Ted KoppelCritiques

It isn't funny, but rather ironic. I read this book by Koppel about Cyberattacks in December, right before things started to come out about the election. As I listen about how Russia might have interfered in the election, I kept coming back to this well explored book.
Koppel has always been an incredible journalist and this is a highly researched book. In short, what happens if a group decides to hack our electrical systems or other systems that are powered by computers and can be remotely accessed. As I was reading it, I kept thinking- yes, this might happen, but what is the likelihood? Then the idea that the Russians hacked the election showed up.
I did find the book dragged just a tiny bit as it kept hammering the same point, but it is hard to state this is a bad book. I think it is worth reading.
I gave this one 4 stars.

I want to thank Blogging for Books for the opportunity to read this book. I received it in exchange for an honest review.

Well-written and researched - very scary!

I had hoped for more useful suggestions on how to deal with the "eventuality of a debilitating cyber attack on the grid". The first part of the book is establishing that the best experts consider that it is an "eventuality". It's going to happen. He covers, not graphically- that would require a novel- the problems that would result from such a cyber attack: months of no power for large portions of the country. He spoke to those who will have to deal with the problem, and the short form is that they don't know. There is no way to deal with large urban populations who don't have power. They won't have water, food, much less light and communication, and it will be chaos. Some suggest moving them out to the country- but while rural areas seem like they could survive better, they don't have the ability to take those huge numbers of refugees. Basically, what he's saying is that because there is no way to deal with it, those in charge continue to try to prevent it because as unlikely as that is, it's cheaper and easier to think about. That is not going to help. Bottom line, plan now and figure out what you're going to do. Since we're in the range of one gas-tank's worth of driving from Boston, I figure I'll just die. Darn.

Good book. I'd never thought much about this subject until now. It's frightening. Cyber attack, lights go out in the U.S., most of us are really and truly screwed. The possibility of something like this happening doesn't seem far fetched at all after reading this book.

Scary, but what can you do.

A book about cyberattacks as weapons of mass destruction by no less an author than noted investigative journalist Ted Koppel should have been a slam dunk page turner. However, while the subject matter is terrifying and the thought of just what the results could be of even a partial American power grid collapse is absolutely heart stopping, Koppel’s presentation of the material was not what I was expecting from such a well-respected writer. The research itself behind this work is outstanding, from the interviews with key governmental personnel to the three chapters related to the disaster prepping completed by the Mormons. The sheer enormity and complexity of the subject matter alone necessitates skillful and clear presentation. I anticipated that as a journalist Koppel would be able to succinctly and clearly layout the problem and the possible resolutions. The organization of the subject matter might have something to do with my disappointment as I feel that the chapters of the book are disjointed and uneven. Koppel shines when he is discussing the underlying business issues and government policy in relation to cyber-terror, but, as the book goes on, the author’s handling of the potential responses to the catastrophic scenarios he describes is not as polished. I think this may be more a result of the actual lack of available planning by national authorities than by Koppel, who writes that “our points of vulnerable access are greater than in all of previous human history, yet we have barely begun to focus on the actual danger that cyberwarfare presents.” Overall, I simply liked this book when I wanted to love it. I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.

I've been concerned with the stability and reliability of our electrical grid for some time now. A coworker and I have talked about how an EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) or solar flare could kill all electronics in a given area. Do you have any idea what is "electronic" these days? Everything, including our cars! If an EMP hit a highly-populated area like New York or Los Angeles, most people would find themselves without electricity, cars, radios or phones. No power means no refrigeration, and people on medications that need to be refrigerated (like insulin for diabetics) would begin to die, there would be no incubators for babies or life support for patients in need. The only working automobiles would be old-fangled carburetor-driven vehicles. And getting power up again would be no easy feat. In the case of an EMP or solar flare or something that takes out transformers, it's possible that a densely-populated area could be without power for over a year, as new transformers would have to be manufactured and installed.

