[ARCHIVED THREAD] - One Second After (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 8/30/2010 7:10:33 PM EDT
| I cannot search the forums. What is the scoop on this book? Is it a good read or hack trash? |
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Great read, I've given it as a gift on more than one occasion. Be prepared, its an emotional ride, I very rarely get that attached to fictional characters, and if you are a parent, it will only compound the emotions involved. Very well written. Exact opposite end of the spectrum from Patriots in many aspects.
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Good book. Some of the EMP damage was a little extreme compared to what I have heard many experts say would be damaged.
If it doesn't scare the crap out of you, and put you in prepping overdrive, there is something wrong with you. And, as said above, it will yank at your heart. I'm not an emotional type, but I damn near had tears rolling a couple times. |
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got the GF onboard more than me... She asked for more range time. Also she started looking at longer term prep items and storage sollutions. And now we have to prep for the animals a bit more.
one other warning associated with this and not a spoiler alert either. Made the GF want new weaponry and a ton of ammo for all of em... So thats a perk I think. Guice she's trading in the 9mm for a .40 cal XD subcompact. And her own AR... |
| The book is a great tool for dragging people you know into survivalism. I like it becuase it takes a look at the community level, rather than just the bug out location. A lot of reality in that book, not as prep use as in your typical survivalist fiction. Definitely one to keep in the library for friends whom you think are worth preppers. |
| I liked it as it got you thinking and I felt that it did a good job of portraying what would really happen if stuff got that bad. No vehicles, comms etc. I havent been able to read it a second time as my boss has a diabetic daughter. I tihnk they took on a number of tough issues that would be a reality if things got that bad. My beef with the book is the author mentions the EMP Commission Report but totsally ignores it with regards to the damage caused by an EMP. THis really bugs me. |
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I liked the book (audio CD) except for the communist element of taking stuff from the prepared for the unprepared. I hate to say it......but the reality is that this is exactly what would happen. The haves would be both expected and forced to contribute to the community as a whole (the have nots) for the "greater good". that is one reason OPSEC is always stressed here. To the O.P., as was often stated already. This book is a life changer, and I recommend it to people all the time. You will get involved in this book on several levels (if that makes any sense). |
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Its ok BUT NOT for the faint of heart. If your looking for a happier way to scare someone into being prepared I think Lights Out would be better. Plus Lights Out was just a more enjoyable book for me. Where do you get LIghts Out??? I cant find in on Amozon |
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Its ok BUT NOT for the faint of heart. If your looking for a happier way to scare someone into being prepared I think Lights Out would be better. Plus Lights Out was just a more enjoyable book for me. Where do you get LIghts Out??? I cant find in on Amozon It is in the process of being published, I think it is in the final editing stage. It was available as a .pdf, but has been politely and understandably pulled by the author pending actual publishing. Halffast is the author and a regular poster in this forum. If you go to the survival fiction section (one tab below this one in the outdoors section) there is likely at least one thread on the first page asking when LO will be available to buy. ETA (cause I am avoiding actually working): link to thread |
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Having been to the actual places in the book, it scares the hell out of me. It wasn't set in Utah, was it? 
