I really enjoyed this books concept however it did get bogged down in the details. It has so many characters that I often was lost thinking; wait a minute who was that again? It was very thought provoking and makes you wonder about this possible future. At least it made me think what if? Not necessarily go out and buy up a ton of can foods and bullets or anything but wow how would our world work if all our networks broke down? The book is good over all and is a nice long read for a long trip or something but it does get cumbersome in the middle and the end is just sad, no happy ending to tie everything up which I guess is realistic but it stinks! LOL Good read over all and I would recommend it.

The story is a bit thin and halfway though it felt like they were beating a dead horse since they kept going over pretty much the same situation over and over again. It substituted substance with tugging your heartstrings and they did it so often you could already predict how every situation was going to play out. The most annoying thing was how helpless (or useless) everyone ends up. Am I really to believe that a town will just waste away in the manner presented with all the knowledge, resources, and their backs to the wall? Even with all the modern technology gone it's not very believable that they would turn out so pathetic when they are working together. If that was going to be the case the writer could have at least given some better reasons like natural disasters, constant raiding, or a plague that thwarted efforts rather than just helplessly degenerating away. I don't regret getting this book but it could have been better.

This book is extremely well researched and written! I couldn't put it down once I got started. The reader was perfect! The thing that got me the most about this book is the fact that this could really happen. I have heard of such weapons in the past but I have never given them much thought. This book served as a wake up call for me. I think that as disturbing as reading this book is, it must be read if you are at all worried about what kinds of effect a terrorist attack could have on any country. The desperation of the characters in this book was something that effected me in a way that I will never forget. I pray that no group ever take this action on any other member of the human race. I can't imagine the hart of any person that would inflict this kind of attack on any other living group of people. This book has for ever changed the way I look at feeling safe in the US. I now understand a level of human depravity that I wish I had never seen. Now that I have though, I will pray for the harts of any that would even consider using such a weapon. It's a great read but it will certainly change your way of thinking for ever!

This is a book everyone in America should read. It should be required reading in schools... and the house and senate. This could actually happen, and the thought is terrifying.

Extremely well written and well narrated, this book kept me up well past the time when sensible people are asleep.

A highly recommended read, well worth the credits. And well worth paying attention to!

This book went beyond my expectations. It was intriguing, heart breaking and scary at the same time. This fictional story could one day really come to life. It was a book that really made me think of how we live and how much we rely on technology. Everything we use today requires energy that we take for granted. This book was not only written well, the narrator made this story come to life.

The headline above says it all. This was a waste of a credit. Except for the bad language review, the rest of the bad reviews are correct as far as I am concerned. I enjoy writing reviews but not bad ones that I feel are a waste of time. This is that case. I see all the good ratings and reviews and feel it would be futile to even attempt to counter them. There are so many great books out there especially those of fiction and this is not one of them by any stretch of the imagination.

I'm a huge fan of post-apocalyptic and survivalist fiction, and the plot concept of this book is excellent. Unfortunately the bland, one-dimensional characters, insipid writing style, and ridiculously over-simplified moral themes completely prevented me from enjoying it. The author belabors themes of survivalism, civilization vs. barbarism, order vs. anarchy, patriotism, and justice over and over again with no imagination. Most of the time he doesn't even make an effort to embed the themes in the narrative and just regurgitates them in exposition. At several points I got the distinct sense that the author is masturbating his conservative politics and military history rather than constructing an engaging story that illuminates new aspects of the themes. Overall the book is an insulting read that grossly oversimplifies the complexities of survivalism, patriotism, and ethics in a post-apocalyptic setting.

This was my FIRST audiobook. I found it interesting up to a point, but then the story just dragged on and on and on...
I think the author has, as other reviewers pointed out, a horribly Norman Rockwellesque view of ideal America. So much so that the story becomes totally unbelievable. Not from the breaking-down-of-social-order perspective, but from the this-is-every-middle-aged-cialis-chomping-toupee-wearing-white-dude's-wet-dream perspective.
I more than once expected Washington Parker to shout: 'Aw weeza gonna nee summoah souljaz, massa...I mean uh cullnul suh!" Really? Really???
According to the author, everyone thinks there is ample food up in them thar mountains. Otherwise he wouldnt have repeated it 3000 times.
Im going to now listen to Earth Abides. If it is anything like One Second After, Im going to dig up Ward Cleaver and punch him in the throat.

i really dig zombie books b/c of their post-apocalyptic nature- seeing how people survive against all odds. so, i decided to try one second after. wow! what a truly horrifying situation. i'm glad i'm a pseudo-prepper! LOL after listening too this, i'm going to up my supplies!

ah..i digress. anyhoooo...one second after takes place in a rural town outside of asheville, north carolina. i've been there. it reminds me of a couple of other smaller cities i've been to- burlington, vt and denver, co. yes, denver's much bigger, but all these places have a college town feel.

oopppsss...i did it again. LOL john is a 48 year old retired cornel who moved back to north carolina with his wife and 2 daughters b/c that's where his wife grew up, and she wanted to go home while she battles breast cancer. john, now the only parent, is doing his best to hold on to his 2 girls as they grow up. elizabeth is 16 and jennifer is 12. like i said, he's trying to hold on to them as his little girls, but they're growing up, and he's trying to deal with elizabeth's interest in boys. as a side note, with boys you only have to worry about 1 prick, with girls, you have to worry about a 1,000. LOL ok. 1,000 might be high. how about 100. come on...any father's out there agree with me? tell your wife i'm not be sexist. LOL we're realists.

ok...on with my review. so he's john struggling raising his daughters in a small town and BOOM! well not really boom, but one sunny afternoon, the power goes out. the cell phones and land lines don't work. the cars stop. not even the radios work. at first, john and everybody just thinks the power's out. however as they start to piece things together, john realizes there must have been at least 1 nuclear bomb has gone off and caused an emp that fried all electrical circuits. as more people come to realize that HELP IS NOT COMING, panic starts to ensue.

this is the story of one small rural town of less than 10,000 and how they survive after being thrust into the dark ages. one reviewer called this a "research paper," and it kinda is. but that's the scary part! the book's timeline kinda follows what would happen. for example in the 1st few days there'd be confusion, panic, and looting. 30 days later the 1st tide of a massive die off will begin as prescription medicine runs out and can't be filled. so yes, it is a story wrapped around a research paper.

as the town manages or barely manages to survive, they must also deal with the thousands of people fleeing the cities and heading to the farmland, looking for food.

yes, this book is scary as H-E-Double Hockey Sticks! Why? b/c it could truly happen. well, it's more likely than a zombie apocalypse. LOL this book explains what would happen during different timeframes once the power goes out.

the story is ok, but i enjoyed it mostly for the what could happen and how people would react scenarios.

so if you're in to post-apocalyptic or dystopian stories, check this one out. i found it worth the credit, especially b/c it motivated me to up my prepping. LOL no, i'm not an obsessive prepper, but i am a little weird! LOL at least i can admit it!

yes, it's a good, short, fun, informative book. i enjoyed it!

This story is simple in it's premise and complicated in it's impact on the characters. The basic experience is: What happens when the EMP effect destroys the American way of liffe? No electricity, no transportation, no grocery or department stores, no entertainment dvd,tv, movies, music cds,computers; everything we now depend upon is lost. How do we live? The story pulls it punches by using a small town. But the characters are believable. Good resolution.

One Second After is a good "end of the world" story.

good characters. readers care about them

The End of American Life.

The end of sociiety, the end of trust, the end of hope. And the human power to return to civilization.