A post-apocalyptic thriller of the after effects in the United States after a terrifying terrorist attack using electromagnetic pulse weapons. New York Times best selling author William R. Forstchen now brings us a story which can be all too terrifyingly real…a story in which one man struggles to save his family and his small North Carolina town after America loses a war, in one second, a war … America loses a war, in one second, a war that will send America back to the Dark Ages…A war based upon a weapon, an Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP). A weapon that may already be in the hands of our enemies.
Months before publication, One Second After has already been cited on the floor of Congress as a book all Americans should read, a book already being discussed in the corridors of the Pentagon as a truly realistic look at a weapon and its awesome power to destroy the entire United States, literally within one second. It is a weapon that the Wall Street Journal warns could shatter America. 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.
The John Matherson Series
#1 One Second After
#2 One Year After
#3 The Final Day
Other Books
Pillar to the Sky
48 Hours
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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This is one of my favorite books! If you’ve ever wanted to look at what life would be like in the event of an EMP blast in America, this book is the one to read. It is a haunting account of life when we are thrown back to the Stone Age.
Chilling! Makes you think..
About life in America without any source of power
This is the most frighteningly realistic books I have ever read. This story has had a permanent impact on my life. Everyone should read it.
One second after is one of the great books in the genre. Loaded with helpful information, excellent characters, imagery, and action it promises to be an eventful ride bordering between fact and fiction.
“One Second After” is a book that should required reading for every American citizen!
I was glued to this book from the start. We hear about a lot of books and apocalyptic stories but this one made you realize that this could really happen.
An EMP is really frightening and the story is plausible. It makes you realize how dependant we are on our all of our modern devices for communication, travel and even medical treatments. A must read!
I loved it; the plot is very plausible. I’m recommending it to everyone I know who READS.
For anyone that might wonder what the effects of the destruction of today’s technology could be, this book is a must read. The domino effect of loss of existence as we know it becomes apparent as everything comes grinding to a halt, including banking, transportation, food and medicine production, and the ability to communicate with those more than a few days walk. Just what apocalypse could realistically look like without the fiction.
This is the first book in a series of 3, about an EMP attack on America that leaves everyone without power and the ramifications, many too horrible to imagine. All these books were incredibly written and never dragged on. The character development and action sequences were so engaging, I never wanted to put the books down. Each scene can be imagined clearly in your mind by the intense imagery Forstchen lays out with his descriptions of a very dark, sad and realistic possible future. Thought provoking. Truly a what if… scenario none of us want to face, considering how very possible these events are to coming true. This author really knows this topic, and it’s clear he has done the research. A dystopian gem among many coals in the genre. I suggest you read this and all the “After Books”, as well as check out any other content from this author.
At the recommendation of a friend, I purchased a hardbound copy of One Second After at B&N. I don’t even want to claim I finished it. There were too many grammatical errors and editorial mishaps for me to stomach. Perhaps 100 pages in, I decided to stop reading before replacing “of” for “have” started to sound acceptable, and the sexually creepy male characters seemed reasonable.
The book was promptly donated to Goodwill, and I began to seriously question my friend’s sanity (and literacy). How is it possible we attempted to read the same book and he didn’t smell the stink of it? I mean, come on, you know when you’re smelling spoiled milk. Everyone will agree it’s soured.
Is the poorly-executed message worth hearing? Probably, but I’d like to meet the intelligent person who could see past the embarrassingly bad grammar to even notice.
Is this novel really the “must-read” so many people claim it is? If your answer is yes, I will wonder if we’re even talking about the same book.
Will I give this book another try? Nope, unless a new edition is released that promises to deliver grammar, writing and characters that won’t make my soul weep.
Raises very frightening implications.
What an amazing book!
Ever what to know what it will be like after an EMP or other major even, read this book.
Loved this book. It led me to become a slight prepper.
One Second After is the first book in a thought-provoking series of what will happen when civilization is nearly wiped out by EMP (electromagnetic pulse) strikes. This books takes us through the first three hundred and sixty-five days after the strike and shows the swift degradation of society when people realize that help isn’t coming because there is no help to be had. Well researched and detailed, you’ll want to keep this one on your bookshelf as a guide to what will happen should fiction become reality.
In this story we follow Dr. John Matherson, currently a college professor of history in a small North Carolina mountain town. Fortunately for the town residents, John is a former military man and a teacher of military history. He is the voice of knowledge when advising the town council. Along with Doc Kellor, who voices the despair of having to watch people die because of lack of services and no replenishment of medicine, the two are basically the narrators of the story. There are several episode within the story where the everyday man or woman must face their own morality and make choices they never thought they would have to make. At the end of this book, Book 1 of the trilogy, help finally arrives but it is too late for more than three quarters of the people in Black Mountain. The help is fleeting at best and sets up the story for Book 2.
I enjoyed the story immensely but found it a bit slow moving in spots. The dilemmas faced by the characters are real and show the internal conflict each faces. Don’t be surprised when several characters you become vested in die; I guess that is to be expected. The takeaway message is that we as a country should be doing so much more to prepare for this kind of ultimate disaster. Looking forward to book two. Gave this book four stars instead of five due to several instances of poor editing where superflouous words were left in place.