Ultimate zombie survival guide!! (soon to come)

[Braindead]

Hey!
I read some of your strategies and those reminded me of a "official" guide a good friend of mine send me once... because he knew I loved zombies! :)
I already tried the search button, but no results...
I hope no one have seen this guide yet! :scare:
It's a complete book, but hey! what you going to do about that...

Only problem is... I have no permission of putting it on here :-(
but as soon as I have permission or put it on the net elsewhere!

So I put it on MegaUpload!!
here's the link!!
http://www.megaupload.com/nl/?d=3X5564DL

Happy reading :drinking:

I'll be back,
Rory

[mattifikation]

I think everyone here has read it.

Consensus is, the author's full of shit. :-)

[Braindead]

LoL and I kept thinking i was original ^^
at some parts... the writer indeed is full of shit :P
for the greater part I think it's very fun to read :)
especially the weapon part, I love to read about weapons! :)

[mattifikation]

That's what he's the most clueless about though. He basically advocates not using select-fire or even semi-auto weapons because they are "tempting" to switch to "rock and roll," or some stupid crap like that.

The book is a fun one to read though!

[beyerwrestler]

I think everyone here has read it.

Consensus is, the author's full of shit. :-)


Uh oh I havent read it :scare: peer pressure XD

[Panther7]

this is shit

[Lian]

That's what he's the most clueless about though. He basically advocates not using select-fire or even semi-auto weapons because they are "tempting" to switch to "rock and roll," or some stupid crap like that.

The book is a fun one to read though!

One valid point though is what's the point of a full auto assault rifle if you waste 6 rounds to get the one head shot you needed to kill it? With enough time ammo like all things will become scarce. Not to say that full auto wouldn't be useful against things like human marauders that just want to take what you got and leave you. As I recall though Max Brooks never went into human adversaries though. And I suppose Full Auto does have some uses against zombies as well, get stuck somewhere, and overwhelmed, take out their knees run back rinse and repeat. Mop em up later one round at a time.

[mattifikation]

The point is, he forgot the most basic and obvious rule: Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

[Lian]

True but "Rock 'n Roll" mode in the hands of the greenhorn on the battlefield has caused more than one would be army of one to go out of ammo and die.:x

[mattifikation]

Such people have no discipline or self control. They'd end up dead anyways. Better sooner than later.

[Lian]

Believe it or not discipline and self control can be learned, and not all people are born with it. Not to mention those are the first two things to go out the window in a panic, and call me crazy the dead coming back to life and killing and eating the living might cause a panic. Just like you might panic when people start shooting back.

And while there is still the valid point of needing it and not having it, I'd much rather put even a black powder rifle in the hands of someone to force them to think about what they are doing than put an Automatic in their hands have them freak out and blow all my ammo and not kill a damn thing until they learn better.

[VideoJunkie]

Don't understand all the bashing of Max Brooks. I loved the Zombie Survival Guide and the second book, World War Z. I've also got that one in audio. Can't recommend it enough! Sure I disagree with some of the things he wrote. But that doesn't mean the books aren't worth owning. Some of his stuff is really great and some of it's crap. I think most of us can agree with that. My point is that is doesn't really matter. The bigger picture is that the book makes you think about those things in the first place. Whether you decide to agree with his opinion, or like me decide that select fire would be AWESOME!!! Either way it's a good idea to think about these things in advance. Besides, the book was supposed to be entertaining. It succeeded! By that criteria the second book was even more successful! Just my opinion...

[BobZombie]

Max tells you nothing about true survival. This is the problem with the “less than” survival guide.

[Bob]

The Max Brooks books were entertainment.
If you want one with "real" survival information against Zombies find some.
Zombies that is, I promise VJ and I will come help you clear them out.
Then we / you can write one.

[mattifikation]

And while there is still the valid point of needing it and not having it, I'd much rather put even a black powder rifle in the hands of someone to force them to think about what they are doing than put an Automatic in their hands have them freak out and blow all my ammo and not kill a damn thing until they learn better.

Right... so, don't give them all your ammo. Or make them bring their own. Or if you really think they're such an idiot that a black powder rifle is all you'd trust them with, ditch their ass. :x

If you actually would expect somebody to use a black powder rifle against zombies just to save some ammo, you might as well just shoot them in advance. And if somebody isn't good at discipline and keeping a level head under pressure, they're going to die one way or the other anyways.

