Extremely loud
Subtitle: sound as a weapon
By: Juliette Volcler ; translated from the French by Carol Volk
Contributors: Volk, Carol, translator
Publisher: The New Press
Published: 2013
Language: eng
Number of pages: 198
ISBN-13: 9781595588739
Subjects: Sound; Noise; Psychological torture; Military weapons; Research; Physiological effect; Psychological aspects; Nonlethal weapons; History
Other titles: Sound as a weapon
Work titles: Son comme arme
Description: There is a long history of efforts by military and police forces to deploy sound against enemies, criminals, and citizens. During a 2004 battle in Fallujah, U.S. Marines bolted large speakers to the roofs of their Humvees, blasting AC/DC, Eminem, and Metallica songs. High-decibel, "nonlethal" sonic weapons have become the tools of choice for crowd control at political demonstrations. Volcler documents and interrogates this sinister threat to the "peace and quiet" that societies have traditionally craved.
Notes: "Originally published in France as Le son comme arme by Éditions La Découverte, Paris, 2011"--Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 155-185) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction. "We don't yet know what a sonic body can do"; title: "Ears don't have lids": technical aspects of hearing; title: The death ray: infrasounds and low frequencies; title: "Hit by a wall of air": explosions; title: "Totally cut off from the known": silence and saturation; title: "Hell's bells": medium-frequency sounds; title: "No matter what your purpose is, you must leave": the sound of power; title: Conclusion: "a passionate sound gesture."