After America is an interesting variation on the post apocalyptic theme. On March 14, 2003 a strange burst of energy struck North America. Wherever it struck people died instantly, but the energy did no damage to property. The eastern half of Canada and 90% of the continental USA and the northern 75% of Mexico are completed depopulated. World wide chaos results.
With the USA no longer importing oil the price of crude drops throwing the economies of the oil producing countries into a depression. With the USA no longer importing consumer goods tens of thousands of factories world wide shut down, laying off millions of people. The prices of raw materials plummet causing financial panic in most of the major markets. American crops rot in the fields, with out US exports and food aid millions face starvation. But the final blow comes when the United States defaults on it’s national debt. Suddenly the US dollar is worthless, any person, company or country which kept its wealth in dollars is suddenly destitute. World wide disaster, food riots, famine, wars, you name it. Add in the religious fundamentalist nut who see the destruction of the west as a sign from god, and who believe anything from the end of the world is here, to it is time for them to take over the US and make it into a theocracy, to death to Israel. The world is in a real mess.
Three years later the USA is trying to rebuild. But the problems are many, the depopulated cities are wide open to any third world looter with fishing boats large enough to cross the seas. Washington and Oregon were the only two states on the mainland not touched by the energy pulse, strongholds of the environmental movement, there is great political opposition to rebuilding the USA “the way it was”. This opposition ranges from nuts who want to make the entire depopulated area into a wildlife sanctuary, to those who insist that we can only rebuild using green technology.
So, how does the President of the US:
1) Protect the US from invasion when we can no longer collect enough taxes to support our military.
2) Stop looters from stripping our empty cities when we no longer have enough people to occupy them.
3) Rebuild the country’s infrastructure when no one will loan us money or extend credit.
4) Find people willing to “go out into the wilderness” and repopulate the devastated states.
You will have to read the book to find out.
I found John Birmingham’s After America a very good read. He did a good job at character development, his story line was engaging and his battle scenes were realistic. ~~ William B. Whitmore
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