[KyleStyle]

Maybe someone can tell me why this book is so full of shit. I just read it and thought it was well written.

[BenAli]

This book tells you nothing about survival. OK here it goes.

a. Where does the book tell you about finding water, purifying water, storing water, and the uses of water? (This is what a survival guide will do.)
b. Where does this book talk about true tactics? Raids, ambush, patrols, inelegance gathering, defense, offence, and there is so much more.
c. How about food gathering? Nothing
d. Food storage? Nothing
e. Energy production? Nothing
f. Medical care? Nothing

I could go on about what this book is lacking but that would take several hours.

Well written? Sure, it was. Did it have information that can be put to use when the dead rise? Very, very little to none!

[KyleStyle]

a) For the better part of the book he is talking about staying in your house which I'm assuming you have some water in. If you run out, use the storage tank of the toilet. One of the first things he mentions in surviving is filling as many containers with water as possible. Sourcs of water on the run? Many natural sources if you use purifictaion tablets or a filter, which he does mention.

b) He has 3 chapters on defense and attack. Remember this is a survival guide, not a book on war tactics. But there is "On the Defense", "On the Run", "On the Attack", and "Strategies".

c/d) I'll admit food, besides mentioning a garden he doesn't say much.

e) He mentions a few times having gasoline as a backup source of energy and having bicycle power (excercise and energy). On the run, how much energy are you going to need, a blaring radio will serve no purpose other than to attract zack.

f) I'll also admit that he does not really mention medical care but in these circumstances how much medical care do you think there will be? If you are anywhere the slightest bit remote, which you should be, and get diseased, that's proably it. As for getting bitten, you're dead no matter what.
And the human race being like it is, the doctors will probably have run off with the supplies for themselves and their family anyway.

Don't get me wrong, any book like this you don't just blindly follow all advice and in the event of an outbreak I would by no means do everything it says but I just want to point out that saying it is full of shit is extreme, I think it has some worth as a survival guide.

Sorry for long the winded post and as a new member of this forum I must say it is pretty awesome:)

[BenAli]

• Water, three quarts per day, for cooking and washing
• Hand-pumped water filter
• Four replacement filters Cistern for collecting rainwater
• Iodine and/or purification tablets
• Canned food, three cans per day (preferable to dried goods in that they contain some water)

* * * OK good advice but what do you do if you don’t have these things? Knowing what to do when you are caught off guard is survival* * *

2. Run upstairs and turn on the bathtub. Although this sounds foolish, there is no way of knowing when the water will be cut. After a few days, thirst will become your greatest enemy.

Fill all sinks and other receptacles with water, and prepare for a long wait.

* * * Fill the tube and sinks? This is the best advice he can give? Every tub and sink I’ve ever seen lets the water leak down the drain. * * *

3. OFFSHORE OIL RIGS
All have their own distilleries, so fresh water will never he a problem.

* * * Do you know how to work a desalination system? Most people don’t* * *

B. Establish a renewable source of water. Exploratory wells and a variety of rain catchers can be used when the lines go dry. Before this happens, make sure that all large containers are filled and covered. Water will not only be important for drinking and cleanliness-it will be vital for agriculture.

* * * Ok, again not bad but where do you do this at? Wells are in the open, will require electricity, a wind driven pump, or another power source. Where does he tell you to find this source? * * *


3. DON'T SKIMP ON SUPPLIES: Many people believe that traveling down a river or canal removes the need for packed rations. After all, why not just fish and drink the water right below you? Sadly, the days of Huckleberry Finn, when rivers were clean and bountiful, are long since gone. After decades of industrial dumping, most rivers are in no shape to support life. Even without artificial pollutants, many rivers and lakes cany enough bacteria from human and animal waste to cause life-threatening ailments. A level-three filter pump should also be used for cooking and bathing.

* * No word on how to filter water from the source?
Level three reduces lead and other heavy metals. Does nothing for bacteria and viruses * * *

Each group (ten people or fewer) should have:

• Three gallons extra potable water

* * * That’s 24 pounds each? * * *

* * * Max has not a clue. * * *

[KyleStyle]

1) There is a reason Max stresses planning ahead of time, that way you will not be caught off guard.

