Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

People have been warning of the potential catastrophe awaiting us if the electric grid should fail for a long time, but most of those warnings have fallen on deaf ears or considered the rantings of post-apocalyptic doomsayers. But when Ted Koppel--one of the nation's most trusted journalists--takes up the cause, each and every one of us needs to listen. In a relatively short and readable book, Koppel succinctly and unemotionally makes the case that (a) the electric grid of the U.S. is extremely vulnerable to collapse due to either cyberwarfare, EMP attack, or solar flare; (b) due to a variety of economic and political reasons, we have not implemented necessary steps to protect the grid; and (c) most frighteningly of all, we do not have emergency plans on either the state or federal level to deal with a widespread collapse of the grid. This is not a trivial threat. Imagine Katrina, only thousands-fold. Koppel notes that the report of the commission tasked with evaluating a potential EMP attack predicted that, in the case of such an attack that would destroy large parts of the grid, only 1 in 10 Americans would still be alive a year later. It is important to stress in light of the preceding sentence that Koppel's book is NOT a hysterical fear-mongering rant; instead, it is a careful analysis of the genuine risks and a convincing documentation of how completely unprepared we are, at all levels, to face this threat. As a chilling example, consider the quote Koppel provides by Jeh Johnson, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, who when asked how the country would respond to a collapse of the grid, said "Oh, I'm sure FEMA has the capability to bring in backup transformers." As Koppel so compellingly describes, we not only don't have sufficient spare transformers lying around, we don't even have the infrastructure to deliver them in a timely manner. Koppel also offers a convincing argument that this threat is different from other seemingly similar threats, such as nuclear war. Simply put, with conventional or nuclear war, we know who is attacking or might attack us, and our ability to quickly administer an equal or greater response serves as a deterrent to any even slightly sane enemy. It is also the case that relatively few nations exist with the capability to mount a conventional or nuclear offense against us. But as Koppel notes, this is the first time in the history of warfare where "small groups, even individuals, can undermine the critical infrastructure of a state." The book is divided into three major sections: The first, "A Cyberattack" is a careful if sometimes dry and technical argument demonstrating the vulnerability of the grid. My impression is that Koppel started the book this way to show that he isn't merely fear-mongering, but if you find your eyes glazing over the minutiae of the SCADA computer software used by electric companies, don't give up on the book entirely; skip to the second section, "A Nation Unprepared," which documents chillingly the lack of planning for a collapse of the grid by the very federal agencies that OUGHT to be planning for such an event, and the third section, "Surviving the Aftermath," where Koppel describes the mind-set and actions taken by the groups most likely to survive a grid collapse, such as preppers and the Mormons. While that section is perhaps the most "optimistic" part of the book, the optimism dims more than a bit when Koppel repeatedly raises but never satisfactorily answers the question of how these prepared individuals or communities will react when throngs of panicked citizens who HAVEN'T prepared come knocking on their doors and asking for help. I don't often encounter a book that I think literally everybody in the country should read, including and especially our nation's leaders. We can take steps to protect the grid. It won't be cheap or easy, but it can be done. My hope is that Koppel's book will attract enough attention that we will no longer ignore this very real vulnerability.