"One Second After" discussion

[Jerry D Young]

One Second After by William R. Forstchen

Discussion started by Jerry D Young. What are your thoughts on this story.

Jerry

[David-Audrey]

This is a good book.  It is the story of a small mountain community on the highway that leads to a larger city.  The community during the crisis is led by a few "locals" and a retired Army officer that moved to the community a few years before the events take place.  As the book begins, there is a sudden loss of power.  The Army officer correctly recognizes it is likely a major EMP attack.  He is the central figure in the book and there is a community and family story that surrounds him.

While I really enjoyed the book, I can't begin to tell you how badly the "main" character screwed up! Consistently!  Naturally this is a book of fiction, but I think there is much more to learn from his mistakes than from what he did right.  Some examples...

If he recognized the fact that this was a wide spread EMP attack, there should have been long term planning from the VERY BEGINNING...they should have recognized that it was possible that the crisis could be long term and not just go along until each crisis hits you in the face.  There should have been such steps taken such as food inventories obtained and a plan to maximize them effectively and fairly.  Same for medicines.  In addition, there should have been much wider based consideration of "worst case" and disaster scenarios from the beginning.
 
Throughout the book, it was one bad thing raising it's head then the next one.  Each was a condition that could have been anticipated very early on. 

And while I'm from a military family, I am NOT a military strategist.  That said, I can't believe there was not another strategy that would defeat the "Posse" (bad guys) and not have cost such a massive loss of life on our side...Even beginning work creating defensive measures/structures early could have made things easier and saved more lives.

There is much to admire as well.  There is a strong message to stay true to your moral compass and the values of our great country.  These however, are outweighed for me by the poor planning, poor use of resources and lack of effective community building that could have been accomplished. 

But to steal a line...that's just my opinion!

[Clay]

A great book. Probably one of the most read in this genre to date, which says a whole lot.

I think the authors point about having the main character not be prepped up is to show what folks would go through. Many PAW stories are written from the standpoint of the prepped, but not many touch on what it would be like to go into it with very little.

While he wasn't a prepper, he did have some things going for him. The car that runs, a few fire arms, a pool full of water.

I also think that this was the story that brought to the mainstream the realization that insulin is an issue and diabetics are going to have a rough go.

I've bought several copies of this book, but I don't have one on my shelf. I lend them out and never get them back!

[Jerry D Young]

I agree that there are many more negative lessons in the story than positive ones. I appreciate the fact that it is good enough to make the mainstream press, which has expanded the pool of people that are actually taking prepping seriously now. The sheer hopelessness of the story in some ways probably drove some people away from prepping, but I believe more people simply became determined that they would do things so a real EMP event would not be hopeless.

One of the things I kept trying to tell the characters was to make a cooler for the insulin from clay pots, sand, and water. For some reason they just did not seem to hear me. There were many instances like that in the book where I would have done things not only sooner, but much differently, with, hopefully, different outcomes.

The other thing that the book did, besides bringing more people into the prepping movement, was to show at least some reality of the hardships than an EMP event would produce. While I disagree with what the characters did for the most part, the fact that people will need to deal with those types of situations and hardships was very nicely presented and is a good lesson.

Just my opinion.

[Clay]

Wasn't this book even used during a congressional session to show the effects of emp or something to that effect?

[TWP]

Wasn't this book even used during a congressional session to show the effects of emp or something to that effect?

I hope not, our congress critters are not noted for being able to distinguish fact and fiction.  I give you FEMA as an example...

[Clay]

From the wikipedia page on the author:

The book was cited on the floor of Congress and before the House Armed Services Committee by Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD), chair of the House Committee tasked to evaluate EMP weapons, as a realistic portrayal of the potential damage rendered by an EMP attack on the continental United States.[1]

[Jerry D Young]

And it does show the potential damage, I will give it that. Just not very many solutions to them that are not second best, at best, and way behind the curve if one things about them and preps for them.

Just my opinion.

[TWP]

And the lesson here is: "I'm from the government and I'm here to help", I believe Ronald Reagan quoted that too.

I find that Jerry's stories are a better mirror of what might happen and how people respond.

[Glenda KG7MZO]

I truly enjoyed this book also.  The first thing that I liked about it, the event happened very early in the book.  I've read other books that spend a good portion on character and plot development.

I agree with you David on your point about recognizing the event took place and taking immediate action to prepare before all hell broke loose.  I think that was my biggest take away from the book, to be able to recognize the situation immediately and initiate plans as soon as possible.  I feel that the main character, with his knowledge, should have recognized that much sooner.

Once the townspeople were able to come together and start planning a response, I appreciated that the story also focused on how the community did it's best to maintain some sort of order and structure, made their best attempt at maintaining some sort of community.  Giving people pertinent tasks that any community would require.  I guess I tend to look for the positive more than the negative.  If we were to face a crisis of this magnitude, I would want to focus on maintaining community as much as possible, banding together for the survival of all.

The decision that was made regarding pets was particularly close to home for me.  I think they made the right decision in regards to how to handle pets.  Pets become part of the family, and when food is scarce, that was a very emotional topic to discuss, but I feel they made the right choice. 

This story also tugged at some real human emotions.  The author did not spare anyone, regardless of who they were in the story.  When Jennifer passed, I was reading that chapter on my lunch break at work and had to muster up all my strength to keep from balling in the lunchroom.

I really enjoyed this story.  The sequel is due to be released soon.  I'll definitely get that one.  I have 3 other books in the line up that I want to read first.   

[Tmac]

This book made me crazy. The main characters first thought once he suspects what has happened is to buy cigarettes and only after that remember his diabetic daughters insulin. Rawr

[redrocker]

The CIA admitted in congressional testimony this week that North Korea had miniaturized nuclear warheads and possess a delivery system (ICBM) capable of reaching the West Coast of the United States.  And, whatever the DPRK has, Iran has also, in my estimation.

This news elevated my assessment of the EMP threat over the next year from "VERY LOW" to "MODERATE."  And so, it was very timely when my long-delayed copy of "One Year After" arrived from Amazon this week.  "One Year After" is the 2015 sequel to "One Second After," which I am sure everyone on this forum has read.

The new book deals with the topic of reconstruction of infrastructure and the eventual reconstitution of government.  I have only read half of it, but this novel showed how completely naive I was in my earlier analysis, undertaken two years ago, of what preparations to make for an EMP event.  This well-thought-out narrative gives a solid sense of what things will be important and which items can be deferred.  It is a rich source of ideas.

For example, I never thought much about the need to have some sort of anesthesia.  In the novel, ether was used.  When I looked into what it took to manufacture diethyl ether, it seemed very simple at first, but concentrated sulfuric acid is needed.  Making sulfuric acid requires not only feedstocks (elemental sulfur, which we have in surface outcroppings here in Nevada), but lead-lined chambers, and a way to create a high fluid pressure for a mister.  (It's easier to steal sulfuric acid from a rail car if you can find it.)  Clearly, this will take some preparation long before any EMP event occurs.

This is just one of two-dozen examples of things needed during reconstruction that never once occurred to me.

I highly recommend the book.