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Buda's Wagon: A Brief History of the Car Bomb
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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 brilliant and ...more
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Start your review of Buda's Wagon: A Brief History of the Car Bomb
"Buda's wagon truly has become the hot rod of the apocalypse," Davis concludes. Quips like that offer some ironic relief in this relentless genealogy of vehicle-borne terrorism.
At his worst, Davis has the favorite vice of American pundits (left or right) of simply channel-surfing the misery of everyone-but-us in advancing a unified theory whose coherence depends much on its superficiality. That said, this is the same Mike Davis whose "City of Quartz" I read somewhere around 15 years ago, and fo ...more
At his worst, Davis has the favorite vice of American pundits (left or right) of simply channel-surfing the misery of everyone-but-us in advancing a unified theory whose coherence depends much on its superficiality. That said, this is the same Mike Davis whose "City of Quartz" I read somewhere around 15 years ago, and fo ...more
Short book on an explosive subject. Histories like these, whose prime mover is technology, make it easier to follow society without filtering it through ideology first. Also, the author can play favorites without risk of censure for doing so: it's not like light bulbs are going to complain about being ignored for the sake of car bombs.
It wasn't until I read this book that the magnitude of destruction engendered by these attacks—both in this century and a large part of the last—became clear. The ...more
It wasn't until I read this book that the magnitude of destruction engendered by these attacks—both in this century and a large part of the last—became clear. The ...more
Jul 07, 2020
Paquita Maria Sanchez
added it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
actuals-n-factuals,
x-files
So basically what you're saying is that nothing can be done. Great. That's great.
Yes, this book is extremely grim. ...more
Yes, this book is extremely grim. ...more
I wonder if it's a sign that I'm getting older that I'm not as enamored with Mike Davis' style as when I was red-eyed collegiate trying to keep up with whatever the cool smart kids liked to read. The thing that's beginning to exasperate me is his assumption of my cultural-historical knowledge, the way he'll drop countless terms, historical events and references without describing what they were. Sure, I'm supposed to be historically literate, I get it, that's my obligation and I can use Wikipedi
...more
The car bomb, or VBIED (Vehicle Born Improved Explosive Device), if you have an MSAF (Milspec Acronym Fetish) is the guerrilla smart bomb. In its more basic form, it marries the mundane infrastructure of urban life like trucks and driveways, to easily available explosives like ANFO and diesel fuel, to a deadly weapon. Whether abandoned in a parking garage or brazenly crashed through the front gates of an embassy by a suicide bomber, the car bomb is a way for poor organizations to hit sensitive t
...more
i really like mike davis. I read "CITY OF QUARTZ", awhile back and it gave a sharp pair of lenses to analyze SoCal. Buda's Wagon is written in the same sensational style. Mike Davis has really figured out a beautiful way to use the language of academia to say "MAN, can you believe this SHIT?!". I appreciate the fact that Mike Davis goes to great lengths to condemn the senselessness of a car bomb (especially one that kills innocents) while admiring its power in the hands of people with a politica
...more
The book feels like a 2.5-day cruise of all Europe: glitzy and with
style but ultimately shallow and unsatisfying.
The title is catchy. Davis' prose is lively and pithy. This book
however, does not measure up to his earlier works such as "Prisoners
of the American Dream". I think the problem is with the subject
itself. All Davis' discussion to the contrary, a car bomb is a
relatively unsophisticated device. One bomber does not have much to
learn from another: some fertilizer, fuel oil, a detonator and ...more
style but ultimately shallow and unsatisfying.
