- One Second After by William Forstchen
Following suit of the handful of other book reviews I’ve posted, One Second After came to my attention by way of the guys at Blackfiveand was further recommended by many other sources online (you know, the other typical right-wingnut sites like gun forums and Fox News, et al). Such fanfare should be typical for a NYTimes Bestseller–in fact, the book deserves (demands) much more recognition; not so much for its excellent story, but for enlightening most of us to the very real danger that threatens the existence of our society. How’s that for over-reactive conspiracy-theorist exaggeration? I wish that’s all it was…
This great danger to our society (speaking of any modern civilized society and the regions immediately surrounding them or in any way dependant upon them–more or less, the vast majority of the world, not just the good ‘ole USA) is a physics phenomena called “electromagnetic pulse” (“EMP,” as it is commonly referred to). If it is ever harnessed as a weapon, as this book makes it by some unknown enemy (likely a rogue nation or mildly sophisticated terrorist organization), it would destroy everything that requires electrical circuitry to function (read: that’s pretty much everything our society uses to function/exist). One Second After centers a story around of the lives of a small North Carolina mountain town that survives day-to-day in the apocalyptic aftermath that follows such an unspeakable devastation.