One Second After

One Second After by William Forstchen is a post-apocalyptic novel. Forstchen's premise is that an Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP) would effectively wipe out the electrical grid capabilities of the United States and all that entails.

The protagonist of the book is a retired army colonel living in a small town in North Carolina. Now teaching history at a small Christian college, our hero finds himself being challenged to take increasing leadership responsibilities in the midst of social collapse.

One Second After may be the most disturbing book I've read. Forstchen's ability to present likely scenarios in a realistic way is captivating. It took me only three days to read this 352 page book. I was, and am still, challenged to consider how I would respond in a similar social collapse and what I can do to prepare now.

The student of leadership will find this book an instructive read. It presents situations requiring leadership decisiveness. For each situation it presents one alternative choice. The leadership student should consider a variety of potential solutions/responses and their possible or likely outcomes. Throughout the story, alternative choices are presented by other characters in the book as a way of illuminating the thinking of the protagonist.

Some of the scenarios seem implausible making them difficult for me to want to think about. However, each situation presented in this book is possible. Therefore, I chose to mediate on each one and try to determine how to best prepare.

In this novel people die. People who I did not want to die, died. It disturbed me, but it also made me face the reality that people close to me could have been in anyone of those situations. And will be in every one of those situations in the case of social collapse. Therefore, the prudent leader will take action now to prepare for these possibilities.