Remember and stay indoors after the Event for the quiz show.

Wow

I tried to read his blog but it's so disorganized and all over the place I never go there.

I believe Doris Day got it right.

Que se ra, se ra...

Not having read the book I can't comment on it. However, I am more than a little amused by all the EMP (or any other favorite cataclysm of choice) TEOTWAWKI scenarios.

Mankind has gone through a lot during the past few millenia and we're still here. We could live without electricity for a while if we had to. In fact, a lot of people do right now as we speak. It might not be comfortable but we can make it. Even if our entire infrastructure were destroyed somehow we could still restore EVERYTHING. We've created it and we could do it again if we had to. We could probably survive even the worst imaginable scenarios. Maybe not you or me, maybe just a few, but enough of us to continue our existence.

In any case, whatever might happen, the ones that will ultimately ensure the survival of humanity are not going to be a band of survivalists holed up in their mountain cabins opening fire at anyone approaching their retreat but rather people from all walks of life uniting for the common good and rebuilding TWAWKI. Just the way it's always been done throughout history.

Unless you've exhausted all the Tolstoy, Homer, Dickens, Aesop, Vonnegut, Norman Mailer, Jones and all the masterpieces of world literature I see little need to pollute one's mind reading some second-rate wannabe-survivalist novels. Not to sound cynical but time is too short and looking after one's mental hygiene is important these days (too much TV! ).

Also, getting too much into all this survivalist mindset is bad because if anything catastrophic does happen, you will probably do as you are conditioned to (deliberately or unconsciously). Like grabbing the guns and running to the hills, which might really be the worst option of all.

An exclusive diet of TEOTWAWKI is not advisable and would be very depressing, but there are some books in this genre worth reading -- even if Tolstoy, his masterpiece literature peers or some other first rate author didn't write them. For instance, I will confess to thoroughly enjoying Steven King's "The Stand." Crass as that may be. And The Stand was further motivation to be very attentive at pandemic planning meetings. On 9/11, a Tom Clancy novel came to mind. Wish some more people in certain jobs had read it. Whatever it takes.

I don't think TEOTWAWKI books or films necessarily instill or reinforce a survivalist mindset. Survivalists aren't the only ones reading them.

The bleaker fiction, like Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" and Albert Camus' "The Plague" (a high school class read) make me ponder the merits of stocking up on only one item: cyanide.

EMP - the subject of this book - is beyond simply losing power for awhile. EMP during nuclear weapons tests has permanently destroyed electronic devices and could have long-term consequences for power grids. That's why governments around the world are so interested in defending against it and the bad guys are intrigued by the offensive potential.

My biggest takeaway from One Second After, other than the need for good editors, was that in a non-apocalyptic disaster that could result in an extended power outage, there is extreme peril for people reliant on powered medical technology and medication that requires refrigeration.

One of the main characters was diabetic. And the consequences at a nursing home and hospitals were explored, as well.

My dog is presently being treated with a medication that must be refrigerated. She wouldn't die without it but her rump would itch for a while longer. Who needs that in a crisis?

Tolstoy, Homer, Dickens, et.al. didn't have a clue about that modern reality (EMP, nor my dog's rump) and if the others you mentioned had written about EMP I'd be pleased to read their take on it.

Lesser authors not blessed with the literary skills of the classics, can still be thought-provoking on subjects - such as EMP - that are worthy enough to warrant congressional hearings and scientific studies.

That said, One Second After, is second-rate quality. The original point of the thread was: is his EMP scenario plausible were an EMP to occur?

And now I will go back to reading The Secret Life of Bees.

Honey bees, not killer bees.

;-)

EXACTLY!

I did not have a "FULL" grasp on all the things needing "electricity"... to survive. We think lights, fridge, maybe air for breather... but WOW tons more stuff/medical related/security etc.. Book really illustrated that, and just how MOST people are SO reliant on power for EVERYTHING. (And propane/ng to some degree)

Speaking of refrigeration, what kind of portable solar-battery charger setup could run a small fridge in the summer?

A lot of RVs owners are using solar setups to power at least some of their needs. I'll start looking for those setups when we go camping in the next couple weeks. Would like to discuss them with some owners.

If I were dealing with a chronic health condition requiring refrigeration for medicine this is an area I'd be looking very seriously at. And since that day may arrive I'll look seriously at it anyway.

“EMP 101” A BASIC PRIMER & SUGGESTIONS FOR PREPAREDNESS is an interesting read. Once ALL the electricity gets turned off nationwide, most vehicles -- meaning cars, trucks and trains simply stop wherever they are -- transportation both personal and commercial stop. Don't be caught in a fly-by-wire airliner.

Food shipments stop; water pumps stop; sewage pumps stop; A/C gets warm and your furnace goes cold. Communications both commercial (radio & TV) and government (police and fire) cease. Hospitals will lose power and depending on how their back-up power is wired, they may lose that too -- not a good time to be in surgery.

I particularly appreciate the authors thoughts regarding the likelihood of an EMP "strike": Time to invest in a large Faraday cage.

As I understand the nature of a nuclear EMP, most of the energy is below 100 MHz. Many automobile electrical systems will survive due to the steel Faraday cage-like structure in which they're enclosed-- maybe -- the car still needs gas. Then again, that FM radio thingy in most cars is right at +/-100MHz with an antenna that takes what's outside and brings it inside, hmmm. I wonder how much a spare computer and other components would cost; cheap insurance? or is my tinfoil hat showing

Fortunately, with a car the EM pulse only has 2'-3' of radio antenna to couple into the car's system, which may limit the damage. Most of the serious infrastructure damage is caused by the miles and miles of wire the EM pulse can use to couple to our electric grid. That's where the huge spikes come from.

I'm not really informed well about EMP, but logic indicates it would only harm electrical equipment that was powered up at the time the EMP hits. Equipment that is not operating, or powered up, would not be affected. Is this correct?