Should I read One Second After?

I think an important thing to remember while reading "novels" like The Road and One Second After is that they are there for entertainment purposes - they are written specifically to challenge your psyche to accept an unlikely reality.


Also remember that the technical ability to actually carry out an EMP attack is extreme. Some have argued that even the major powers US, Russia, China might actually lack the ability to do so.
 
I found the book incredibly depressing, but it is a good read, and it has some good food for thought in it. It is fiction, but I think he got at least part of it "right" as to peoples reaction.

And as I have mentioned a number of times before, do yourself a favor and get Thomas Sherry's Deep Winter and Shatter and read them as well. $5 for the PDF version
 
Sure, read it. It's a decent book and well worth a few hours.

Skip Patriots, however. I got about 20 pages in before I had to throw it away.
 
shecky said:
As survivalists, we love to ponder such stuff. That's why I refer to it as "disaster porn". However, history tends to show us that the seeds of our demise will probably be via comparatively anemic means, rather than the large scale drama used to sell sensational books and movies.
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The term "disaster porn" is awesome, and provides food for thought regarding these doomsday scenarios. I have always suspected the survival community could be divided into two general groups- those who are prepared and (perhaps not so secretly) WANT it to happen, and those who prepare knowing that regardless of their efforts they could never be even close to 100% covered mentally or materially for all of the potential unknowns of such a disater. It's refreshing to see the objective and common sense pov's being expressed in this thread. I will probably read this book with that in mind, more for entertainment than a foretelling of an actual survival scenario.
 
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kycolonel said:
those who prepare knowing that regardless of their efforts they could never be even close to 100% covered mentally or materially for all of the potential unknowns of such a disater. It's refreshing to see the objective and common sense pov's being expressed in this thread.
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:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
I read it.

It could have been MUCH better than it was. It started out pretty good, but then it just got boring. He could have done so much with the plot, but eventually it just turned into a melodrama with a big (badly written) fight at the end.
 
This is an incredibly thoughtful thread. One of the best ever on this forum. I never think of survival in a doomsday scenario. I refuse to take up brain space with that future. I love having the ability to survive. It gives me confidence. The ability to survive lets me operate day to day without worry or fear of the what if. This leaves allot of room for living freely in the now. So many people I know spend so much energy worrying about the possibility of what if I loose my job and I'm homeless types of disasters. These scenarios do not concern me. I will easily survive if such a thing would occur. Thus I think I have a better chance of it not occurring to me. The freedom to operate without fear and concern of a disastrous future is the best way to insure a prosperous one.
 
Tballetta said:
The freedom to operate without fear and concern of a disastrous future is the best way to insure a prosperous one.
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That is what its all about, brother.:thumbup:


The way I see it?... I can learn all these great skills and still live a life without fear, negativity, and paranoia. If there is a major catastrophy and world turns "Mad Max", perhaps I'll be less prepared, mentally (since I haven't marinated myself in fear).... but I can learn quickly . To dwell in the fear of "what if it goes to hell." is self-deprivation, IMO. As I said before... "Acknowledge it as a possibility, prepare for it and move on.


Rick
 
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I didn't phrase my statement very well.

An EMP strike would not affect me in many ways because I live in an area that a SUDDEN event will not allow me to bug out anyway, so my car would be useless as transportation even if it were full of gas and working.

Money would be useless at that point so I could care less about my accessing my already overtaxed bank account.

I meant I am set up to bug in and survive without any electronic devices containing IC's etc.

For many others, depending on their plan, it would be more devestating.

Carl-
 
Snow said:
Sure, read it. It's a decent book and well worth a few hours.

Skip Patriots, however. I got about 20 pages in before I had to throw it away.
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I liked Patriots when I read it just for the story without thinking about Rawles views on religion and politics. It was a great story covered in muck and it didn't have to be.
 
I read it. It was good.

It did change my perspective to an extent but I already bathe in doom on a daily basis so not all that much.

I'm not embarrassed to say that, as a father of three little girls, there were parts of the book that had me crying pretty hard.

As far as it helping to be prepared, not really. Perhaps for the layperson who goes into the book completely unprepared it will help to shock them to action but for the majority of folks that I fraternize with and frequent this and other survival related forums, it's mostly old hat.

I say read it.
 
PrimitiveMan said:
I'm kinda trying to figure out what is going to happen next where I live.
...

We know it is going to happen fairly soon. Anyone with a brain knows a tax rate approaching 50%, a decrease in medical care and restrictive laws is going to result in something. Carbon footprint taxation, anti gun laws, yada, yada, you have heard it all before. Without going into the Political side and me not being a "survivalist" and not stockpiling ammo and such, I have to figure out ahead of time just what is a realistic scenario and what my plan is.

An EMP strike would not effect me directly at all. The consequences of the aftermath would. BUT it is an unlikely scenario.
...
I am more concerned with the reality of what I think is about to occur within the next 10 years.
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I also think that an EMP survival scenario isn't very likely.
A more likely scenario is an economic collapse into a major depression,
followed by a slow degradation into either a chaotic society with little
governmental control, or a degradation into a society with near total control
over it's population.

Either of these scenarios is far more likely than an EMP strike, and far more
frightening, because of that fact.

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to read the book (and see the movie) or
not. Christmas time is not a good time to be reading books on such topics.
This is the time of year that is worst for mental depression, and given the
state of the economy this year, with so many unemployed, I would be
concerned that perhaps The Road might not be a good option, until, say
Spring.
 
d_filgate said:
I also think that an EMP survival scenario isn't very likely.
A more likely scenario is an economic collapse into a major depression,
followed by a slow degradation into either a chaotic society with little
governmental control, or a degradation into a society with near total control
over it's population.

Either of these scenarios is far more likely than an EMP strike, and far more
frightening, because of that fact.

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to read the book (and see the movie) or
not. Christmas time is not a good time to be reading books on such topics.
This is the time of year that is worst for mental depression, and given the
state of the economy this year, with so many unemployed, I would be
concerned that perhaps The Road might not be a good option, until, say
Spring.
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I gotta say, I think that an EMP style attack is highly likely. It's simple to execute and the materials needed are already in the hands of our enemies.

All thats needed is motive and opportunity and they have the motive.

The other senerio you pose is possible and, IMO in progress as we speak.
 
EMP threats, Y2K, Hussein, 2012, Kadafi, Depressions, Tsunami, Oppressions, hurricanes, Supressions, Famine, Plagues, Governments, Ozone, global warming, Desert Storm, etc... Some have happened, some did not... we got past it... It's good to be aware of threats, just don't let them take away from the present.


It will come and go... just like everything else.

Rick
 
Magnussen said:
It's good to be aware of threats, just don't let them take away from the present.
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Nicely said Rick. After all, no one gets out of this alive, might as well enjoy the moment.

For the OP, what is the downside of reading this book? Might take up some time. But if it gives you some food for thought, why not read it?
 
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