EDITOR’S BOOK REVIEW
Williams, D.S. (2012) Bomb Incidents – The Manager’s Guide. How to prepare for and manage bomb incidents. Australian Security Research Centre: Canberra.
Yates, A. (2012). Blast – How explosive devices kill people and destroy buildings. Australian Security Research Centre: Canberra.
Don Williams CPP, RSecP, MIExpE, IABTI and Dr. Athol Yates BEng, MIEAust deliver leading risk management principles and practices for bomb related incidents, building security and people safety. The books are an insightful and interesting read, with practical examples, such as a hypothetical truck bomb attack, containing 2,300kg of explosives detonated in a City Centre. Complimentarily divided into Management and Science, each of the books has a purpose and importantly for the student or practitioner, details the science of the blast itself, the effects of the blast on the surrounding buildings, each with different constructions, the mechanisms of the explosive effects, injuries to people, structural response and the collapse mechanisms of the buildings. Management principles and blast science is also applied to real life examples to reinforce the devastating effects of a bomb attack.
The books draw on the experiences gained from the attacks at the US marine headquarters in Lebanon, terrorist attacks in Israel, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Atlanta Olympic Games, the Khobar Tower in Saudi Arabia, the US Embassy in Nairobi, the car bomb in Omagh Northern Ireland, the London nail bombings and the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri in Lebanon. An excellent example of leading security science in Australia and a must have in any security professional’s collection.
Chris Cubbage, CPP, GAICD, Director & Executive Editor, Asia Pacific Security Magazine.
