stories of "The Plague Years." It's unique that the author chose to set the "present" 10 years after the end of "hostilities" enabling him to explain all those things we've wondered about after reading an apocolypic tale.
The characters voices are distinct and their stories are sad, funny, gut-wretching, inspirational, scary, but always interesting.
The zombies are almost bit-players in this novel, possibly because the focus isn't on them as much as it is on the people trying to survive the onslaught. I think that the premise is a nice combination of two kinds of diasters that realistically threaten most of the world today... death by disease and the terror of invasion.
Obviously, I recommend this book very highly, five out of five stars.

Bush's Problem

You know what Bush's problem is?
A belief that he knows what is best for everyone and an unwillingness to listen to opposing points of views. He exhibits a certain arrogance that, seemingly, attracts many Americans. Or it used to. Bush's problem came when he needed to make good on his down-home words and quick promises.

A LITTLE HISTORY
I'll be upfront... I really dislike President Bush and, in general, his current Administration.
The reasons for this dislike are based solely on job performance and not political affiliation. I guess I'm most disappointed in the American majority who voted to reelect him. I thought his shortcomings were so obvious that I didn't think he could possibly voted into a second term.

As a rule, I favor Democrates over Republicans, and favor Green, Reform, or Independent candidates over Democrates. That being said, I have a favorable view of California's current govenor, Arnold Schwartznagger, a republican who doesn't stay within party policy boundries. Then again, there was San Diego Representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham. A republican who took millions in bribes. (more on Rep. Cunningham in a future blog)

Ultimately, the current Republican has taken it upon themselves to circumvent the laws and rights that have defined the United States for the past 230 years.

I believe it was an early U.S. president that said... "Those who would trade freedom for security deserve neither."

I would ask all those who voted for Bush (especially those who helped re-elect him) to be a little more vigilant, a little more conscience of whom they elect. Don't vote for someone just because you think he'd make a good drinking buddy.

Why Pluto is not a planet.

Text of the resolutions approved Thursday by the International Astronomical Union, which define planets and downgrade Pluto:

Contemporary observations are changing our understanding of planetary systems, and it is important that our nomenclature for objects reflect our current understanding. This applies, in particular, to the designation “planets.” The word “planet” originally described “wanderers” that were known only as moving lights in the sky. Recent discoveries lead us to create a new definition, which we can make using currently available scientific information.The IAU therefore resolves that “planets” and other bodies, except satellites, in our Solar System be defined into three distinct categories in the following way:

(1) A “planet” is a celestial body that
(a) is in orbit around the sun,
(b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and
(c) has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.

(2) A “dwarf planet” is a celestial body that
(a) is in orbit around the sun,
(b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape,
(c) has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit, and
(d) is not a satellite.

(3) All other objects, except satellites, orbiting the sun shall be referred to collectively as “Small Solar-System Bodies.”

The eight planets are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

The IAU further resolves:

Pluto is a “dwarf planet” by the above definition and is recognized as the prototype of a new category of trans-Neptunian objects.

From an article By William J. Kole
ASSOCIATED PRESS
8:58 a.m. August 24, 2006
AP Science Writer Alicia Chang in Los Angeles contributed to the story.