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Buda's Wagon : A Brief History of the Car Bomb - Mike Davis

Buda's Wagon

A Brief History of the Car Bomb

By: Mike Davis

Paperback | 17 January 2017 | Edition Number 1

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The brilliant and disturbing 100-year history of modern terrorism and car bombs-the ubiquitous weapon of urban mass destruction

On a September day in 1920, an angry Italian anarchist named Mario Buda exploded a horse-drawn wagon filled with dynamite and iron scrap near New York's Wall Street, killing 40 people. Since Buda's prototype the car bomb has evolved into a "poor man's air force," a generic weapon of mass destruction that now craters cities from Bombay to Oklahoma City.

In this provocative history, Mike Davis traces the its worldwide use and development, in the process exposing the role of state intelligence agencies-particularly those of the United States, Israel, India, and Pakistan-in globalizing urban terrorist techniques. Davis argues that it is the incessant impact of car bombs, rather than the more apocalyptic threats of nuclear or bio-terrorism, that is changing cities and urban lifestyles, as privileged centers of power increasingly surround themselves with "rings of steel" against a weapon that nevertheless seems impossible to defeat.
Industry Reviews
"Davis creates a fascinating genealogy that raises chilling questions about the future of terrorism." - Atlantic Monthly "Mike Davis, long-time chronicler of apocalyptic terror, has done it again: he has made me scared ... The brilliance of Davis's story is undeniable." - Times "Mike Davis follows the evolution of the car bomb from the Balkans to Palestine, Vietnam, Northern Ireland, Lebanon and, of course, Iraq." - New York Times "Brilliantly terse ... Davis writes with icily suppressed fury." - Guardian

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