{"id":6007,"date":"2016-10-17T07:00:20","date_gmt":"2016-10-17T05:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.military-history.us\/?p=6007"},"modified":"2016-10-21T07:00:43","modified_gmt":"2016-10-21T05:00:43","slug":"book-review-grunt-the-curious-science-of-humans-at-war-by-mary-roach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.military-history.us\/2016\/10\/book-review-grunt-the-curious-science-of-humans-at-war-by-mary-roach\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Grunt-The Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach"},"content":{"rendered":"

I had\u00a0previously read Gulp <\/a>by Mary Roach and found it highly entertaining so when I saw this book I knew i had to read it, I was not disappointed. \u00a0Like her other works, Grunt <\/a>takes a behind the scenes look at its subject. \u00a0In this case that subject os outfitting and equipping the modern American military member for war. \u00a0Given that I myself am a recently retired combat arms soldier (SCOUTS OUT!) who spent some time working weapons testing I was curious to see a civilians take on how the military does what it does.<\/p>\n

First, the book itself. \u00a0There are 285 pages of text divided into 14 chapters with an acknowledgements section and an 8 page bibliography. \u00a0The chapters are topical with each chapter examining a specific topic in detail.<\/p>\n

The topics chosen for the individual chapters are interesting and the Ms. Roaches humorous writing style keeps the narrative flowing. \u00a0Given that I knew how she wrote I was not surprised to see some topics ignored. \u00a0It would have been nice to see chapters that examine military field rations and the development of load bearing equipment but it was not to be. \u00a0She does include some very good chapters on other topics though. \u00a0The military’s field ration, the much panned Meal-Ready-to-Eat has been much panned by soldiers and admired by those outside the military. \u00a0Having eaten both the MRE’s predecessor the C-Ration and several generations of MRE’s in my career the science behind their development would have been interesting to read. \u00a0They certainly have not figured out how to make food that is shelf-stable in harsh environments tasty but not for lack of trying and it would have made for an interesting read. \u00a0I would have liked to read about Load bearing equipment because it is something I spent years bitching about and having worn several different iterations it would be neat to hear about the research they conduct when developing new concepts. \u00a0I found the chapters on hearing loss, heat control in uniforms, and the use of cadavers in blast research the most interesting.<\/p>\n

The hearing loss chapter was interesting because as she states, hearing loss is the single most common disability suffered by veterans. \u00a0Being in the military, especially in combat arms, is inherently noisy. \u00a0Not only are guns loud, so are lots of other things the combat arms soldier is exposed to from fighting vehicles (you aint sneaking up on anyone in a Bradley or Tank), the tools used in the motorpool. \u00a0To hear about some of the ways the military is trying to reduce the incidence of hearing was both interesting and entertaining.<\/p>\n

Having been to Iraq I can attest that it is hot, unbelievably hot there. \u00a0We routinely planned on using 5 gallons of water per man, per day on mission and the old desert uniform (DCU) was more of a heat trap than anything else, especially when you strap 60 pounds of gear to yourself. \u00a0The newer uniforms are slightly better. \u00a0The chapter on heat discusses military research in how to both prevent and treat heat related illnesses. \u00a0It is very interesting and is a subject near and dear to every soldier who has ever spent time with the sun beating down on them at range.<\/p>\n

The last chapter I found the most interesting was about the use of cadavers in military research. \u00a0This is specifically about using cadavers to test the effect of explosives on the human body so that a militarily useful version of crash test dummies can be perfected and built. \u00a0The rest of the chapters are interesting as well dealing with such varied topics as the military development of a stink bomb to methods to allow crews to escape a sinking submarine. \u00a0The narrative throughout is a mix of Ms. Roach’s signature style that mixes humor with seriosuness in a way that makes otherwise mundane or boring topics interesting. \u00a0I highly recommend this interesting and easy to read book.
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