In a punchy collection of poetry packed with humor and grit, The Explosion Takes Both Legs: Noir Poems from the War in Iraq, former U.S. Army infantry-officer-turned-crime-writer J.B. Stevens delivers both action and insight into how Americans go to war in the 21st century. Despite the can't-miss, explosive nature of some of his war stories, his poems are also often filled with stoic, deadpan grace. For example, he begins "A Ghost in an Arabian Desert" with ... "After we returned, We had a ceremony and the commander said many nice things, I got a Bronze Star. My mother and father and brothers met me at the base, Because my fiancée had cheated and left, And my brother brought me ice-cream. [...]" Punchy, pithy, and poker-faced! Full of grit and heart and dogged determination! Contains bonus short-fiction from J.B. Stevens!