Sorta sounds like Dies The Fire by S.M. Stirling (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Die...=dies+the+fire). This book had the same effect on me that I'm hearing others say about One Second After. Dies The Fire is actually book 1 of a 4 book series, and there is a second series based off of the characters from the first series (later in time). It also talks about some of the things you'll face and how to protect yourself as well as other survival issues. The one thing about the Dies The Fire series is that there is a change in the laws of physics that comes with the burst ("The Change"). This change renders unusable electricity, combustion power, firearms and explosives.