great read, even if the EMP impact is overstated (hopefully we won't find out)- it's real beauty to me is how well it demonstrates how fragile our society really is..... |
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Good book. Some of the EMP damage was a little extreme compared to what I have heard many experts say would be damaged. If it doesn't scare the crap out of you, and put you in prepping overdrive, there is something wrong with you. And, as said above, it will yank at your heart. I'm not an emotional type, but I damn near had tears rolling a couple times. I agree with this /\ |
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Utter crap. The countryside is swarming with cannibal MZBs in under 60 days and 90% of the US population is dead in under a year. Because the electricity went out.  I disagree with your thoughts. I think the EMP scenario was unrealistic in that the entire country was affected to this extreme also. however if the situation WAS that all electricity went out forever. a lot of sick, elderly folks would die. the situation would cascade from there. nothing in our society operates in a vacume. most ever part of our economy/infrastructure depends on something entirely out of that entities control. take grocery stores. no deliveries for months what happens after days let alone months. |
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Utter crap. The countryside is swarming with cannibal MZBs in under 60 days and 90% of the US population is dead in under a year. Because the electricity went out. I disagree with your thoughts. I think the EMP scenario was unrealistic in that the entire country was affected to this extreme also. however if the situation WAS that all electricity went out forever. a lot of sick, elderly folks would die. the situation would cascade from there. nothing in our society operates in a vacume. most ever part of our economy/infrastructure depends on something entirely out of that entities control. take grocery stores. no deliveries for months what happens after days let alone months. Other societies have suffered much worse disasters and not come even close to this situation. While it's okay escapism I keep hearing folks say how 'accurate' the story is. Not in my opinion. |
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Utter crap. The countryside is swarming with cannibal MZBs in under 60 days and 90% of the US population is dead in under a year. Because the electricity went out. i also disagree. i work in health care and when the power goes out, people are running to switch over o2 outlets to the genny outlets. and when bad weather happens stores are out of food in one day. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Utter crap. The countryside is swarming with cannibal MZBs in under 60 days and 90% of the US population is dead in under a year. Because the electricity went out. I disagree with your thoughts. I think the EMP scenario was unrealistic in that the entire country was affected to this extreme also. however if the situation WAS that all electricity went out forever. a lot of sick, elderly folks would die. the situation would cascade from there. nothing in our society operates in a vacume. most ever part of our economy/infrastructure depends on something entirely out of that entities control. take grocery stores. no deliveries for months what happens after days let alone months. Other societies have suffered much worse disasters and not come even close to this situation. While it's okay escapism I keep hearing folks say how 'accurate' the story is. Not in my opinion. I disagree. Other developed nations have not suffered that kind of widespread infrastructure trauma. A single nuclear weapon (a la Iran/NK) may not do it, but a mass coronal ejection certainly could. A big enough one (has happened before) would cause widespread damage to the grid, a cascade effect. Remember also that the US is usually the country that wades in and rescues those afflicted countries. If we get trashed who comes to our aid? Something like 40,000 people died in Europe in 2003 because it was warmer than usual (more again this year). No power disruption there. Without electricity, old people will die. Poor people will die. Sick people will die. City dwellers will starve. Disease will become very common (sanitation issues, water treatment issues, unrefrigerated food, etc...). Common accidents will become life threatening. Heat and cold will cull the weak and young. This is completely possible. There is a season of lag between running out of food and harvesting a crop. What do you eat in that time? There are nations like this in the world. We call them the third world. Do you really think that most Americans will weather the transition from our society today to a society like Rwanda's well? Psycholoigically there would be a huge toll, most Americans are weak and soft. Think of Haiti after the earthquake, without the US coming to the rescue... |
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Utter crap. The countryside is swarming with cannibal MZBs in under 60 days and 90% of the US population is dead in under a year. Because the electricity went out. i also disagree. i work in health care and when the power goes out, people are running to switch over o2 outlets to the genny outlets. and when bad weather happens stores are out of food in one day. people flip out and begin to loose their mind after a 2 days.....let alone 60. Take away the delivery trucks....and the ability to travel.....all I can say is look out. |
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Quoted: I cannot search the forums. What is the scoop on this book? Is it a good read or hack trash? I'm sorry, but after 10,387 posts, why don't you drop the $24 (just $2 a month) to support AR15.com and gain the ability to search, instead of asking a question that has been asked several times (I think there have been at least 3 major multi-page threads on this book). |
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I liked the book (audio CD) except for the communist element of taking stuff from the prepared for the unprepared. Uh, No, that is not what happened. SPOILER BELOW for those who have not read it.......................................................................................... they did not take anything from anybody who had prepared. if you applied for a rations card then they got to search your house to make sure you didn't have food stocked away. |
