Summary

Chapter 2, “Boom Box: Automotive Safety for People who Drive on Bombs.” In this chapter, the author documents some of the reasons, practices, and protocols for testing the impact of under-the-vehicle explosions, most often caused in combat situations by IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices). She briefly discusses how such explosions became a go-to weapon for insurgents (that is: as a result of the U.S. Military developing effective shielding for the top and sides of military vehicles), and goes into significant detail on the science of what happens to a body when riding in a vehicle that passes over an explosive force, particularly the feet. She describes the scientific work going into solving this problem as “… the art and science of keeping people safe in a vehicle that other people are trying to blow up” (41). She also details the reasons why the experiment requires the deployment...