"LIGHTS OUT"
Actually a pretty darn good book on the rapidly impending threat of EMP and a nation with no electrical grid.
I never thought I would say this in my lifetime but here goes …
This book is quite good.
It’s by Ted Koppel.
There you have it.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Ted Koppel reveals that a major cyberattack on America’s power grid is not only possible but likely, that it would be devastating, and that the United States is shockingly unprepared.
“Fascinating, frightening, and beyond timely.”—Anderson Cooper
Imagine a blackout lasting not days, but weeks or months. Tens of millions of people over several states are affected. For those without access to a generator, there is no running water, no sewage, no refrigeration or light. Food and medical supplies are dwindling. Devices we rely on have gone dark. Banks no longer function, looting is widespread, and law and order are being tested as never before.
It isn’t just a scenario. A well-designed attack on just one of the nation’s three electric power grids could cripple much of our infrastructure—and in the age of cyberwarfare, a laptop has become the only necessary weapon. Several nations hostile to the United States could launch such an assault at any time. In fact, as a former chief scientist of the NSA reveals, China and Russia have already penetrated the grid. And a cybersecurity advisor to President Obama believes that independent actors—from “hacktivists” to terrorists—have the capability as well. “It’s not a question of if,” says Centcom Commander General Lloyd Austin, “it’s a question of when.”
And yet, as Koppel makes clear, the federal government, while well prepared for natural disasters, has no plan for the aftermath of an attack on the power grid. The current Secretary of Homeland Security suggests keeping a battery-powered radio.
In the absence of a government plan, some individuals and communities have taken matters into their own hands. Among the nation’s estimated three million “preppers,” we meet one whose doomsday retreat includes a newly excavated three-acre lake, stocked with fish, and a Wyoming homesteader so self-sufficient that he crafted the thousands of adobe bricks in his house by hand. We also see the unrivaled disaster preparedness of the Mormon church, with its enormous storehouses, high-tech dairies, orchards, and proprietary trucking company—the fruits of a long tradition of anticipating the worst. But how, Koppel asks, will ordinary civilians survive?
With urgency and authority, one of our most renowned journalists examines a threat unique to our time and evaluates potential ways to prepare for a catastrophe that is all but inevitable.
It’s a sober-minded, textured view of what can be expected when they take out the grid.
Kudos to Mr. Koppel for not being a leftist bastard and turning it into a political screed. Well researched and accurate for the current power system.
It’s a really good book as an introduction if you are unfamiliar with the details of this subject.
Vault-Co stamp of approval.
“LIGHTS OUT” (2015)
By Ted Koppel
(Added to the Memex)
Regards, Tex
I don’t have anything approaching a vault. I’m an apartment dweller in a medium sized, solidly working class area. But I still have plenty of essentials that can sustain me comfortably for many weeks: water, sardines, rice, olive oil, vitamins, soap, toilet paper.
But most of these zombies around me don’t seem to have more than a few days supply of things. I can’t imagine what these zombies would become if they suddenly had to go days without caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, or streaming video.
I can't believe I'm considering reading a book penned by Ted Koppel!
But, this is a subject that deserves far more attention. I remember reading Kevin from cryptogon.com in about 2004 explaining how easy it would be to take out the power system if their were real terrorists (not state-sponsered). So far so good, but never forgot that and have used shielding to protect electronics, etc. Interesting times are coming. Thank you.