This is an important book to read and understand. as well as a vital subject for the continuation of Western Civilization.
Bold statements. This is not for survivalists, this is for national defense and civil preparedness. This is to keep 280 million Americans from being killed. This is to stop the single largest genocide in human history - us. This is also about kicks and grins for the liberals that think this is about conservative politics, rather than their survival, for they will be the first ones to disappear from America after a successful EMP attack.
This tome is a fictional attempt to describe the horrors of an EMP attack on the USA, for a real attack has not occurred (yet), and there will, almost certainly, be no one left that will either be able to write such history, or that will be an American that will mourn our passing. As a fictional account it is far too optimistic, but still a compelling story. It is written in a colloquial manner, almost as if it was dictated into a recorder. That type of writing apparently doesn't appeal to a variety of readers, but I believe most of them are opposed to Newt Gingrich and conservative politics, and can't see past their politics to see the appropriateness, and beauty, of this type of writing. Not every book can be written within the rules of incomprehensible dribble, such as Orientalism (by Edward Said) and Profits Over People (by Noam Chomsky) are.
The story is that an EMP attack occurs, although that is not known immediately, and the protagonist, a college professor with a military background in a small college town in the Appalachian foothills, bands together with his family and town leaders to survive the crisis. Various horrid effects of an EMP attack are evidenced both personally and societally, with some violence included. Overall, I believe this is an irrationally positive story of the aftermath of such an EMP attack, but the author had to put together a story that covered the basics, and allowed someone to survive to be the protagonist.
The United States House of Representatives Anti-Terrorism Caucus, approximately 122 members, including 40 Democrats, understands that an EMP attack on the USA is a clear and present threat once Iran acquires nuclear weapons: that a false flag attack, such as one by China disguised to be one from Iran, is also possible with a probably higher than one. If indeed this is a silly conservative political book, than there are lot of serious Democrats that understand the mortal danger the USA is in.
There will be no electricity for many years. No electronics. No Computers. No internet. No phones or cell phones. No TV. No Post Office. No telegraph. No airplanes or airlines. No trains. No busses or trucks or cars unless they are old (pre 1975) points ignition cars or old diesels. No gasoline. No water. No medicine. No hospitals. No food. No heat.
Modern water supply is via big pumps and purification plants that run off of electricity. After an EMP, the only water will come from rivers, lakes, and shallow, manually powered wells. If you live far from a river, and many stories up in a major city, life will become impossible in less than one week. For safe water, boiling is the only option. No refrigeration, so no food storage. Grocery stores only have about one day of food in them. No transportation of food. No production of food, other than gardens and small farms that have real, horse pie producing, horse power available. Starvation will start within a couple of weeks. How far can you walk each day for water and food, and return to your shelter (house, apartment), without having anyone else steel whatever you have?
If you have a generator, how much fuel do you have? There won't be any more fuel for many years. Everyone of your neighbors will know you have a generator, and you will have more friends that you ever imagined, until the hospitality and the generator run out of fuel.
No heat in winter, unless you have a wood stove/heater, and the wood (and tools - no chain saws) to keep it stocked through winter. No medicine, as there is no refrigeration, which many anti-biotics need, and there will be no new production or transportation. Hospitals will shut down as their generators run out of fuel. No operating rooms or fancy equipment. A small cut, with no treatment (no water for cleaning or ointment) may kill you.
First responders will be in deep trouble just like everyone else, for their equipment won't work either, and their families will be in deep trouble as will everyone else. The military used to be hardened against EMP effects back in the cold war days. No more, as most new equipment is no longer hardened, for, obviously, after the end of the cold war there are no nuclear problems, or threats, anywhere else in the world. Right!
As civilisation starts breaking down, each family will be on its own, and violence will break out as everyone fights over the few remaining resources. Whether there will be some small towns that hang together as this book states is highly unlikely.
The House of Representatives estimates that nine out of 10 of us will die within the first year due to thirst, starvation, exposure, disease, and violence. That is the death of 280 million Americans within the first year. No country in the world has any significant capability to come to our aid. They don't have the airplanes, helicopters, supplies in storage, or ships. They don't have the military capability. Europe, Canada, Russia, China, South America, will all be unable to provide anything more than token assistance that will save a few thousands, but not even one million. It will be the single largest genocide in human history, by a landslide.
Per the House of Representatives Anti-Terrorism Caucus, Iran has launched advanced scuds straight up for 30 miles, from barges off their coast. Why would they do that, other than to practice for an EMP attack? EMP effects were discovered after some US atmospheric nuclear tests in the early `60s wiped out half of Hawaii's electrical grid. An EMP attack requires a nuclear fission bomb, like the Hiroshima bomb. A hydrogen bomb will not produce an EMP effect other than locally. The bomb must go off between 30 miles up and 100 miles up in order to interact with the earth's magnetic field. So that the Compton effect will occur, which means the effects of the bomb will be magnified and focused back towards the earth. Because no one dies immediately and there is no significant radiation effect, it is easy for those with little knowledge and less sense to deride this type of attack.