2) All drains I have ever seen come with something called a plug. Also he says fill all spare containers with water, and containers don't have a drain.

3) He admits that learning can be a problem as oil rigs do not have libraries. He also mentions improvising ways of getting water. This can include getting water from rain, using canvas or something like that to catch dew overnight. Water can also be obtained from many marine animals (fish, barnacles, etc...) I won't go into the details of what you exactly you do but it's possible. Maybe if you're lucky, the oil rig will have some equipment on board such as solar stills. Of course, if people know an oil rig is a possibility they can research how to use a desalination system.

b) There are the old bucket wells, there are handpump wells.

4) It's called boiling the water. Boiling water will kill off most pathogens. Also many portable filters do filter out micro-organisms (I could not find anything about "level 3", maybe you could let me know where to find this.)

5) That's 3 gallons of water per group not person.

Believe me, I'm not saying you should follow this book to the letter in the case of zed invasion. After all Max was a writer for SNL and the book is labeled as humour. But that does not mean it is TOTALLY useless. That is all I'm saying.

[mattifikation]

The big problem with the book is that he just makes shit up.

I know, I know, zombies are fictional so stuff HAS to be made up. But a decent survival guide would have been written to encompass any possible zombie scenario, not just the exact fictional virus and scenario envisioned by the author.

Rather than just try and force you to accept his vision of zombies, since it's a "survival guide" and not a novel, it probably should have made as few blanket assumptions about zombies as possible.

For example, rather than saying "zombies are slow, and can only be taken out by shooting them in the head" (although that is the usual, it's not a 100% rule followed by the entire genre,) I would have stated, "you will have to prepare for either fast or slow zombies, and it is commonly believed that only a head shot will dispatch them."

The advice as far as weapons go was pitiful, also, but I've already gone into that.

[KyleStyle]

But the point of the book was that it was written as if everything is true. I am sure that if there was a case of real zeds there would be either fast or slow (I obviously don't know this for sure, nobody does). Seeing as how te bulk of people support the slow, stupid variety, brooks was able to appeal to the largest audience while seeming completely factual (I mean written in a non-iction way).

I probably did a shit job of explaining that but hopefully somebody got the gist of what I am trying to say.

[BenAli]

Your question was, “Maybe someone can tell me why this book is so full of shit. I just read it and thought it was well written.” I agree the book was well written, after that it is useless information from a person that has “ZERO” survival background, military background, and knows nothing of disaster management.

As I see it, your question is rhetorical, you don’t want to know why people think “this book is so full of shit.” When they state their reason or belief you want to tell them how wrong they are. Don’t ask if you don’t want to know!

Hand-to-hand with a zombie? I don’t think so. All it would take is blood splatter (into a open wound, mouth, or eyes) or a scratch and your are done for.

“The Sling. . The Slingshot. . The Blowgun. . Shuriken . . Throwing Knives. .“ He misses the mark again. These tool should be used for harvesting game not for some obscure chance you can take down a zombie.

Fuel preservation, not covered.

Food preservation, not covered.

“Military Complexes. . Prisons. . Offshore Oil Rigs” Right, military complex history has proven that the military and or government agencies will confiscate your weapons and supplies leaving you defenseless. Prison, “should you find the penitentiary abandoned.“? Right! Not much of a chance of that is there?

The Warden says, “Hmm, the dead are rising. Quick! Let the prisoners out of their cells!

Oilrig? Aka, Seasteading. Just another example of @^#&*.

Again, well written book, survival guide? NOWAY

[KyleStyle]

I'm sorry if there is any misunderstanding, I do like to know why people say what they do and as I have repeated in every post, of course you would not exactly follow the guide, I understand Max Brooks was a writer for SNL. But if someone gives reasoning that I think is flawed in some way, I will point it out so they can think about it some more. If you say you know something you should at least rethink it a bit if someone finds something wrong. That is the point of a forum, to discuss it. Also what you have to think is that it is about zombies. How do you know for sure how you would kill a zombie. There are so many different theories out there. Unless you have met a zombie and killed it yourself, you don't. Again the point of the forum, to discuss possible strategies.

Then again I like to really analyze things so maybe it's just me.

