Posted on 11/23/2010 9:16:39 PM PST by albionin
In light of the recent events in Korea and the "missile launch" off of the California coast I'd like to reccomend the book One Second After, by William R. Forstchen. It is about the aftermath of an EMP attack on America. Set in a smal North Carolina mountain town, the book depicts the very real consequences of our modern society instantly thrown 150 years back in time. The author has done his research well and gives a very accurate account of what would happen. It's gut wrenching but good. In the postscript the author describes testing by the Iranian government with launching scud missiles from cargo ships, the warhead set to go off at altitude instead of on the target.
Great Book.. Read it about a month ago .. a must read
Agree. A great read and a very sobering one. Truly frightening in its portent.
That is a scary, sobering read.
Have they fixed the grammar issues yet? (”would of,” “could of,” etc)
Terris Blackstock has a series of books written about this same subject. I think one of them is called “Last Light”. Really scary as well.
Never gave EMP much thought until a FReeper recommended the book. My God, the havoc it could create is unimaginable, but yet it would be hundreds of times easier to accomplish than a successful launch of ICBMs
“One Second After” Sensible Survival Book Recommendation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiYvuY3t5aM
I hear the science in the book is highly inaccurate and overblown.
But they're not laughing anymore.
BLOAT.
After the pulse, just repair the damaged stuff.
Same premise, with detailed extrapolations of potential impact on future events and living standards after a single soviet/US EMP exchange.
It is amazing how fast things could change.
Can readers remember what the most valuable bartering item was, when money was worthless? Bullets.
Yes for home protection, but more importantly for killing your food. And it won’t be deer and other large game. They will be depleted in very short order. No, it would be rabbits, squirrels, birds of all kinds, rats, and even domestic animals. So you can stock up on 357 magnum, but don’t forget the most valuable bullet which will be the versatile and accurate .22LR
>>>After the pulse, just repair the damaged stuff.<<<
Let’s say things happen the way the book outlines, with EMP pulses over Utah, Kansas, and Ohio. Those of us living way up here by the edge of the treeline next to the Arctic Circle will have all of our electronics intact. Ditto Hawaii. And Newfoundland. And any place shielded by mountains, soil, unexpected circumstances, and plain old dumb luck. And anyone with old-fashioned vaccuum tubes. And military hardware shielded against such things.
One little example. I work in at an old Air Force base. One of the rooms is shielded against nuclear attack. The walls are two feet thick with what looks like reinforced concrete. Can’t get wifi through the wall. Or radio. Or TV. Or walkie-talkies. I imagine that an EMP pulse would leave all the computers and equipment in that room intact. An improbable circumstance, sure, but it exists. Multiply that times 1000.
I’ve actually been in a couple of disasters. What I’ve seen is that people generally gather together instead of falling apart. When it’s a choice between quick death and working with your neighbors, you’d be amazed at how many people pick the neighbor. I’m sure that a real EMP distaster would produce mayhem and carnage in places. I’m also sure that there would be many more places where people find a solution to their local problems.
Another thought: even if we were thrown back 150 technologically, we wouldn’t lose 150 years of knowledge. Building back would happen far quicker than this fun little story depicts, in my opinion. For starters, the seeds of the 21st century would be still working in corners of the world, like Alaska. Yes, yes, yes, in my little village there wouldn’t have electricity for lack of fuel, but when the outside world finds us again, my computer would still work when plugged back in.
And after saying all that... I think the author is predictive of what will come. An EMP attack is the easiest to accomplish. It’ll be a mess. God willing it won’t happen with Obama at the helm.
And when we come back, and we will, we will be pissed. Those countries and people who complain about American “imperialism” haven’t really seen our potential for empire. I imagine that the phrase “nuke the f***er” will be greeted with applause by the EMP survivors.
It’s fun to make believe. The truth is that an EMP attack would be unpredictable. God knows. And God help us.
Plot Summary of Remnants
A rare astrological event causes a permanent worldwide black out, forcing residents of a middle-class suburb to get by with no modern conveniences.
The community pulls together and adapts to a simpler way of life, but their success draws the attention of the less resourceful residents in the area and soon results in a war between subdivisions.
This is their story.
http://www.remnants-movie.com/v2/index.html
Later
bttt
LOL.
But you won't be laughing when Uranus gets Cancer.
I’ve been wondering whether that missile launch off of California last week was a test for something like this.
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