The title is catchy. Davis' prose is lively and pithy. This book
however, does not measure up to his earlier works such as "Prisoners
of the American Dream". I think the problem is with the subject
itself. All Davis' discussion to the contrary, a car bomb is a
relatively unsophisticated device. One bomber does not have much to
learn from another: some fertilizer, fuel oil, a detonator and ...more
Apr 17, 2007
Perez Malone
rated it
liked it
Recommends it for:
Mike Davis fans and people who like to read about bombs
Shelves:
own
Buda���s Wagon details the sordid history of the car bomb from its first incarnation as a wagon bomb parked on Wall Street to the current horror that is US occupied Iraq. It also sheds light on a subject I had no knowledge of, which is the terrorist campaign fought by the Israelis against the British. The Stern Gang introduced the car bomb to the troubled area while fighting their colonial masters but they soon turned their sadistic weapon on the Arab populace, who of course retaliated in kind.
...more
Apr 17, 2007
Tim
rated it
liked it
Recommends it for:
Mike Davis fans and people who like to read about bombs
Shelves:
own
Buda’s Wagon details the sordid history of the car bomb from its first incarnation as a wagon bomb parked on Wall Street to the current horror that is US occupied Iraq. It also sheds light on a subject I had no knowledge of, which is the terrorist campaign fought by the Israelis against the British. The Stern Gang introduced the car bomb to the troubled area while fighting their colonial masters but they soon turned their sadistic weapon on the Arab populace, who of course retaliated in kind. We
...more
the big problem with this piece isn't that Davis doesn't understand an important technology (because he clearly does understand how carbombs are applied to asymetrical warfare) but this really vapid liberal analysis of historical events that infects his writing. Like, perhaps rather than taking this weird *no one is at fault but we can agree if a carbomb kills a child it is the fault of the person who planted it* like his really weird laying of blame on the ETA for a failure of the police to eva
...more
This was a fascinating read. Car bombing is one of those things I have vivid mental images associated with, but that I had never really challenged myself to think deeply about. Verso does a great job of seeking out that kind of subject matter. So much of this book was interesting because it was a history I wasn't familiar with and much of Davis' argument is a well reasoned critique of our approach to handling the war on terror. We are still in many ways attacking the wrong problem 8 years after
...more
The car bomb is like a bomb dropped from a strategic bomber, but it is much cheaper and easier to make. It was invented in 1920 by an Italian-American anarchist, who detonated a horse-drawn cart full of dynamite and scrap iron at Wall Street, killing 40 and injuring 200, in revenge for the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti. It was refined by the Stern Gang in British-occupied Palestine, who attacked the Arabs and the British and provoked retaliatory attacks by British deserters sympathizing with t
...more
"Although their founder, the handsome and charismatic Avram Stern (who was murdered by British police in 1942), was an admirer of Mussolini who had shocked the Jewish community by proposing a military alliance with the Axis powers in 1941, Lohamei Herut Israel (or LEHI) - as Stern's group was officially known - was characterized less by uniformity of ideology (which individually ranged from the extreme Right to the far Left) than by a ferocious, almost suicidal dedication to driving the British,
...more
This book will probably have me much more aware of my surroundings for the next few months...
The book is a short history of the car bomb from its humble beginnings on Wall Street to its evolution in scope and methodology as a globalized means of leveling the battlefield in just about every theater, no longer just wars.
The big idea that came across is that the very ubiquity of resources available to make big bangs, makes a military/security solution impossible, and really leads only to the logica ...more
The book is a short history of the car bomb from its humble beginnings on Wall Street to its evolution in scope and methodology as a globalized means of leveling the battlefield in just about every theater, no longer just wars.
The big idea that came across is that the very ubiquity of resources available to make big bangs, makes a military/security solution impossible, and really leads only to the logica ...more
A remarkably quick read about the history of the car bomb (not terrorist bombing in general - specific to the car bomb). An absolutely fascinating read as it covers the first use (in the USA of all places) back in 1920, and subsequent use throughout the world as terrorists, criminals, and guerrillas adopted and adapted it to their specific needs. The IRA's and ETA's use of it as an economic weapon against established industries rather than the sovereign government was especially interesting.