However this book addresses more the vulnerability our system has to hackers, and how other countries like Russia have already attempted to hack the system and come frighteningly close more than once. And we are doing alarmingly little to protect ourselves against hacking.

This book does a great job of explaining our vulnerabilities, where we are failing, and what could be done to protect ourselves. This is an important book, and people need to be aware of the danger we face every day to being plunged back into the dark ages.

mod slow reading, excellent research to support concerns½

This book isn't one that I would usually reach for, but I am really glad I did. Ted Koppel delivers a interesting and intriguing look at life without the power grid. The extensive amount of research Koppel performed shows through his through and in-depth look at the topic. His writing style is easy to read and he well communicates his theories. My favorite part is that this isn't purely scare-tactics; this book is practical. After reading it, I certainly feel more prepared should a cyberattack on the electrical grid occur.

Generally I don't read this sort of apocalyptic tech-focused material. But I generally try to stay aware of the frailties of our society, and therefore, decided to pick up a copy.

Koppel certainly has phenomenal sources, which he could access due to his big name in journalism. I found myself wondering if the book might have actually been improved though by doing more original research, and talking with fewer industry executives and top political leaders, and instead had conversations at the bottom of the chain of command, that might have more first-hand experience with the technologies in question.

The core premise of the book is that the US power grid is extremely susceptible to attack, including cyber attack, physical attack, and EMT attack from a high-altitude atomic bomb.

We have tens of thousands of massive transformers across the country, and some experts believe that knocking out just twelve of them could shut down power across the entire country. These transformers are custom made, take years to manufacture, and are extremely difficult to transport, so replacement is anything but easy.

The Department of Defense estimates that if the grid was out for a year, 90% of Americans would die. In other words, it's a significant threat. Everything we do today relies on power, from things as simple as accessing fresh water, disposing of our waste, and keeping our buildings at habitable temperatures.

Koppel goes on to spend most of the book looking at how prepared people are to deal with such an outage. Although he goes and talks with "preppers" and Mormons, he fails to follow his train of thought to its logical conclusion. The local food and local economy movements, along with Transition Towns, have been building more resilient communities since the sixties, and not once does Koppel reference such efforts.

The only truly resilient solutions require cultural change on a massive level, and all Koppel cites is the possibility of installing nuclear generators at military bases because they don't need to adhere to safety protocols.

What about all the people building off-grid or battery-back-up solar systems? What about all the small-scale sustainable farms growing food with human and animal power instead of with fossil fuels? What about the primitive skills community that can survive without any modern amenities?

Although Koppel makes a very good point—the grid is a disaster [and not just because of its fragility]—the book could do more to detail the problem, and ultimately fails to come anywhere close to outlining possible solutions.

Summary: Explores the vulnerabilities of our power grid to attack, the state of our preparedness for such an attack, and what it would take as individuals to survive such an attack.

Imagine what you would do if the lights went out. Your electric appliances would not work. You could not charge laptops and smartphones. Suppose it was widespread enough to take out the pumps and equipment that pump drinking water and handle sewage. The pumps at gas stations won't work so you are immobilized. If it is winter, you may have no heat. Suppose this lasts not for a few hours or even a few days. Suppose it lasts for weeks or months. Suppose the lights are out for half or all of the country. What would happen to public order? Would you survive?

Sounds like something out of apocalyptic fiction, right? Ted Koppel, celebrated host of Nightline for many years and veteran journalist went through this mental exercise and that sought reassurances that it couldn't happen and discovered instead our disturbing vulnerability to just such an event. Through interviews with experts in the power industry, military, cyber-security, Homeland Security, and others, he discovered that such an event is not only possible, but that indeed there is a high probability that such an attack upon our power grid could be mounted.

