Just Out: One Second After by Fortschen-a must read!

[Randwulf]

This is a scientifically accurate EMP apocalyptic novel by a famous mainstream author. Be forewarned, the telling is grim and the ending is not a happy one.

The striking aspect of the story is that the family and the principal characters are about as unprepared for any type of disaster as you can get.

Available at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/One-Second-After-William-Forstchen/dp/0765317583/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237494364&sr=1-1

and Barnes and Noble (and probably local stores)"

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/One-Second-After/William-R-Forstchen/e/9780765317582/?itm=1

[Satori]

thanks for the heads up
looks like a great read

[Satori]

just finished reading this last night
highly recommended
story takes place in Black Mountain N.C.,which is a real town near Asheville
the author goes into great detail about the breakdown of civil society after the electric grid is destroyed by an EMP blast
also covered in depth is how the great dieoff will occur,once modern medicine is now longer available
in my opinion this is one of the more realistic end of the world novels out there
I think the author really did some serious research in writing this book

[bhowle]

The reviews on Amazon are so good I decided to order the book.  Sort of sounds like Alas, Babylon.  I'm looking forward to reading it aqnd will report back.

-bob

[pamela]

Ok, this goes on my must read list right now!
thanks for recommending it!
can't wait to get it.

[pamela]

http://radio.nationalreview.com/betweenthecovers/post/?q=ZTE1MDI5YTRmOGRiN2JmNjE4MjNjYWM3M2JmMTI0MzY=

here's a radio interview with the author.
worth a listen.

[Randwulf]

The reviews on Amazon are so good I decided to order the book.  Sort of sounds like Alas, Babylon.  I'm looking forward to reading it aqnd will report back.

-bob

Alas, Babylon is rather optimistic and has a generally positive conclusion.  OSA is more apocalyptic in personal terms for the characters and has a very fatalistic, negative ending.

[Satori]

just wanted to give this a bump
I just finished reading it for the 2nd time
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
gives a very realistic account of what things might be like after the collapse
and makes it very clear just how fragile our society is

[PerfectScotty]

The foreward is by Newt Gingrich, kind of odd. Anybody have a used copy they want to sell me ?

[quietnite]

I actually walked away from it because of the Newt Gingrech thing. But if a latoc liked it, will try it.

[Satori]

I actually walked away from it because of the Newt Gingrech thing. But if a latoc liked it, will try it.

I almost did the same thing
I absolutely loathe Gingrech
but even a broken clock is right twice a day
get the book!

[captain1]

Got it yesterday and am almost finished - a very realistic and sobering read.  Makes me wonder if anyone can really ever be prepped enough for something like this.  Maybe the truly lucky would be the ones who died right away.  

[Satori]

here's a link to the author's website
http://www.onesecondafter.com/index.html

looks like this might be made into a movie

[Satori]

Newt's really into the EMP thing

  Gingrich: Attack North Korea with electromagnetic pulse

David Edwards and Jeremy Gantz
Raw Story
Monday, April 6, 2009

Only hours after North Korea launched a rocket, Newt Gingrich was on television saying the United States should have preemptively attacked the nuclear-armed country – with an electromagnetic pulse.

“We do not appreciate the scale of threat that is evolving on the planet,” the former House Speaker said on Fox News Sunday. “And North Korea is a totally irresponsible dictatorship run by a person who is clearly out of touch with reality.”

The North Korean government says it launched an experimental communications satellite that is now orbiting in space; U.S. officials claim it was a missile that quickly fell into the Pacific ocean.

President Barack Obama, in Prague on his first tour of Europe, blasted the rocket launch as “provocative,” saying it violated a U.N. resolution, and pledged to take action at a U.N. Security Council meeting. Obama had joined other world leaders in urging the hard-line communist state to drop plans to test a missile.

Gingrich: Attack North Korea with electromagnetic pulse obama 340x169

But to Gingrich, who said on Fox that all United Nations dealings with both North Korea and Iran have been ineffective, talk is cheap. “One morning, just like 9/11, there’s gonna be a disaster,” the former Georgia congressman said. “And people are going to look around and say ‘Gosh, why didn’t anyone think of that?’ Well I’m telling you, the time to think about it is before the disaster, and not after.”

Pressed by Fox host Chris Wallace, Gingrich mentioned a few preemptive possibilities for stopping North Korean: “There are three or four techniques that could have been used, from unconventional forces to standoff capabilities… I’d recommend look[ing] at electromagnetic pulse…which changes every equation about how risky these weapons are.”

An electromagnetic pulse is a short, high-intensity burst of electromagnetic energy which can damage electronic and electrical equipment.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) agreed with Gingrich’s preemptive policy, saying that “in the countryside of South Carolina, at some point you’ve got to back up words with action.”

Obama, who on Sunday called for a nuclear-free world, said North Korea should be punished and that “rules must be binding, violations must be punished, words must mean something.”

Congressman Howard Berman, who heads the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that the U.N. Security Council should take further action. Berman called on China and Russia – which have diplomatic ties with Pyongyang – to join ranks with the United States and its allies Japan and South Korea in condemning the test.

[quietnite]

I bought the book this morning. It's a cold, thunderstormy day here, Just finished reading it. EXCELLENT read.
Once I got into it, I couldn't put it down.  The narrator is a little tiny bit right wing for me in the beginning, but by the end, it doesn't matter. He sees the value of even the granola heads. 

The thing I really loved about it was all the talking. It reminded me a lot of Alas, Babylon. Ordianary people....not presidents and politicians, just struggling to survive and to do the right thing, even when those things are mutually exclusive.

Nice recommend folks, I'll be rereading it slower this time.