The ...more
The ...more
Davis' brief history documents the car bombs exponential curving explosion from the 1920's-era bombing of Wall Street through modern IED-laden Iraq, and really it is a history of almost all armed struggles since at least the 1980's. The car bomb has been both the "air force of the poor" and a tool of choice for discriminating clandestine forces of developed nations. This is a fascinating book that easily could have been 1000 pages longer, which is both a feature and a bug. For much of the contex
...more
Remember the post-oil-crisis-Apocalyptic Outback landscapes of Mad Max II: The Road Warrior, with their lone highways suddenly swarming with the attack vehicles of the Ayatollah of Rock and Rollah in hypermanic pursuit of "the juice" and innocent victims? Multiply those DIY swarms by 100s of thousands, rig them with cheap explosives that can be triggered with garage door openers and set them loose in the cities of the world--and you have what Mike Davis calls the "poor man's (sic) air force," th
...more
This was an interesting look at the history of the car bomb starting with its first use on Wall Street with horse and carriage to current day almost daily use. An interesting perspective of how the underdog or "poor man" uses it as a weapon due to its ease of use and low cost. I enjoy non-fiction but prefer non-fiction to unravel in more of a story format rather than presentation of fact after fact. Having said that, still an interesting collection of information to learn how the car bomb became
...more
This was a bit different than I thought, despite how accurate the title is. It is exactly that, brief history. In a way, that didn't make it much of a page turner, due to the fact that it read like a history book, in that textbook kind of way. He did make an attempt to make it interesting with great antecdotes and a timeline of significant car bombs leading up to the "car bomb (with wings)" of 9-11. I guess I was expecting a bit more analysis in that Mike Davis sort of way, but still recommended
...more
The title refers to the frist "car bomb"--a horse drawn wagon loaded with explosives set off by an anarchist on Wall Street, killing forty.
From here, Davis travels the world wherever car bombs have been employed: Algeria, Lebanon, Vietnam, and on. A weapon of the oppressed, supposedly for terror, davis seems to argue that the "poor man's air force" should be considered a natural reaction to government's oppression and violence. After all, when the government uses violence, it is always justifie ...more
From here, Davis travels the world wherever car bombs have been employed: Algeria, Lebanon, Vietnam, and on. A weapon of the oppressed, supposedly for terror, davis seems to argue that the "poor man's air force" should be considered a natural reaction to government's oppression and violence. After all, when the government uses violence, it is always justifie ...more
'Buda's wagon truly has become the hot rod of the apocalypse'.
I now suspect Mike Davis wrote the whole book simply to be able to end it on that snappy quote. It rather does some up the progression of the humble car bomb through history.
It wasn't an easy read; either in subject matter or style. It was all plastic explosive facts and body counts in part. The lists of death tolls throughout the current conflicts were particularly alarming but overall an interesting read into the development and p ...more
I now suspect Mike Davis wrote the whole book simply to be able to end it on that snappy quote. It rather does some up the progression of the humble car bomb through history.
It wasn't an easy read; either in subject matter or style. It was all plastic explosive facts and body counts in part. The lists of death tolls throughout the current conflicts were particularly alarming but overall an interesting read into the development and p ...more
Concise and well written account of how the car bomb evolved and the way it has evolved tactically as a weapon of war and terror. He does dip into the murkier world of the ISI, CIA and other intelligence agencies as well as the myriad of terrorist networks both past and present to highlight the point of the car bomb being 'the poor man's air force.'
There is some discussion on asymmetrical warfare (what warfare isn't?) but I think he was attributing it more to 4GW or Net-war.
Anyway, grim reading ...more
There is some discussion on asymmetrical warfare (what warfare isn't?) but I think he was attributing it more to 4GW or Net-war.
Anyway, grim reading ...more
A very fact-laden book on the history of the car bomb. It started with the car bomb in Manhattan, which was really a horse pulled wagon that was meant for JP Morgan on Wall Street. The author then takes us through the world from Beirut to Spain to Saigon to Michigan.