The first part of the book explores the vulnerability of our power grid, particularly to cyber-attack. The danger is how inter-connected our grid is. You may remember how a wire hitting a tree limb near Akron took out much of the northeastern United States. Our own power company barely got us off that grid in time. Attacks on critical parts of the grid can cascade. It could be terrorists with AK-47s attacking key transformers. It could be a high altitude nuclear detonation emitting an electro-magnetic pulse. But more likely it could be a cyber attack. One of the problems is that our power grid interconnects thousands of electric companies who buy power from each other. Some, usually the bigger ones, have better cyber-security than others. None are hack proof. Probably all have at least been probed, and in some cases, already compromised. And most share control software from an era before cyber-warfare was a significant threat. And if hardware like transformers are destroyed, replacements are not always immediately available.

OK, so it is possible or even probable, but aren't we prepared for that? Sure, agencies like FEMA do disaster planning, but Koppel found that the people he interviewed offered little reassurance that there are good plans for responding to this kind of disaster. Yet eventually, responses would be mounted, but many major cities would have to survive by themselves for the first weeks or months of a prolonged outage.

So that brings us to the third part of Koppel's book, what would it take to survive such an event? This was probably the most sobering part of the book because it raised the question of how far one is prepared to go to survive. Yes, you can plan to be off the grid, have food and water supplies, but to what extent are you willing to defend yourself from those who are not so well prepared but may be willing to kill to get what you have. Consider the amount of guns in American society. Koppel interviews "preppers," those who already live in wilderness areas relatively off the grid, and interestingly, Mormons, who have prepared in each of their "wards" to support one another in disaster. Most fascinating in discussions with this group, which has renounced violence and trusts to law enforcement, is that their guidelines for survival in disaster include the recommendation that one "might consider obtaining a gun" without specifying how it would be used--an approach Koppel describes as "constructive ambiguity."

At the end of the day, Koppel thinks at very least that we need to think about how we would survive at least for two weeks and to have some kind of plan in place with provisions for non-perishable food, water (most critical), and other basic necessities, allowing time for coordinated disaster responses to begin. Drawing on the Mormons, he also points to the issue of social capital--do we belong to real networks of people who will help each other when the chips are down--religious organizations, community organizations, or even close knit neighborhoods?

What struck me in reading is that there are two kinds of preparedness that Koppel is addressing. One is defensive preparedness, ranging from cyber-security to disaster planning to stockpiling critical supplies. As important as that is, the more important preparation may be that of the social fabric of our country, which seems in tatters. Koppel speaks of wartime England and the mutual support people gave each other. It is sobering to ask whether that national character exists in our own highly divisive, factionalized nation and with our increasing isolation in an internet-mediated virtual reality. How long would order and mutual support last? Long enough?

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through Blogging for Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

This book is unreadable—but not for the usual reasons. It took me much longer than a book this size would normally take because I could not read for very long before jumping up to make a list of emergency supplies, find a place for storing them or just pace. That isn’t Koppel’s point; he is talking about months-long outages that would go way beyond the preparations for a few days that you might think to make for natural disasters like storms or earthquakes. But while you can’t do much about that level of emergency (beyond asking about it at local, state and national levels) you certainly can think about it and be sure you have at least a minimum stock of supplies. You can tell that Koppel is a newsperson, not an author, but he makes pretty good arguments that disruption on that level is very possible, that the agencies you might think have a handle on it might not, and that governments and agencies should be doing this planning. Reading the book will make you very uncomfortable—let’s hope that more people read it.

"This book is about dealing with the consequences of losing power in more than one sense of the word."

Boy is it! The first 3 pages lay it down, and the first chapter slams it home! A cyber attack on our country, shutting down one, or all three, of the power grids that generate and distribute our electricity, upon which we are so dependent on in this age of computers, smartphones, and the internet! Scary stuff, but important! I think we all should read this!

"To be dependent is to be vulnerable."

