grunt the curious science of humans at war

Hungry? Try these MREs (Meals ready to eat). Unclean water? How about a water filtration system. And every time they face a problem scientists try to fix it with more gear. This is a book about the things that soldiers carry, and the things that carry them.Īccording to Grunt, soldiers in Afghanistan carry 30 pounds of gear, which includes armor and weapons for two-day missions. There’s a chapter about what it’s like to be in a sinking submarine. There’s a chapter on the history of shark repellent. There’s a chapter about all the different methods military organizations use to deal with diarrhea. This is a book about the science of feeding, clothing, and caring for soldiers. Let her take you on a field trip through the science of war with her new book: Grunt: the curious science of humans at war.

In this scenario, Mary Roach is both the tour guide and the troublemaker. The tour guide turns red and stutters while the rest of the group dissolves into giggles. While a diligent tour guide leads you from exhibit to exhibit, a troublemaker, from the back of your group, raises their hand and starts asking the most embarrassing, silliest, and insightful questions ever: some are about physics, some are about farts.

Reading a book by Mary Roach is a little like being on a field trip to a great museum. She wrote Gulp (about digestion), Stiff (about dead bodies), Bonk (about sex), Spook (about scientific investigations into the afterlife) and Packing for Mars (because not every book can have a one-word title). But several things were pointed out to me: I was abusing the exclamation mark, and not everyone has read Mary Roach. Having read Mary Roach's other books, all I wanted to write about this recent book is a two-sentence review: Mary Roach has a new book! Go read it!!.

Grunt the curious science of humans at war