There were a few grammar/typos that I caught and that was the one thing that bothered me. However, this book is a very thorough read and definitely eye opening on the carnage that car bombs cause and how easy they are to make and get ...more
There were a few grammar/typos that I caught and that was the one thing that bothered me. However, this book is a very thorough read and definitely eye opening on the carnage that car bombs cause and how easy they are to make and get ...more
This slim volume is not Davis's best, but ably retells the history of the car bomb from makeshift device to wanton tool of indiscriminate terror. I'd be interested to read an updated version, given the proliferation of the ad hoc, lone wolf car bomber since 2007. I'd also welcome Davis's take on ISIS and the shift in tactics, from the vehicle as explosives transport to a tool of kinetic destruction itself. But reading this, you realize a) the car bomb has been around longer than one might realiz
...more
This book isn't the best read, in a page-to-page sense. Davis wanders all over the place, and he's got an unfortunate tendency toward purple prose in spots, which is particularly unfortunate given the topic.
Here's why you should read it anyway: every time I hear more news about vehicle bombs anywhere in the world, I think of this book. I definitely came out with a better understanding of not only the technology of car bombs, but the politics and strategy of urban guerrilla warfare. ...more
Here's why you should read it anyway: every time I hear more news about vehicle bombs anywhere in the world, I think of this book. I definitely came out with a better understanding of not only the technology of car bombs, but the politics and strategy of urban guerrilla warfare. ...more
hm....this book is very controversial.
basically it describes emotion and talks about thoughts o the terrorists.
we get to learn what the think before they do it and what are their motives to commit their crimes.
although the book opened my eyes to a lot of aspect i never thought of before it also made me really upset. sometimes terrorist do what they do not because of their personal believes but because they are forced to do that
basically it describes emotion and talks about thoughts o the terrorists.
we get to learn what the think before they do it and what are their motives to commit their crimes.
although the book opened my eyes to a lot of aspect i never thought of before it also made me really upset. sometimes terrorist do what they do not because of their personal believes but because they are forced to do that
This is as it describes itself--- a brief history of the car bomb. I found it pretty readable, although I imagine if you really wanted a more in-depth study, you might have to look further than this book. It is hard for me to imagine life in Beirut or Belfast (or many other cities) when car bombs were blasting people to smithereens on a daily basis.
Not for the weak at heart--- a bit of a bummer to read about school buses exploding.
Not for the weak at heart--- a bit of a bummer to read about school buses exploding.
Not one of his best, but Mike Davis is always entertaining, if not enlightening. Really beginning with 1947 Israel and quickly cataloging the escalating use of the car bomb it is an interesting collection that somehow lacks analysis of the deeper nature of the car bomber. There are is a lot of information for someone unread on the subject and I certainly learned a lot. It is a good source book for building an argument, it just didn't make that strong of one.
...more
Sep 15, 2008
Pete
rated it
really liked it
Recommends it for:
all you
Recommended to Pete by:
mike davis
1) we're all going to die from car bombs
2) don't read this if you're afraid of dying from car bombs
3) read this anyway
mike davis, per a recent discussion i had with a person, is mike davis. i don't mean that in the sense that you should already know who he is -- he's a bit too pink for broader palates. but he is a totally sui generis maniacal sociologist marxist battle poet. can't think of anyone to compare him to other than himself. he's mike davis. get down. ...more
2) don't read this if you're afraid of dying from car bombs
3) read this anyway
mike davis, per a recent discussion i had with a person, is mike davis. i don't mean that in the sense that you should already know who he is -- he's a bit too pink for broader palates. but he is a totally sui generis maniacal sociologist marxist battle poet. can't think of anyone to compare him to other than himself. he's mike davis. get down. ...more
A detailed overview of the history of car bombs, from Buda’s Wagon of 1920 to around 2006. The information given is supported by a phenomenal number of source citations. A lot is crammed into around 200 pages. A macabre subject by most standards, but one that has featured in most news bulletins for as long as I can remember, so I relished the thought of learning more about them. I enjoyed this book, it was very focussed and informative.
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