What would happen if our electric grid went down via cyberattack? Is that possible? Keppel presents compelling evidence that such a thing is indeed possible, and likely probable. Now think about how much we depend upon electricity. If you've ever experienced a power outage (and who hasn't?) you have an idea about how difficult it might be if it took an extended period of time to restore power. Because of course it's not just the electricity you lose. You lose running water and sewage disposal, you run out of food and medicine. You can't pump gas or use your credit cards. No phone or internet. And what if it continued for months instead of days? Certainly the power companies could repair the damage quickly, right? Uh, not so much. Well, then... the government has a plan, right? Not really.

Koppel has the chops to get interviews from lots of experts. It's scary. But this isn't a doom and gloom book--there are steps we can take to safeguard ourselves, things we might do to survive the worst. It's time to stop ignoring this problem. Sure, you can become a prepper, but that doesn't help society as a whole. Let's speak up instead and work as a community to galvanize our leaders from the local to the national level. Big problems can be intimidating, but failing to plan for major disaster simply doesn't help.

So I thought we had to worry about earthquakes. Ted Koppel brings cyber attacks to a new level. What will we do when the electric grid crashes?? Out here in the NW corner of America with 2 different earthquake senerios there is some prep for living without electricity, but I don't think enough.
A good book if just to be aware and to think about what we might do in such an attack. Mr. Koppel explains how this could happen, and while all the big players are aware it does not to seem to be a priority.

Ted Keppol outlines a terrifying scenario of what would happen in the power grid of the United States was destroyed, illustrating how ill-prepared this country is to meet technological disasters

Ted Koppel has provided us with a timely overview of the effects a cyberattack could bring to America. While not particularly breaking any new ground, he brings together the effects and hazards in an eminently readable format.

Koppel’s book gives us an exhaustive and frightening look at America’s vulnerability to a cyberattack on our electric power grids. He describes why we are vulnerable to attack, how terrorists could attack—almost a how-to blueprint for them—and how woefully unprepared the country would be if it happened. The first half of the book I found to be informative and interesting, the latter portion not so much. He spends a large portion of the book writing about “preppers” and what they are doing to survive any calamity, not just power grid failure. He visits ranchers in Wyoming, who have a self-sufficiency mindset, not relying on government to provide for them in an emergency. He visits preppers in suburban St. Louis, with their guns and safe rooms and bug out location. He spends a large chunk of the book on Mormons, their history and belief in stockpiling at least three months worth of food and water. Koppel’s message is that power grid failure is inevitable at some point, chaos will ensue, so we should all be prepping for the worst. He seems to hold out little hope for preventing a cyberattack.½

This well-researched and well-documented inquiry into the security of the nation's power supply may leave you with some sleepless nights. The conclusions are somewhat bleak, but the narrative is interesting and the few suggestions made for personal preparedness are reasonable to undertake.

Ted Koppel is an outstanding journalist and did an excellent job writing this book. It thoroughly outlines the risks and challenges facing our nation's power grids due to a variety of attacks ranging from conventional guns and bombs to cyber attacks. The read is informative and quite frankly somewhat frightening at how easily compromised the grid is and how little anyone is doing about it. If you have an interest in a topic such as this then this is the book for you. It proved to be a bit more technical and in depth than I had anticipated and wasn't what I was looking for. As a result I did not particularly enjoy it. However, it is a well written and very very well researched book.½

Well researched, this book delineates the possible and probably scenarios were the US to come under cyberattack that took out our electrical grid for an extended period of time. Koppel talked to numerous persons in positions of authority relative to the possibility of such an attack, the likelihood of such an attack, our preparedness (or lack thereof) should such an attack occur and what we as individuals or families can possibly do to prepare for an event of this magnitude. The main problem I had with the book, and the reason for just 2 1/2 stars, is that the audience towards which it is primarily directed is unclear to me. The first half of the book was extremely technical - at least in this layman's opinion - and seemed directed at convincing those who ought to be preparing for cyberwarfare to be doing more than they are currently doing. The second half of the book seemed to be directed more towards the average reader, and while it didn't spell out much hope for most of us, it appears that if you are a Mormon you would have a pretty good chance of survival long-term without an electrical grid. All in all, while I believe it is probably and likely an important book, it is a boring book.½

