Grunt

The Curious Science of Humans at War

By: Mary Roach

Narrated by: Abby Elvidge

Bestselling author 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.

©2016 Mary Roach (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

A look into another world

Grunt is a reporter's view of military R&D. It has a sense of wonder and curiosity that appeals to a general audience, but maybe not if you are a veteran. The narrator does a superb job conveying the author's point of view. You'll learn things about the nuts and bolts of outfitting our military.

Narrator threw me off...

Overall this book was great. I love Mary Roach and have listened to/read all of her books. My only qualm was with the narrator, who's voice was hard to get past. She has a great voice, but her inflections made it sound like she was reading a book for tweens or narrating a Disney show. I understand the writing is meant to be cheeky, but the narration was a bit over the top in that regard.

Interesting, but not incredible.

I'm always up for learning something new. This was a fun read. Don't expect much in the way of guns blazing. This is absolutely more of a R & D book than a combat book. I understand that is what it claims to be. I guess I just expected something different. And, while the performer was not bad, it just seemed as though she were a poor choice for this particular book. Don't get me wrong. She is good. It just seemed that given the content on occasion, she came across a bit too chipper. Again, Ivan see how she would be an amazing narrator for other books. Just didn't seem to fit with this one. Overall, I would say the book was good, content was interesting, and narration was fine. Just nothing I would eagerly recommend without being prompted as with a lot of other books in my library. I do not regret purchasing it though if that says anything?

very interesting

Lots of interesting stories and information. well read. keeps moving pretty well. would read a sequel if it had all new stuff.

I like this kind of book.

the narrator is kind of silly but I got used to it. If you like this style of book you'll probably enjoy all the fun factoids.