Max Brooks makes a similar point in his fictional documentary novel World War Z. Brooks, under his own name, plays the part of a United Nations agent in the post-war Commission to tell the story of the fictional World War Z. Since the novel is in journalistic form, the narrative is fragmented and mostly implicit; there is no protagonist, but Brooks returns several times to different "interviewees". While the true origin of the zombie pandemic is unknown, the story begins in China after a zombie from a previous outbreak bites a young boy. The Chinese government attempts to contain the infection and engineers a crisis involving Taiwan to disguise the true purpose of the increased military activity. The infection spreads to other countries through the black market for organs and infected refugees seeking a cure; an epidemic in Cape Town, South Africa finally brings the plague to global attention. As the infection spreads, only Israel initiates a nationwide quarantine program and closes its borders. Pakistan and Iran destroy each other in a nuclear war, after Iran attempts to stem the flow of refugees from Pakistan. The United States does little to prepare, as it is deprived of political will by several “fire wars” and lulled into a false sense of security by an ineffective and fraudulently marketed vaccine. When the world recognizes the true scope of the problem, a period known as the “Great Panic” begins. The United States Army sends a task force to Yonkers, New York, in a high-profile military campaign intended to restore American morale. Instead, the troops are overwhelmed and put to flight by the zombies, due to their reliance on tactics designed for human enemies, who can be demoralized and forced to retreat... mid-card... try to secure the downtown area , they were quickly overrun by the zombie horde. After hiding in a burned-out tank, Rick is eventually recovered by a group of survivors who have made risky supply runs into the city. When he returns to the group's camp outside the city limits, he discovers that his wife, son, and best friend are also part of this ragtag gang. After the tearful reunion, the question of what to do next drives subsequent episodes. Although the theme of social collapse is present throughout the series, episode 5 (titled "Wildfire") provides several strong examples of the fragility of modern social structures. The episode's opening reveals that the camp has been overrun by a small group of zombies, with fatal consequences for many of the survivors. Before Rick's arrival, the camp considered Shane their leader.