World War Z, Around the World and Above Summary

Ben Smith

In the chapter "Around the World, and Above" of World War Z written by Max Brooks, I choose to discuss the interview done in Cienfuegos, Cuba. In this section it talks about how Seryosha Garcia Alvarez tells the interviewer that Cuba won the Zombie War. Later in the interview he discusses how Cuba was never on stable ground economically during and after the Cold War, but then The Great Panic hit and Cuba had long prepared itself for the undead since their geography gave them advanced warning. Cuba not only survived the initial zombie outbreaks, they even allowed refugees to come ashore. When the refugees got ashore they soon realized that they had to obey Cuba's rules, with most of the refugees coming from the United States making the paradigm shift a little. The refugees were then put in Quarantine Resettlement Centers. Some of which were compared to prison camps, although Alvarez disagrees. The Cubans welcomed the Americans with open arms, allowing 10 percent of them to do jobs nobody else wanted: dish washers, street cleaners. The work force surge led to an economic evolution, Cuba became the "Breadbasket, the manufacturing center, the training ground, and the springboard" of the world. With capitalism came democracy, which lead to good relations with the refugees. What surprised Alvarez is that Fidel didn't try to stop it, instead he embraced it. He even held the first Democratic election. One thing I found interesting in this book is the relationship between America and Cuba. I find it interesting because in the book it shows Cuba as becoming more susceptible to the effects of democracy and more accepting of Americans in general. I wonder that if Cuba was more economically advanced, if they would be more accepting of America and its culture in real life.