Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War - Mary Roach

Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War

By Mary Roach

  • Release Date: 2016-06-07
  • Genre: Life Sciences
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 137 Ratings

Description

A New York Times / National Bestseller

"America's funniest science writer" (Washington Post) Mary Roach explores the science of keeping human beings intact, awake, sane, uninfected, and uninfested in the bizarre and extreme circumstances of war.

Grunt tackles the science behind some of a soldier's most challenging adversaries—panic, exhaustion, heat, noise—and introduces us to the scientists who seek to conquer them. Mary Roach dodges hostile fire with the U.S. Marine Corps Paintball Team as part of a study on hearing loss and survivability in combat. She visits the fashion design studio of U.S. Army Natick Labs and learns why a zipper is a problem for a sniper. She visits a repurposed movie studio where amputee actors help prepare Marine Corps medics for the shock and gore of combat wounds. At Camp Lemmonier, Djibouti, in east Africa, we learn how diarrhea can be a threat to national security. Roach samples caffeinated meat, sniffs an archival sample of a World War II stink bomb, and stays up all night with the crew tending the missiles on the nuclear submarine USS Tennessee. She answers questions not found in any other book on the military: Why is DARPA interested in ducks? How is a wedding gown like a bomb suit? Why are shrimp more dangerous to sailors than sharks? Take a tour of duty with Roach, and you’ll never see our nation’s defenders in the same way again.

Reviews

  • Grunt

    5
    By Zirc2
    Written with clarity and an even hand. Not handled with exaduration or sensationalism. All mary roachs books are worth a read. Wonder what area of life she will think of next.
  • I love Mary Roach's writing

    5
    By Neurosurgeon gal
    I first fell in love with Mary Roach through my mother's Reader's Digest subscription. When she stopped submitting her monthly column to the magazine, I thought that I would never read her in-depth, yet interesting, and at proper times, humorous writing again. Then I found out that she was leaving to write full length non-fiction books. I was over joyed. I pre-ordered her first book, and waited for it's release. I read it in one day, and then re-read it again over the course of the next week. I have purchased all previous books that she has written and contributed to. I am currently one of only about 400 female Neurosurgeons in The US, and enjoyed the detail that goes into her books. They were with me during my 9 years of residency, and they helped me share quirky medical and scientific info with my head surgeons, and other colleagues. I loved reading the intricacies of the military in her current book, Grunt. I live for fine detail, which Ms. Roach does with a wonderful gift that doesn't leave you bored, but wanting more. I have the hard cover book, not the digital one, but I felt that she deserved a review and rating on iBooks, since I did download the sample of the book while waiting for my hardcover edition to be delivered to my home. This book is for people interested in everything from fashion to living under the sea, to surgical procedures. It isn't just a book on war and soldiers, but more toward the people behind the curtains keeping the whole military gamut running smoothly and keeping people on both sides of the line, alive and well. A+
  • Most favorite author ever...

    5
    By Designgirl516
    Mary does not disappoint (AGAIN!) with her latest book. All of her books combine fascinating facts and true stories, with witty and hilarious quips nestled in-between. She manages to report on topics that are rarely investigated. Topics I didn't even know I was interested in until I find myself binge-reading until I can longer keep my eyes open. She continues to blow my mind. Bravo!
  • This book is interesting!

    5
    By Linus Pelt
    I'm just getting thru with reading the chapter featuring medical maggots, Mary Roach has written another interesting fact filled book. If you liked her other books, you'll find this one just as entertaining :)
  • Misinformation

    5
    By Lpk0311
    The Marine Corps does not have medics; we have Navy Corpsman. We also aren't Soldiers, that is like calling a Japanese man Korean. I'm sure the book is great, but the summary just tickled me wrong a little.