Memphis 7.9 (revised): Book 1 of The 7.9 Scenario (Volume 1) (Paperback)

~ Sam Penny (Author)
Key Phrases: two asperities, earthquake retrofits, sensing station, New Simon, New Madrid, Mississippi River (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Feel the power of the earth as the New Madrid Fault once again fractures, just like it did 193 years ago, but today with 32,000,000 people at risk. This is the story of some who survive the worst catastrophe that could strike the central United States and destroy 10% of the nation's economy.

About the Author

Author and Lecturer Sam Penny has published two novels in his The 7.9 Scenario series: Memphis 7.9 (Revised) and Broken River, and is finishing his next book: The Phoenix of Memphis. These techno-thrillers offer a blunt perspective of what will transpire when once again a 7.9 magnitude earthquake strikes the center of the United States, as seen from the point of view of characters who are there when it happens. The stories are based upon scientific analyses from the USGS and FEMA of what happens when a giant earthquake again occurs on the New Madrid Fault beneath the Mississippi River, within a few miles of a major metropolitan area. Penny retired in 1998 from a career as an engineering physicist, computer scientist, entrepreneur, and corporate executive. “My keen interest in geology evolved while designing computing systems for the oil drilling industry. During that time, I co-authored several trade and scientific articles with geologists on directional drilling and rock mechanics.” In 1989 he felt the shaking from the magnitude 7.1 Loma Prieta earthquake. “When I saw the fallen Cypress Freeway in Oakland, California, a mile from the original offices of the company I helped found in 1970, my interest in geology refocused on seismology and the effects of giant earthquakes. "Since I retired, writing has become my avocation as my wife and I travel full-time in our RV, following the best weather from place to place throughout the North American Continent, and researching the effects of natural disasters on our land."

Product Details

• Paperback: 284 pages
• Publisher: TwoPenny Publications; Revised edition (June 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0975567128
• ISBN-13: 978-0975567128
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #385,697 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It could happen here!, November 18, 2003

By	Alice Zyetz, Co-editor, RV Traveling Tales: W... (Livingston, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Memphis 7.9 (Paperback)

Sam Penny, a full-time RVer, has combined his experience as a traveler, his background in physics and geology, and his amateur interest in seismology to produce Memphis 7.9, a fictional account of what might happen if an earthquake of 7.9 magnitude were to hit Memphis, Tennessee. It is not a pretty picture!

Sam uses his very ordinary characters, not unlike his readers, to set the stage for the disaster. As a result, when the shaking begins, the reader will be afflicted as well. "Please," I pleaded in my mind with the author, "Don't let anything happen to Chris, even if he is planning to ride it out at the epicenter."

It's all there: the initial rumbling, the jolts, the broken freeway interchanges and bridge supports, buildings collapsing on themselves, fires raging, the Mississippi River breaking through the levees. As a Californian who has experienced her share of earthquakes and still can't drive under a freeway overpass without speeding (just in case . . . ), I appreciate the importance of this book.

Sam states that he wanted to combine his retirement goal of writing fiction with his desire to warn people who have become complacent about the potential dangers. One of his characters-you can almost see this villain twirling the ends of his mustache while the audience is hissing-abuses his government funds for retrofitting freeways and buildings, resulting in unsafe structures. Unfortunately, he is probably not alone. "Can't happen here; this isn't California," seems to be the motto for some place as remote from the West Coast as Memphis, Tennessee. But it can, and Memphis 7.9 paints the scenario in glaring detail.

I highly recommend this book. Sam Penny has created a work of fiction that will spur his readers to action and certainly make them aware of what could happen if they don't prepare for a potential disaster.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A dramatic and gripping narrative, March 8, 2004

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Memphis 7.9 (Paperback)

Book 1 of the 7.9 Saga, Memphis 7.9 by Sam Penny is an original novel arising from the inevitable prospect a devastating earthquake that strikes the New Madrid Fault Zone, which is located approximately 45 miles from Memphis, Tennessee. The genesis of Memphis 7.9 comes from author Sam Penny's own projections using FEMA numbers to calculate a scenario of the destruction that will ensue when, not if, such a quake erupts. A dramatic and gripping narrative following the lives and deaths of ordinary people blasted by the wrath of the Earth and would be of especially interest to students of geology and the impact of an earthquake phenomena upon contemporary American society, culture, politics, and economics.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real and present danger for all!, October 23, 2006

By	A_BOOK_IN_TIME - See all my reviews

This is a most gripping and authoritative tale of a real peril lurking in the heart of the U.S.

Although it is fictional, it tells the story of a very real danger which could dramatically affect the lives of everyone in the U.S. Those of us who live far away from the New Madrid Fault may not feel the shaking, but we will feel the economic impact on the nation's Gross Domestic Product capability and on the nation's distribution system.

As some say, it's not just a question of "if", it's a question of "when".

This is a well-written book that should be read by everyone concerned with their safety and the safety of their loved ones.