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An unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the men who protect us from the most frightening prospect of life in the age of terrorism"In my mind it's all business; I dont worry about my family, I dont worry about a function that Im doing after work, I just worry about what's at hand. And what's at hand is that package." --Detective First Grade Joe Putkowski, NYPD Bomb SquadThe New York City Police Department Bomb Squad is the oldest such squad in the nation, founded in 1903. Each year its thirty-three members make more than two hundred stress-filled "bomb runs," in which they check suspicious briefcases, defuse hand grenades, and even respond to "art" projects constructed with real explosives. The public rarely sees these men -- and when they do, it's usually from a distance, telephoto pictures of helmeted figures in ninety-pound suits of Kevlar armor.