Ground Zero is the opening work in The Beating of War Drums series, a pre-trilogy foundation that explains why the next global conflict is not only possible, but increasingly predictable. Blending history, geopolitics, psychological insight, and the science of fragile systems, this book examines how nations drift toward war and how ordinary families are caught in the consequences. It traces the recurring patterns of global tension, the failure of diplomacy, and the structural weaknesses that make modern societies far more vulnerable than they appear. Ground Zero shows that war is not an anomaly. it is a repeatable human pattern, unless we choose differently.

More than a warning, Ground Zero is a guide to awareness. It helps readers understand the forces shaping today’s world: supply chain fragility, cyber threats, disinformation, political polarization, nuclear risk, and the global competition for energy and resources. Through clear explanations and real-world examples, it reveals how these factors interact, amplify one another, and can rapidly escalate regional conflicts into full-scale war. This book prepares families and communities to recognize the signs of breakdown early, before panic sets in, before systems crumble, and before the cost of inaction becomes irreversible.

Ultimately, Ground Zero sets the moral and philosophical stage for the trilogy that follows. It invites readers to confront uncomfortable truths with honesty and courage, not fear. It lays the groundwork for resilience, physical, psychological, and communal, and introduces the core principles that run through the entire series: readiness, clarity, unity, and the dignity of protecting those we love. This book begins the journey from awareness to survival, and eventually, toward the deeper question the trilogy seeks to answer: How do we ensure that we are not only prepared for war, but wise enough to prevent it?

History is not a straight line of progress; it is a circle of recurrence. Empires rise, nations fall, peace is declared, and yet the drums always return. Generation after generation has believed itself different, more advanced, wiser than those before. And yet the evidence is overwhelming: war is not the exception, but the rule.

From the fields of Marathon to the trenches of Verdun, from the burning of Rome to the bombardment of Kyiv, the pattern repeats. War is humanity’s oldest habit, its most enduring rhythm. Peace, though cherished, is fragile, a brief interlude between storms.

The great lie of modernity is that we have outgrown war. That our technology, our treaties, our prosperity have somehow inoculated us against the oldest disease of civilization. But history shows otherwise: technology makes killing faster, alliances fracture under strain, prosperity collapses overnight.

The first task of this book is not to inspire panic, but to clear away illusions. To face the truth that the drums of history are beating again, just as they always have. If we can hear them clearly, without denial, then we can begin to prepare for what comes next.

War returns. It always does. The question is whether we will face it with blindness or with readiness.

1. Cycles of War — Why peace is the anomaly, not war.

2. The Myth of Progress — Why technology doesn’t guarantee peace

3. Forgotten Warnings — Leaders, thinkers, and survivors who predicted conflict, and were ignored.
 

We believe our world is strong because it feels abundant. Supermarkets overflow with food, lights turn on with a switch, water flows with a twist of the hand. Governments meet in marble halls, banks transact in trillions, and alliances span continents. Yet beneath this appearance of strength lies fragility. a latticework of systems so interdependent that a single fracture can spread like a crack across glass.

History shows us that civilizations fall not only to armies, but to famine, drought, plague, and the collapse of trust in institutions. The systems we depend on are not unshakable pillars, they are delicate networks, stretched thin across a restless planet.

To prepare for the future, we must first see our present clearly: as a house of glass, vulnerable to impact. When the drums of war beat again, it is these systems that will shatter first.

1. Food and Water — Global supply chains, monoculture agriculture, and the fragility of “just in time.”

2. Energy and Technology — How grids, oil, and cyber systems are vulnerable.

3. Governments and Alliances — Why treaties fail, why democracies fracture, why authoritarians gamble.

4. Economies and Debt — Global interdependence as both shield and weapon.

Every age believes its dangers are unique. In truth, most threats recur with new faces. But the 21st century is different in one critical way: the speed and scale of collapse have never been greater. Nuclear arsenals can erase cities in minutes. Cyberattacks can paralyze nations in seconds. Climate shifts can displace millions in a season. Propaganda can divide societies with a single lie repeated across screens.

The old dangers: conquest, famine, political betrayal remain. But the new dangers are faster, quieter, and more entangled. A spark in one corner of the world can ignite a firestorm across continents. The dominoes are lined up, closer than ever.

This part examines the threats unique to our age, not to stoke fear, but to strip away denial. To face them is to understand that the next war may come suddenly, invisibly, and with consequences we can scarcely imagine.

1. Nuclear Tensions — Still present, still poised, still forgotten.

2. Cyber and AI Warfare — Collapse of trust, communication, power grids.

3. Climate and Scarcity — How drought, migration, and resource conflicts feed war.

4. Propaganda and Fear — Media, manipulation, and the battle for the mind.

5. The Domino Effect — Small sparks that lead to world-scale fires.
 

To this point, we have traced the cycles of history, the fragility of our systems, and the multiplying dangers of our age. The evidence is overwhelming: war returns, systems fail, collapse follows. Yet the greatest danger of all is not external, it is internal. It is denial.

Human beings are experts at dismissing danger until it is too late. We cling to normalcy, we trust systems blindly, we mock those who prepare. And then, when collapse comes, we are unready.

