One Second After

By: William R. Forstchen

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

A post-apocalyptic thriller of the after effects in the United States after a terrifying terrorist attack using electromagnetic pulse weapons.

In a small North Carolina town, one man struggles to save his family after America loses a war that will send it back to the Dark Ages.

Already cited on the floor of Congress and discussed in the corridors of the Pentagon as a book all Americans should read, One Second After is the story of a war scenario that could become all too terrifyingly real. Based on a real weapon—the electromagnetic pulse (EMP)—which may already be in the hands of our enemies, it is a truly realistic look at the awesome power of a weapon that can destroy the entire United States, literally within one second.

In the tradition of On the Beach, Fail Safe, and Testament, this book, set in a typical American town, is a dire warning of what might be our future and our end.

©2009 William R. Forstchen (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"[An] entertaining apocalyptic thriller....fans of such classics as Alas, Babylon and On the Beach will have a good time as Forstchen tackles the obvious and some not-so-obvious questions the apocalypse tends to raise." ( Publishers Weekly)

Excellent book

This book was well written and well read. I think it has changed how I look at everything. I feel so spoiled and wasteful and daily think about how blessed we are and how delicate the electronic society is. The author gets you thinking about what's important.

One of the most moving books I have ever read!

What did you love best about One Second After?

The realness of how this could happen.

What did you like best about this story?

Tells us that we need to see the world and ourselves within a balance that can be upset in very short order.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Not if but When.

Any additional comments?

I just read and finished one of the most moving books I have ever read. If you think you are a tough man or woman read this book without getting a tear in you eye. I must confess I did have a tear and more than one in several places while reading this book. I experienced a multitude of emotions.
What was the worst is that it could become a very real experience for Americans. This book shows us how our America can be brought from being a world leader to being a third world country within one second. This is not for any reader who cannot face the real world and how tenderly our position is balanced within it.

Eye opener on the unthinkable.

It is possible that the events in this book could happen. How probable is anyones guess. But if an EMP attack ever did occur, this is most likely an example of what would unfold in our advanced, but fragile economic system. A system where the local farms are gone, computers are components of virtually every appliance, and where we all live in the blacktopped electrical/electronic social networked biosphere of today. Don't even think of driving your BMW from the burbs to MY neck of the woods when this were to happen. Read it to see what YOUR fate would be!
But seriously, it was an informative thought provoking read that illustrates just how vunerable we really have become under advanced technology. If we ever get into another desperate world war such as WWI and II, this would be a highly probable event for one side or the other if not both. High altitude EMP bursts over enemy territories have been in the military doctrine of all nuclear powers since the 50's when we were much less dependant on the technology of today.

One Second After... hard to imagine...

The author takes a known phenomenon -EMP- which melts micro circuits - all micro circuits to weave a story about life without electricity.

We don't normally think about this. A powerful EMP can come from special bombs detonated over our country... or it can be the result of a rare but inevitable solar flare. Such a flare happened in 1859 when there were no micro circuits to melt. Scientists say it can happen again.

The story gets us thinking. Fortunately, there are things we can do now to soften the impact. But if we wait untill it happens, it will be much harder.

God promised that he would never destroy men again with a flood. He made no such promise about cutting off electricity.

Much better than "The Road"

While they are both different types a nuclear war they are the same. In the road the bombs actually hit the ground and burn everything and the landscape is all dead and there is no possible end other than death.
In One second after we have to reinvent ourselves to be smarter to live off of the land and deal with what that would mean if we were suddenly moved to the 19th century.
And it should be required reading in school.

Awesome!

If you could sum up One Second After in three words, what would they be?

An outstanding read!

What other book might you compare One Second After to and why?

Patriots. However, One Second After is well written, wonderfully performed, and exciting from start to finish. It brings the

What about Joe Barrett’s performance did you like?

Everything! He brings the characters to life. A great narrator, and outstanding performer, the story flowed with ease.

Any additional comments?

I thought this book to be of great value. Theres good information in here where the

Should be required reading by all Americans...

One of the saddest and depressing books I've ever read, yet I'm glad I read it and thank the author for writing it. This book illustrates some of Americas most vulnerable weaknesses, both militarily and psychologically and our lack of preparedness for such a likely attack.
Read, learn, prepare and pray it never happens...

Impressive and Entertaining

I have never written a review for any of the many books I have read and/or listened to, but I couldn't wait to write one for this book. I have read a couple negative reviews for this book and I just don't understand how people can say that it is a conservative rant. I completely disagree and wonder if they even finished the book. This book was read by every extended member of my family and most of my friends now because of the extreme plausibility and realistic situation. I found this book to be a good wake-up call and informative in terms of what to expect and the value of bullets over money. I now own 2 copies of the paperback to loan out to people and an audio copy from Audible and I will always recommend this book for an eye opener.
It is worth the credit.

Frightening Reality

This book scared the devil out of me. I only hope our government is paying as good attention to this book as the bad guys are. I don't know how America could survive. A must read for all!

Couldn't stop listening to this one

This book not only opened my eyes to the possibilites, but gave me excellent ideas on things I need to consider in these troubled times. The story was good, characters were solid. I truly believe that were we to have this kind of incident happen here in the United States, it'd be a whole lot worse than the writer portrays. I will continue to prepare...