World War Z - References To Other Works

References To Other Works

In an October 2006 interview with Eatmybrains.com, Brooks discussed the cultural influences on the novel. He claimed inspiration from The Good War by Studs Terkel. Brooks stated: " an oral history of World War II. I read when I was a teenager and it's sat with me ever since. When I sat down to write World War Z, I wanted it to be in the vein of an oral history."

Brooks also cited renowned zombie film director George A. Romero as an influence, and criticized The Return of the Living Dead films: "They cheapen zombies, make them silly and campy. They've done for the living dead what the old Batman TV show did for the Dark Knight." Brooks acknowledged making several references to popular culture in the novel, including one to alien robot franchise Transformers, but declined to identify the others so that readers could discover them independently.