A terrifying environment where there is no electric…
Bestselling author William R. Forstchen, Ph.D., immerses readers in a terrifying environment where there is no electricity, no safe drinking water, and a rapidly dwindling supply of food and medication in his New York Times #1 bestseller, One Second After.
The book traces the very real impact of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack above the United States. And following the severe impact of Hurricane Helene on his hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, Forstchen found himself in eerily similar circumstances when he was without power for a month.
“I should have paid closer attention to my own book,” Forstchen quipped. “I was caught without an emergency supply of water, and I went without power for 30 days and without internet for at least 45 days. I can’t imagine surviving like that for six months, a year, or even longer — which would be our reality in the event of an EMP strike.”
Long regarded as a foremost expert on EMP technology, Forstchen has been consulted by numerous federal, state, and local governments and private entities and has spoken at conferences all over the United States.
Citing the country’s already vulnerable energy grid, Forstchen said an EMP attack would wipe out power and set off a cascade of deadly events. The first necessity people would lose is water, followed by food supply and medication. Then, disease would set in. Long-term survival, he added, would depend on being in the right place at the right time with the right food supply.
“I believe the threat of America being hit by an EMP weapon is the single greatest danger to our survival,” Forstchen said. “Electricity is the fundamental building block of our society. Everything is predicated on electrification.”
An EMP causes widespread cataclysmic damage to power grids due to what’s called the Compton effect, he explained.
“An electromagnetic pulse is the byproduct of detonating a nuclear weapon. When a nuclear weapon is detonated 200 to 250 miles above the earth, the gamma ray burst when it hits the upper atmosphere sets off the Compton effect. In essence, a giant electrostatic discharge hits the earth’s surface and wipes out electronic devices as well as entire power grids, leaving affected areas in the dark,” he said.
Forstchen has written extensively about the devastating impact of EMP strikes, beginning with his New York Times bestseller, One Second After, which offers a realistic look at a weapon and its awesome power to destroy the entire United States, literally within one second. One Second After spawned three sequels, each of which is a fictional exploration rooted in the cold, solid facts of how an EMP strike above U.S. soil would impact society.
www.onesecondafter.com
