I picked up Max Brooks'
World War Z while holiday traveling and I was very impressed.
WORLD WAR Z
The premise is absurd: a world wide plague wipes out half of mankind, turning people into flesh-eating zombies. Civilization buckles and almost collapses before the humans fight back.
However, the book is so well written and in such an original way that it verges on greatness. The whole book is an "oral history" told ten years after the Great War. The author travels the world interviewing survivors, political leaders, and military personnel. It's as if the war really happened - events are deadly serious and reverent.
It's sort of like Studs Terkel doing zombies!
Great read.