Early this morning I was surprised to hear the unmistakable voice of Art Bell, creator of the late-night radio program Coast to Coast AM taking the airwaves, for one of his now-seldom annual appearances on the show (these usually coincide with holidays). To add further excitement to the situation, I also recognized the voice of his guest, author William R. Forstchen, an excellent writer and an acquaintance of mine, whom I met several years ago at a conference in Asheville, North Carolina.

Forstchen, having authored numerous books with Newt Gingrich, is a New York Times Best-Selling author and expert on military history, as well as a professor at Montreat College outside of Black Mountain, NC. The subject on the table during Art’s interview last night was Forstchen’s new book, One Second After, which follows the struggle of John Matherson, a retired Colonel who lives with his family in Black Mountain, NC, during the weeks and months that unfold after an EMP strike against the United States by an unknown foreign enemy.

I’ll keep my endorsement simple and short: You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to buy this book and read it as soon as possible.

Never before, according to Forstchen, has their been a greater threat to the nation than an EMP attack. This, in essence, involves a nuclear device detonated in the upper stratosphere, causing a “shock wave” in the form of an electromagnetic pulse, capable of knocking out the electrical grid over large stretches of country below where the initial blast occurred. “EMP is a real threat, I believe the most underestimated threat in the history of our country,” Forstchen says at his website. “In the late 1930s we completely underestimated the Japanese and the potentials of a new technology… carrier based aviation. I’ve written two novels with Newt on this subject. No one took the threat seriously and on December 7, 1941 close to three thousand Americans died. The war that ensued would claim close to half a million American lives. Pearl Harbor was a blow we could recover from and go on to eventual victory. An EMP strike? I believe it would be the death of America, the death of our children… it would be the end of the America we cherish and love… and plunge the few who survive into a new dark age.”

It’s hard not to approach this subject without sounding like an “alarmist,” but if indeed the potential threat is as great as Forstchen warns, it is something we must take seriously–now, and from here on out into the future. Interest and intrigue in One Second After shifts to desperation, primal fear, and finally, overwhelming patriotism as this masterful story unfolds, and though, thankfully, this book is a work of fiction, the potential threat it outlines is something all should be made aware of, and take seriously.

Again, this is one of the most powerful and important books I’ve ever read. Therefore, again I’ll give my strongest recommendation, and ask that you consider reading William Forstchen’s latest offering. Click here to buy One Second After on Amazon.