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I really liked it as a novel. There were definitely some heartbreaking moments, and there were a few spots where you wanted to slap the main character. Much different than Patriots, where you pretty much wanted to shoot the main characters all the time. IF I had a bone to pick with the book (not gonna get into a big debate about EMP, I think the story is about the situation, and they needed something to cause it) it would be that I think the major battle seemed a bit contrived, and was put in to satisfy the Mad Max/Sci-Fi aspect. I mean let's just admit it. If it wasn't in the book, and they made a movie out of it, they would add it to the screenplay. Suspend a little disbelief and enjoy the show.  |
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Utter crap. The countryside is swarming with cannibal MZBs in under 60 days and 90% of the US population is dead in under a year. Because the electricity went out. I disagree with your thoughts. I think the EMP scenario was unrealistic in that the entire country was affected to this extreme also. however if the situation WAS that all electricity went out forever. a lot of sick, elderly folks would die. the situation would cascade from there. nothing in our society operates in a vacume. most ever part of our economy/infrastructure depends on something entirely out of that entities control. take grocery stores. no deliveries for months what happens after days let alone months. Other societies have suffered much worse disasters and not come even close to this situation. While it's okay escapism I keep hearing folks say how 'accurate' the story is. Not in my opinion. Not being a smart ass but did you read the book? I have no idea what would happen if an EMP was deployed nor do I know what would be effected or how. But the book told the story as the EMP disabling all electronics from computer to cars, and hypothetical scenarios as a result. It was not the fact that there was no food, there was no way to deliver it. There was medicines, but no way to maintain them or deliver them. The author made a point about how pharmacies, grocery stores, etc, don't stock pile inventory because it is a liability and rely on easy resupply from regional distribution centers and abundant transportation capabilities. What happens when there is no way to call and order new inventory nor any way to have it delivered. Food and medicine get short and people will start to eat things that they, before, would have long since disposed of and as a result many will get sick. There is no doctor or medicine to help so many would die from seeming inconsequential illnesses. People will become malnourished and their immune systems will start to falter, get sick, and die. Instead of going to the office, school, or enjoying retirement, you will be hunting, working, surviving, and many will have accidents, heart attacks, fires, snake bites, allergic reactions, etc, with no emergency help at all. Most emergency personnel and LE will be taking care of their own families and they wouldn't be able to be contacted or could get there anyway. Many people do not realize that it is not the emergency generator for the hospital/nursing home that gets fried, it is the complex and fragile control systems that tell them when and how to function and are integrated into absolutely everything today. Most relatively modern and recently remodeled commercial and institutional buildings' mechanical/electrical systems are governed by electronic and computerized Building Management Systems that can be vulnerable. Chances are a system can be bypassed for generator but with no one and no resources to do it chances are slim. Most buildings' hardware is designed to operate with some for of management system and will take a major retrofit to work without it. His main point is the fact that society today is in no way equipped to operate with out the systems we have in place. If those systems collapse everything else goes with it. People, in the US especially are no longer, mentally, physically, or situationally equipped to function without our modern systems. That is what makes the the US so vulnerable and even more dangerous. Our advanced society will devolve into chaos more quickly than any society in existence today, or ever before. As I said before, I have no clue how effective and EMP or similar event may effect the country, or how long it could take to repair/replace, especially as a whole. I do know, just as the author pointed out, that if we lose our communication and transportation capabilities we are all screwed. Most sad and scary is the fact that when the scared, hungry, and disillusioned masses, from the big cities and suburbia, start to organize and get behind the most powerful people or groups that they can find, whoever that may be, and start looking for resources. Of course, the second places and people they are going to come to (besides the obvious grocery and common commercial stores) is people like us and our "BOLs". They will not ask and unless we have personal, well armed armies, we will be the first dead and looted. The scenario may be fictional and arguably not accurate, but IMHO his description of the aftermath is dead on. A contrived example is Katrina, and they had communications, were in a small geographic area, and knew help was on the way from an otherwise stable nation. Imagine the same scenario without all of the advantages they had. Just something to think about, sorry for the long post. |
| I'm w/ Nubber 2: I keep 'preaching' here in my small community that, 'what if the electricity goes out' for an extended perod. Think (think, think, think) of everything that works off of electricity - everything. Cities are one thing, rural communities are another. The strongest (best armed, prepaired and orginazed) will survive in the long run. For most, they are/will be screwed. |
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Utter crap. The countryside is swarming with cannibal MZBs in under 60 days and 90% of the US population is dead in under a year. Because the electricity went out. Did you bother to actually read the book? It was a bit more involved than "the power went out". |
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Utter crap. The countryside is swarming with cannibal MZBs in under 60 days and 90% of the US population is dead in under a year. Because the electricity went out. Did you bother to actually read the book? It was a bit more involved than "the power went out". Yeah, I read the book. Lights Out was a lot better in my opinion - it took some time for things to break down. Things went pretty much straight to hell in 1 Second After. People WANT stability and will work together to achieve it, even in the worst of conditions. There are a lot of horror stories about Katrina but for every one of those there are hundreds of stories of folks gettin' 'er done for each other. That, which is similar to how Lights Out went, seems like a more intriguing story to me than 1 Second After. |