I would not be shocked if Max Brooks was a time traveller who went back to 2006 to write World War Z as foreshadowing to Covid 19. Its shocking how similar the events of the book are to the events going on today. to start off, the zombie virus (I will be referring to as ZV) started in china much like Covid 19 (I will be referring to as CV). Both viruses where then covered up by the Chinese government and transported around the globe through legal and illegal means. The similarities continue to grow in number, That being said, the similarity I find the most frightening would be panic and denial. As the time traveler Max Brooks said himself on an interview with Vox, “We’ve been in denial too long, and panic is the fruit of denial. That’s not just society — that’s individuals. When you stick your head in the sand and you deny something, and you keep denying it long enough, then suddenly you get caught up in the problem and you’re not prepared for the problem, that’s when you panic. I’m starting to see that, and that is very scary. Panic is the one thing we do not need right now. If there was ever a time for clarity and facts, this is it.” He goes on to bring light the effects of panic, and how it has been similar to the events of his book, “People lose their minds and they do irrational things and they hurt each other. You don’t want that to happen. You’ve got to make sure you keep your head when things appear dark all around you. Because, number one, you can’t fix the problem if you’re too busy losing your mind. Then you have what’s called second- and third-order effects, where other people start to get hurt. I’m starting to see that with panic buying. So far there hasn’t been a lot of violence, which is great, and I hope it never happens. But the mass run on things like bottled water — in a pandemic, the water is going to keep running. It’s not an earthquake.” I think that Brooks words are important to take away. He’s stating that, through acceptance of you situation you can gain clarity and a level head helping you to be rational and safe in hard times.

Work Cited

Wilkinson, Alissa. “‘You Can’t Scare a Virus’: World War Z Author Max Brooks on Pandemics, Fear, Panic, and Hope.” Vox, Vox, 16 Mar. 2020, www.vox.com/culture/2020/3/16/21181504/world-war-z-max-brooks-coronavirus-pandemic-interview.

World War Z. Turtleback Books, 2013.