The science behind an EMP attack is sound. It has been verified by experimentation. It is not a theory, it is a scientific fact.
Iran has said that one nuclear bomb would destroy Israel, but that no retaliatory attack could kill most Iranians, so that see no problem with such an exchange. "Moderate" President Rafsanjani said that in 2001. We, the USA, are the Great Satan, is the mantra of the late, unlamented, Ayatollah Khomeini. President Ahmadinejad has stated on numerous occasions that he imagines a world without the USA with pleasure. He doesn't say anything major such as that without the approval and concurrence of Ayatollah Khamenei and the Revolutionary Council. It would be simple to eliminate the USA, via an EMP attack, and then the Little Satan, Israel, could be dealt with easily..
MAD, Mutually Assured Destruction, as Ayatollah Rafsanjani stated above, will not deter these religious fanatics. So what if we turn Iran into a radioactive glassine parking lot? 280 million of us will still die. Revenge is worthless if the USA no longer exists. Enough Hezbollah and Shia Islamists will still exist, along with Sunni Islamists, to applaud our eradication, although, officially, numerous crocodile tears will be wept.
Forstchen, in this novel, promotes the type of attack that is the most likely, and the safest from a retaliatory attack. Three container ships, one each off the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts, outside of USA territorial waters, all open up one special container lid. One advanced scud with a Hiroshima style and size nuke warhead, is launched straight up from each ship. Thirty seconds after launch, 30 miles up, the warheads explode, and America goes dark. Forstchen has all three ships immolate themselves in their own nuclear explosions so that there is no evidence left behind as to whom launched the attack. We retaliate and wipe Iran and North Korea off of the map. And 280 million Americans die.
A possible scenario is three nukes launched by submarines. We are rapidly losing our anti-submarine capabilities that we developed so highly during the cold war, such that this will become more likely as time goes by.
Iran has launched satellites into orbit. They can launch one with a nuke on it, . brake it such that it re-enters over St. Louis, and explode it 100 miles up. 280 million Americans die. A conventional ICBM attack with the missile and warhead exploding over St. Louis, 100 miles up, can't happen until Iran has ICBM's capable of doing that. If we are still around in 4 or 5 years, they will have them, as will North Korea. As do Russia and China.
In a military scenario, which this is, one has to protect against what can happen, not what one thinks will happen, for as soon as one does that, the enemy will do something different, and you are dead. Sun Tsu taught this over 2,000 years ago.
We have no defenses against an EMP attack. We need a perfect missile defense system that can react to anything within a few seconds so that a scud launch off our coast can be intercepted and destroyed before it reaches 30 miles up and explodes, ie within 30 seconds.. We have no missile defense against an ICBM. The technology works. We can not only hit a bullet (missile) with a bullet (missile), we can hit a spot on that bullet (missile). We need the anti-satellite capability. The technology exists, but we haven't built or deployed it.
Obama cut the missile defense system that was to be deployed in Eastern Europe. Russia laughed and screwed us. Obama has cut missile defense funding and projects. Obama and Hillary believe a couple of short range Aegis anti-ballistic missile cruisers off of the coast of Iran can protect us. Dumbest, most ignorant statement, and policy, I have ever heard.
Obama has stated that he will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. When Pakistan notified the world that they had nukes, they exploded 6 of them in one day in May, 1998. No one knew anything before then about Pakistan. At lease, we know Iran is working on nuclear weapons. Iran will do something similar to Pakistan, and I believe the Israelis, who have far better intelligence capabilities in the Middle East than we do, that Iran will have nuclear weapons and capabilities before the end of 2012, plus that their weapons and capabilities will be buried so deep even we won't be able to do anything. Israel doesn't have the military capability unless they use their own nukes.
Sanctions are not working, and will never work. Anybody that believes Obama will do anything to stop Iran should bid on the slightly used US embassy available in Tehran.
I have put together over 380 pages of documentation to substantiate what is stated herein, spent over 100 hours studying this threat, and spoken with members of Congress.
This is a vital book, I am glad Forstchen wrote it, and there should be more, more realistic, novels written on this subject. Remember, your life, and the lives of 279, 999,999 other Americans depend on your beliefs and actions.
One Second After
4.5 | 27,954 ratings
Price: 16.44
Last update: 07-24-2024
Top reviews from the United States
Fredrick P. Wilson
Permanent Civilization Killer
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2012
ben d'amico
Are you prepared?
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2024Eugenio F. Pokluda
Fast read, frightening scenario but lacks depth
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2024Ridgeback
You don’t read this book, you experience it.
Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2024Nathan Layne
Finally
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2024snackpack
Really Great Book
Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2024