"I'm sorry... I respect your tenacity...our attorneys asked that I not return your calls... You seem to be asking the right questions..." That was the response Mr. Schneider got from an acquaintance who worked at the nuclear power plant he had contacted during his early research for An Extraordinary Nuclear Occurrence. What would you do if your family was threatened by a nuclear meltdown caused by a terror attack and the only way to get to them was right through ground zero? That's the dilemma we face here. Inspired by a declassified report to Congress suggesting glaring inadequacies in our nation's nuclear power plant defenses, Mr. Schneider's title comes from a government and insurance industry term for a nuclear catastrophe of the first magnitude. The threat is real. It could happen to any of us- tomorrow or the next day. Mr.Schneider is the everyman in this novel, having spent thirty years in the paradise he writes about. It is a story of the dangerous arrogance of our growing technocracy. Intelligent and insightful, this is a story straight from our morning's news headlines; Cuba, Castro, North Korea, Al Qaeda, Cyber, Nuclear safety. It is about our government's efforts to thwart terrorism. And it is a simple love story. Well, maybe not so simple...
A Monona, Wisconsin native, David Schneider has three books and multiple magazine articles to his credit. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, he has always been fascinated by nature, technology and intrigue. His recent article "Swamp Rocket," detailing his research and "RuralUrban" exploration of an abandoned Apollo-era solid rocket facility in the Florida Everglades, where the largest solid rocket ever built still rests in its test silo, won him plaudits in his resident state of Florida. He is a singer, songwriter, an avid sailor, SCUBA diver, traveler and whale rescuer. Mr Schneider currently lives in St Augustine.