This part is about piercing that blindness. It is about showing the cost of complacency through history and testimony. But it is also about the other side of the story: the resilience of the prepared. The human advantage lies not in avoiding danger, but in enduring it. Denial kills: preparedness saves.

1. The Psychology of Denial — Why people don’t prepare until too late.

2. The Cost of Complacency — Voices from past civilians who thought “it couldn’t happen here.”

3. Case Studies of Collapse — Sarajevo, Stalingrad, Rwanda, Syria.

4. The Human Advantage — How prepared individuals and communities outlasted crisis.

The evidence has been laid bare. War is inevitable. Systems are fragile. Dangers are multiplying. Denial is deadly. The question now is not whether war will come, but how we will meet it.

This part is a call not to despair, but to readiness. To prepare is not paranoia; it is responsibility. It is not driven by fear, but by love for those who depend on us. It is not about surrendering to the drums, but about carrying hope amidst their beat.

Here, we turn from warning to action, from evidence to responsibility. War will return. Collapse is possible. But survival is a choice. And readiness is the first act of resistance.

· What Preparation Looks Like — Framing Book I (The Flame).

· Hope Amidst the Drums — Why preparation is an act of love, not fear.

· The Field Before Us — Setting the bridge to Book I and the trilogy.

I did not set out to write this book to frighten you. Fear, after all, is a poor teacher. But history has a rhythm, and if you listen closely, you can hear it even now: the steady beat of war drums, growing louder as the world edges closer to another great conflict.

We tell ourselves it cannot happen again. We say our societies are too advanced, our economies too connected, our technology too powerful. We reassure ourselves with illusions of progress; yet every century has known its war, and every generation has been caught unprepared. From Rome to Sarajevo, from Pearl Harbor to Kyiv, the pattern is the same: people believe stability will last until the moment it shatters.

This book is not about speculation. It is about patterns we have seen before, dangers we now face, and the fragile systems on which our lives depend. It is about why we must prepare, not in a spirit of despair, but in a spirit of responsibility. To provide, to endure, to safeguard those who will come after us.

If you are reading this, you are already aware, at least faintly, of the unease that grips our age. You sense that the peace of the present is brittle. You know that war is not confined to history books but is a possibility that can return with speed and ferocity. The question is not whether the drums are beating; they are. The question is whether we will listen.

I write these words with the conviction that lives depend on them. The purpose of this book is not to dwell on destruction, but to insist on preparation. Preparation of the body, of the mind, of the community, and of the conscience.

At the end of this work, I will point you toward a longer journey, a trilogy that explores how to survive war, how choices shape collapse or renewal, and how peace may yet be secured. But this book stands alone as the foundation: the case for readiness in an age that has forgotten how fragile it truly is.

The drums are sounding. Do not turn away.

 Part I: The Drums of History. 5

Part II: Fragile Systems We Depend On. 7

Part III: The New Dangers. 9

Part IV: Why Preparation Matters. 11

Part V: The Call to Readiness. 13

Chapter 1: Cycles of War 17

Chapter 2: The Myth of Progress — Why Technology Doesn’t Guarantee Peace 31

Chapter 3: Forgotten Warnings, Voices Ignored Until Too Late. 47

Chapter 4: Food & Water — Fragile Supply Chains. 61

Chapter 5: Energy & Technology — Grids, Cyber Threats. 79

Chapter 6: Governments & Alliances — Treaties That Break. 103

Chapter 7: Economies & Debt — Interdependence as Shield and Weapon 117

Chapter 8: Nuclear Tensions — Still Poised, Still Deadly. 135

Chapter 9: Cyber & AI Warfare — Collapse of Trust and Systems. 153

Chapter 10: Climate & Scarcity — Migration, Drought, Conflict 169

Chapter 11: Propaganda & Fear — Battle for the Mind. 185

Chapter 12: The Domino Effect — Sparks That Ignite World War 201

Part III: The New Dangers — Summary. 219

Part IV: Why Preparation Matters. 223

Chapter 13: The Psychology of Denial — Why People Ignore Danger 223

Chapter 14: The Cost of Complacency — Voices from Civilians Caught Unprepared 239

Chapter 15: Case Studies of Collapse — Sarajevo, Stalingrad, Rwanda, Syria 255

Chapter 16: The Human Advantage — Resilience of the Prepared. 271

Chapter 17: What Preparation Looks Like — Bridge to Practical Survival 287

Chapter 18: Hope Amidst the Drums — Readiness as Love, Not Fear 303

Chapter 19: The Field Before Us — The Choice of This Generation 317

Part V: The Call to Readiness — Summary. 331

Gentle Introduction to the Trilogy. 335

Bonus Section: Voices on the Drift Toward War 339

Appendix I 345

Appendix II 349

Appendix III 353 

Author: Charles DesJardins, Ph.D.
Series: Pre-Trilogy of The Beating of War Drums
Genre / Category: Geopolitics, War & Peace, Resilience, Preparedness
Format: Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle (Coming Soon)
Publisher: Independent — Safe Haven USA Press
Official Websites:

www.thebeatingofwardrums.com
www.safehavenusa.org