title: Bomb Squad: A Year Inside the Nation's Most Exclusive Police Unit
author:  Richard Esposito 
description: Esposito and Gerstein, two ABC News journalists, spent 12 months on the job with members of the New York City Bomb Squad, beginning in Times Square on New Year's Eve 2003. They observed training, preparation and even live projects, albeit from a distance. What they produce is an intimate portrait of the 33 male technicians who have chosen this dangerous profession. These men are heroes, to be sure, but they are uninterested in seeing themselves that way. They are reticent, austere men, who approach the job of disarming bombs with a surgeon's focus. When asked how they chose this particular employment, they commonly answer, "Somebody has to do it." Esposito and Gerstein do not pass judgement on the force's efficacy or tackle the greater issue of terrorism. Rather they provide voice to these men and the lessons they can impart. In a particularly disquieting section, the authors detail the squad's role on 9/11, when squad member Claude Richards lost his life. The result of this exhaustive research is a dramatic, articulate examination of this important organization. In spite of the harrowing realities of post-9/11 America, the reader is left encouraged and inspired by the stories of these men, who consistently risk their lives to defend the country from further tragedy. <i>(Mar).</i> <br />Copyright  Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
zlib_text: 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  BOMB  
  SQUAD
  
  
  A YEAR INSIDE  
  THE NATION’S MOST  
  EXCLUSIVE POLICE UNIT
  
  
  _Richard Esposito and Ted Gerstein_
  
  
  ![](images/logo.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  **For Chris**  
  &  
  **For Chris**
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  At the end of the day it always comes down to a man in a Kevlar suit . . .
  it’s man versus bomb
  
  
  —LIEUTENANT MARK TORRE, COMMANDING OFFICER,  
  
  
  NYPD BOMB SQUAD
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  In my mind it’s all business; I don’t worry about my family, I don’t worry
  about a function that I’m doing after work, I just worry about what’s at hand.
  And what’s at hand is that package; I don’t want that package to hurt me or
  hurt the public, so I treat that package as being live, or being an explosive
  device, no matter what it is.
  
  
  —DETECTIVE FIRST GRADE JOE PUTKOWSKI,  
  
  
  SENIOR MAN, NYPD BOMB SQUAD
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## Contents
  
  
  [A Preface](preface.html#pre01)
  
  
  [Book One - The Red Zone](book1.html#book01)
  
  
  [Chapter 1](book1-ch01.html#book1-ch01)
  
  
  [Chapter 2](book1-ch02.html#boo