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Sign up todayOne Second After
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Learn moreA post-apocalyptic thriller of the after effects in the United States after a terrifying terrorist attack using electromagnetic pulse weapons.
In a small North Carolina town, one man struggles to save his family after America loses a war that will send it back to the Dark Ages.
Already cited on the floor of Congress and discussed in the corridors of the Pentagon as a book all Americans should read, One Second After is the story of a war scenario that could become all too terrifyingly real. Based on a real weapon—the electromagnetic pulse (EMP)—which may already be in the hands of our enemies, it is a truly realistic look at the awesome power of a weapon that can destroy the entire United States, literally within one second.
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.
William R. Forstchen is the author of the New York Times bestseller One Second After and We Look Like Men of War, among numerous other books in diverse subjects ranging from history to science fiction. He has co-authored several books with Newt Gingrich, including Gettysburg: A Novel of the Civil War, Pearl Harbor, Days of Infamy, To Try Men’s Souls and Valley Forge. Forstchen holds a Ph.D. in History from Purdue University, with specializations in military history and the history of technology. He is currently a Faculty Fellow and Professor of History at Montreat College, near Asheville North Carolina. He is a pilot and flies an original WWII recon "warbird." He resides near Asheville with his daughter Meghan.
Joe Barrett began his acting career at the age of five in the basement of his family's home in upstate New York. He has gone on to play many stage roles, both on and off-Broadway, and in regional theaters from Los Angeles, Houston, and St. Louis to Washington DC, San Francisco, and Portland, Maine. He has appeared in films and television, both prime time and late night, and in hundreds of television and radio commercials. Joe has narrated over two hundred audiobooks. He has been an Audie Award finalist eight times, and his narration of Gun Church by Reed Farrel Coleman won the 2013 Audie Award for Original Work. AudioFile magazine has granted Joe fourteen Earphones Awards, including for James Salter's All That Is and Donald Katz's Home Fires. Regarding Joe's narration of John Irving's A Prayer For Owen Meany, AudioFile said, "This moving book comes across like a concerto . . . with a soloist-Owen's voice-rising from the background of an orchestral narration." Joe is married to actor Andrea Wright, and together they have four very grown children.
Reviews
“The only thing more terrifying than this masterfully crafted story is the possibility of it actually happening—and not a damn thing being done to protect us.”
“Civilization slides into the abyss of a new dark age in this horrifying apocalyptic novel.”
“Forstchen’s work has flair and power.”
“Good storytelling consists very simply of creating characters so believable that the reader forms a deep bond…Shortly after the first page, I had been reeled in hook, line, and, sinker.”
“[An] entertaining apocalyptic thriller…fans of such classics as Alas, Babylon and On the Beach will have a good time as Forstchen tackles the obvious and some not-so-obvious questions the apocalypse tends to raise.”
“What would happen in the U.S. in the event of an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attack? The answer: Everything electronic—EVERYTHING—would be fried. That’s exactly what happens in this story, which centers on Colonel John Matherson, U.S. Army, retired, now a professor of history in Black Mountain, North Carolina. The character’s powers of ingenuity are challenged to the limit as they realize just how fragile the barrier between civilization and barbarism is. Joe Barrett’s baritone is steady and sometimes a bit gravelly, and his serious tone suits these events well. His vocal characterizations are not as good as his narrative, but they do not distract from the story overall.”
“Forstchen’s well-crafted and compelling story…reminds us of how helpless we’d be without modern technology—a chilling thought, as EMP is a real threat to the industrialized world. Elegantly narrated by Joe Barrett; a haunting, essential listen.”
“Retired Army colonel and college teacher John Matherson’s stoic determination that his family survive the chaos is convincingly communicated through Barrett’s deep, brooding tones…Most compelling are his realistic enactments of Matherson’s deterioration from infection…A compelling, cautionary tale.”
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