[BenAli]

Please do take my “Matter of Fact” style as aggression or anger. I like a good analytical conversation too. I like reading Max’s book, it is far from being a survival guide. Best wishes. :)

[jagus12]

I just read it... And I gotta say that Max Brooks is full if ****ing crap... Being tempted to go "rock 'n' roll" with an assault rifle? Being capable of dimember a zombie with a 5.56 machine gun? :lol:... I mean, the guy has some points, some of them are just PLAIN MOTHER****ING RIDICULOUS

[mattifikation]

The point of the book was for it to be written as if everything was true... fine. But outside of the book, little or none of the advice applies because we are no longer assuming that his version of zombies are the "true" ones.

You asked why we don't like the book, and you keep dismissing our answers for no reason at all. If you want to play Devil's Advocate, find an area where it makes sense to do so - the book's been thoroughly discredited already, it doesn't need to be shot down again and again. Unless of course, you keep bringing it up just to waste time.

Plus, .22's still suck for reliably bringing down anything bigger than house cats, and people who waste their ammo on full auto when it's not needed still deserve to get eaten.

[Bob]

It's fiction, it's entertaining, get over it.

Mattification
I am not a major proponent of 22 lr but I don't know that I agree with you.
I have not been awake long enough to be sure.

[zombie surfer]

I agree, i felt the book was a bit long winded at times but i still liked it. some of these people need to chill.

[Necrowerx]

OMFG, are some of you people serious? The book sells in the humor section, it was never, ever intended as a serious survival handbook.
The "survival" aspect of the title only applies in regards to zombie specifics, and he even says so in the book. (see below) Brooks clearly states in the introduction that there are other sources of general survival information out there that you should pick up, and that that kind of thing is outside the intended scope of his book.
I can't imagine an actual survivalist writing a full blown survival manual like the SAS handlook or FM 21-76, and then putting zombies in it! :lol: Ain't gonna happen.

I certainly don't agree with everything he wrote, and I hate it when people tout him as the de facto " top zombie authority" (he ain't), but he came up with enough good points to make it a fun read.

It's very clearly a work of complete fiction. He stuck to one version of zombies, the same kind that feature in his novel "World War Z". He created a particular "zombieverse" and he's simply maintaining continuity within it.
What good would a survival book be if it took into account all the myraid mythologies - that we don't know if zombies can exist, or what form they would take, or how they would move, attack, etc.. there'd be so many variables that the book would quickly lose focus and spin out of control, probably growing to far more pages than anyone would want to wade through. That might be good for a book on zombie mythology itself, but not a fictional survival guide based on "historical, factual research".

I quote from the intro (under Fair Use):
Naturally, many other skills-wilderness survival, leadership, even
basic fxst aid-will be necessary in any encounter with the living
dead. These were not included in this work, as they can be found in
conventional texts. Common sense will dictate what else should be
studied to complement this manual. Subsequently, all subjects not
directly related to the living dead have been omitted.

From this book, you will learn to recognize your enemy, to choose
the right weapons, about killing techniques, and about preparation and
improvisation when on the defense, on the mu, or on the attack. It will
also discuss the possibility of a doomsday scenario, in which the living
dead have replaced humanity as the planet's dominant species.

Do not discount any section of this book as hypothetical drama.
Every ounce of knowledge was accumulated by hard-won research and
experience. Historical data, laboratory experiments, field research, and
eyewitness accounts (including those of the author) have all served to
create this work. Even the doomsday scenario is an extrapolation of
true-life events. Many actual occurrences are chronicled in the chapter
of recorded outbreaks. Studying them will prove that every lesson in
this hook is rooted in historical fact.

Oh, and isn't that link illegal under copyright law?

[Gummerfan]

I agree.
Brooks kept it simple by only including the "Romero-esque-Brooks zombie". Encompassing the other variations would make it too weighty.
Regarding the "survival" information not included, I've read a heap of the survivalist books, from Mel Tappan to Ragnar Benson. None of them cover everything you need to know. There are just too many fields of knowledge to be covered in any single volume.
And Brooks acknowledges that some of the info in the book disagrees with the zombie movies. His seeming "dismissal" of the movies as mere entertainment is seen by some as egotistical, in reality he's just providing himself with an "out". That way he doesn't have to deal with some fanboy at a convention pressing him for an explanation of why TSG disagrees with some scene from a movie.