I so wanted to love this book but there was just too much going on. I liked the way that the book started out, and I find the idea that the US could be brought down in a cyber attack very interesting, especially because I had never considered the power grid as an option. It never occurred to me that it could be taken down remotely. At some point though, it feels like Koppel gets lost. There is a lot going on that doesn't really add anything to the story or clear anything up. All in all an okay read but perhaps some clarity would be useful.

An old saying suggests that everyone is afraid of the dark. Ted Koppel appropriately entitled his book Lights Out. Not only does the title refer to the fear that is a consequence of attack on the American power grids but the title also reflects our lack of knowledge of the existence of a problem.

After Ted Koppel explains the threat and its consequences, he addresses the issue that our society is reactive rather than proactive. An assault on our power grids would obstruct efforts to respond to the crises. Moreover, we would likely lack the ability to determine the source of the assault.

Ignorance is not bliss in the event of a cyber attack of this magnitude. The American public has cause for a fear of the dark due to the cataclysmic repercussions that would ensue.

Ted Koppel has written a comprehensive book with facts from multiple interviews with a wide spectrum of knowledgeable sources in the fields of technology, science, and emergency preparedness. Our homeland advisors know that we are not prepared for a catastrophic event of this caliber.

Every American owes it to his family, community, and nation to read Lights Out. It is not a question of if this imminent disaster will occur, but is a matter of when. This threat to our lives and nation is presented in a readable format. We need to share the book's message with others. It appears that we all have cause for being afraid of the dark.

Excellent topic, writer and speaker. I enjoyed it and it got me to sharing and talking to others about the safety of our electric grids and how we could survive. I especially liked the information of the Mormon community. I need more water set aside!

This timely book addresses a very possible risk to America – a cyber-attack which would cripple our electrical grid system. We are so dependent on our electrical system nowadays. We have become so accustomed to the easy convenience of electrical power in practically everything we do, with the plethora of appliances we use. And now with the advent of the computer age, it is even more crucial, because of our reliance on cell phones and computers. Indeed, our entire communications system is based on electricity – the way we get our food, water, medical care, and on and on. If the system went down for more than a few days, it would be literally disastrous. And yet we hear very little about this risk, compared with the “ordinary” disasters such as fires, hurricanes, etc. But as bad as those occurrences are, they do their damage, then they are gone, and we clean up and fix up and recover. On the other hand, an electrical grid failure would cause problems for months because of the sheer magnitude of the problem.
I am so glad that Ted Koppel has written this book, as he pulls no punches in laying out the colossal problem that a cyber-attack would be. He talks to many experts and officials, pushing and probing for answers. It is a bit disconcerting that he mostly receives vague and inadequate answers. Few officials even focus on this problem. We are spending millions of dollars on TSA lines at the airport, but very little on this far more dangerous situation – the safety and security of our electrical system. Koppel does talk to some people who are addressing the problem. There are small communities of survivalists and “preppers” but they are fairly isolated; they couldn’t handle the millions of people who would be affected. Oddly enough, the Mormons are the major community of any size that is concretely preparing for a potential disaster situation.
The book will leave you with a very worrisome outlook. Koppel does not really provide a solution at the conclusion of the book. He does say that at least we have to identify the problem. True, but we really have to start doing something about it. There could be one thing good about the recent hacker attacks that have been revealed during this election season – if we become aware of the prevalence of such attacks and do something about them. And one of the main places to start would be the electrical system. As much as I worry about earthquakes (living in Los Angeles), and I do, a major failure of the electrical grid system would be even more disastrous. I hope everyone reads this book – especially our country’s leaders, and that they do something about it.