The book that FREAKED me out - TOTALLY....

I finished reading One Second After by William R. Forstchen about 2 weeks ago and am just now able to write my opinions.


Its a fictional account of what happens one second after an EMP attack. It takes place in a North Carolina town and follows for about 1 year. It begins about an hour before the attack. It centers around a widowed man and his family and how he tends to take care of them and this town.


I do not want to spoil anything as the story is VERY well written and extremely entertaining and thought provoking.


That being said, this BOOK FREAKED ME OUT. As you know I did read Rawles' book, The Patriot and voiced my thoughts previously. In contrast to Rawles' manual wrapped in prose, this book is a BOOK, meaning it does not go into great "How To" details, which I enjoyed. What it did was go through the tough decisions that have to be made quickly when this kind of event takes place. The emotional and human tole on an event of this magnitude.


Imagine just driving along and all of a sudden all the cars just stop. What if you are on a business trip? What if you are in a plane? (It crashes, by the way.) What if you are some place that family does not know where you are? What if you are in a nursing home, a hospital, a child home alone?


Also in contrast, I do not see Rawles' scenario as being highly probable, especially the UN invasion at the end. That does not mean that I did not find absolutely valuable information in it - However, this book is HIGHLY PROBABLE and easy to envision.


It has changed the way I view certain things. My Hubs and I have begun texting each other when we go some place. When I get in the car, I mentally think about where I will walk if something happens - do I walk to our house or to our land? Where are the kids and do they know what to do? Even down to what shoes I have on and if I have other ones in the car. You have about 24 hours or less to get set before panic sets in - I would say you have until the sun goes down the 1st day to get yourself where you need to be and fortified.


It also made me think about certain things we take for granted - if you are diabetic, how are you going to keep your insulin cold? How will you have enough? What about food, light, water? We have all thought about those things, but what about infection? What about disease that comes with spoiled food, traveling groups of people, simple things that are usually taken care of with antibiotics? What about dealing with waste?


What about valuable information? Do you have a PAPER copy or are you trusting being able to get it off a computer?


I know this review is filled with a ton of questions - it was what I took from this book while reading. I put myself in this tiny town - I put myself in present day and questioned myself on how I thought my family would fare. I recommend this book for the introspection as well as the entertainment it will bring.


Great job, Mr. Forstchen - you freaked me out - entertained me - and strengthened my preps! Who knew all that could be done in one little hardbacked book....