Book Review

Sage Lamela

10-18-13

Harper English 10

Max Brooks' "The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead:" How to Survive an Apocalypse

Reviewed by: Sage Lamela

Admit it, there has been some point in your life where you have wondered what you would do in the event of a zombie apocalypse. You wonder where you would go, how you would defend yourself, and how you would survive.  In The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead, Max Brooks discusses all survival tactics, situations, and possibilities to help us survive a zombie apocalypse.

The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead is a parody survival guide to a fictional zombie apocalypse. In this fictional world, the dead have risen through the effects of the virus solanum. "By stopping the heart, the infected subject is "dead." The brain, however, remains alive but dormant, while the virus mutates it's cells into a completely new organ" (Brooks 2). Although the dead cannot think or reason, they are still highly dangerous. As in all zombie scenarios, the zombies are able to spread the disease to the living. Brooks  goes In depth with his tips and tricks on how to kill, avoid, and survive against the undead.

This book really showed the lighter sides of a disaster. Although this book was about an apocalyptic situation, one can't help but laugh at the kinds if tips and tricks Brooks gives in his book. "Often, a school is your best bet-perhaps not for education but certainly for protection from an undead attack" (Brooks 79). Brooks' tips look serious, but are actually products of Brooks' comedy genius. With this book, Brooks not only entertains his readers by preparing them for apocalypse, he also puts on comedy show without ever really showing it.

Although the book is meant to be a parody, it also teaches the reader a couple of tips that can be applied to real life. "If you believe you can accomplish everything by "cramming" at the eleventh hour, by all means, don't lift a finger now. But you may think twice about beginning to build your ark once it has already started raining" (Brooks 78). Who would've known that life lessons could come from a fiction book about surviving the undead. With tips like these, Brooks shows us that his book isn't just straight up about how to outlast zombies, but it is also about how we can connect the things we learn everyday to the situations we go through in life.

As I review this book, it becomes very hard to find any flaws. One possible thing wrong with The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead the loss of interest readers get when they get bored of the continuous lists of precautions and preparations to take before the dead come knocking at your door. This could've been improved if Brooks, rather than continuously listing tips, summarized or maybe simplified the tips to further entertain and attract the reader. The best way to avoid this flaw is to moderate your reading of the book, so you don't get too full of knowledge.

The great thing about The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead is that it leaves readers wondering about their plan during an actual zombie apocalypse. Readers love the ability to be able to imagine themselves in different situations like these. This is the true genius behind this book. Being able to plan for an unreal event gives us the freedom to consider all possibilities without risk. With this book, Max Brooks knew what entertained and delivered. 

Brooks, Max. The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead. Crown Publishing Group. 2003

Malcolm Gladwell Response

Malcolm Gladwell explained really well what unconscious decisions we make and why we don't notice them in his writing. Gladwell's chapter showed me that while sometimes we may not have control over our desicions, we should always think before we act. This really stood out to me when I took the race weapon IAT. When taking the race weapon IAT, I strongly associated weapons with African- Americans, without even trying or thinking. This could lead to problems of me feeling in danger while I'm around black people. Gladwell taught me to rejudge my feelings of danger and to re-evaluate the situation before making any further desicions. Unconscious decisions and biases can also lead to problems in leadership. Leader's might ,unintensionaly, take one side over the other because of a bias. Also leaders can be picked because of a bias. In Gladwell's chapter, he writes about a man who describes a very handsome looking man who looks like he could make a great president. The man turned out to be the worst president ever. This is an example of why we shouldn't act before we judge. A real reason for someone to be president is if that person is understanding, unbiased, and idealistic. Had the man judged him on these attributes, this wouldn't have happened.

Tuesday Write: Reality TV

Reality TV shows are growing rapidly popular across the US. People are tuning in to see game shows, talent shows, and to see camera crews follow celebrities. The question is, is there any value to these shows? One might argue that they hold educational values and they are entertaining. Although these might be valid reasons to prove reality TV is beneficial, the truth is it is not beneficial at all. Reality TV is fake and staged, gives off bad influences, and exploits many people.

Being fake and staged is something for sitcoms and soap operas, not reality TV. The unreality of reality TV gives viewers a false interpretation of what their lives should be like. Reality TV shows that for some reason there will always be a reason to yell, get into fights, and cry. This isn't how life is supposed to be. People are starting to wonder why their lives aren't like this, and they do crazy things to try and have a reality TV life. These shows are affecting the morals of peoples lives.

Reality TV shows can also be badly influental to viewers. Jersey Shore, for example, shows that the best life is a life of partying. Another show, 16 and Pregnant shows people that all you have to do to get on TV is get pregnant. These shows might be the reason you see 12 and 13 year olds partying and wearing almost nothing. These kinds of influences are affecting our youth more than we know. Teens and kids want to do what's in style and what's popular, but they fail to realize that trying to be the kind of real that reality TV shows, isn't being real at all.

Have you ever walked into your house, asked your mom a question, and then started fighting physically with her? Well it happens all the time on reality TV. When watching these shows, every episode has three main parts: the meaningless conversation, the fight, and the meaningless conversation #2. No matter what the situation, there is always a fight. Even if it is a little entertaining, is it right to show people that fighting is ok in all situations. These shows are showing people that you don't have to reason with anybody or even compromise with them, you can just yell, punch, and kick and your problems will be solved.

Reality TV has really not shown any value. What can you say to defend this genre? It's all staged, it's badly influental, and they show violence repeatidly. Even though these are all valid reasons to show that reality TV has no value, the genre will still continue to spread. In the end, it's about what the people want, and if this is what the people want then they will get it.

Intro

My name is Sage Lamela. I'm 14 years old and I am a sophomore. I live with my mom, dad, 2 dogs, and my 4 sisters. I like to play sports like football and baseball. I also spend my time playing video games, hanging out with friends, and watching sports. I don't really like to read, but I think my favorite book is I am Legend. My writing goal for this year is to improve on making my writing more realistic and easier to connect to.

“If you love a flower, don’t pick it up. Because if you pick it up it dies and it ceases to be what you love. So if you love a flower, let it be. Love is not about possession. Love is about appreciation.”

-Osho