Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War

Written 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Jun 7, 2016
• ISBN: 9781511367905

Mary Roach

Mary Roach is the New York Times-bestselling author of several popular science books including Packing for Mars and Gulp, which was shortlisted for the Royal Society Winton prize. Grunt was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Science & Technology Book Prize. She has written for the Guardian, Wired, BBC Focus, GQ and Vogue. Her most recent book is Animal, Vegetable, Criminal.

Reviews for Grunt

[JoePotograpo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well written non-fiction, very creative description of what it takes to improve the lives of the women and men serving in our armed forces.

[PMinoofar · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The particular narrator was annoying as hell. The book is a little too gee-whiz for a scientist like me. I would have appreciated more technical details, but the book is full of fascinating information about how we prepare for and fight wars. The poor choice of narrator, however, made this an unpleasant audio experience to endure.

[Matt Bowen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

a fun and informative read, especially being in the military myself. touches on serious subjects in a very readable, if not a little irreverent, way.

[melissa · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very informative. Answers questions I never knew l had.

[jill.mackin · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I love Mary Roach's approach to her subjects. Such enthusiasm! I gobbled Grunt up in one sitting. Got quite an education on maggots as medicine.

[flowercreek · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Roach has delighted and horrified me with her books, and this is no exception. This audio version of the book, however, was read by the wrong reader. I listened to Roach reading Fuzz and it was wonderful to hear her bring her own dry humor and nuanced reactions to life. The reader for this edition of Grunt was a good reader but absolutely the wrong choice for this book. I switched to the hard cover edition midway through to get more out of this story of science and military.

[indygo88 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Grunt is Mary Roach's foray into the world of the armed forces and war-like things and how they relate to the body: sweat, diarrhea, noise, cadavers, flies & maggots, shark attacks, material for uniforms, amputations of limbs & genitals, stink bombs, and the like. Kind of a hodge-podge of items, but that's sort of Mary Roach's m.o. As always, subtle and not-so-subtle humor is thrown in to keep things even more interesting.

This was not particularly my favorite of Roach's books, possibly because the subject matter wasn't as interesting to me. I also think I need to stop reading her books on audio and go for reading in print. I tend to find my mind wandering with non-fiction on audio in general, even though Roach is one of my go-to non-fiction authors. She's one of the best if you like science and like to see how the body responds to certain circumstances and situations, and her research methods are indeed fascinating. But while Grunt is enjoyable, it's not her best.

[jbd1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A Roachian romp through military science, maybe not quite as good as several of her others, but still reasonably enjoyable.

[labfs39 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Mary Roach writes with journalistic flair about offbeat scientific topics. In this case, she investigates issues related to modern warfare: how are fighter jet canopies tested? why don't snipers want zippers on their uniforms? what do special ops people do when the local goat menu gives them gastrointestinal distress? how are medics trained to handle the stress of operating under fire? She interviews people and, when possible, goes on location: she spent several days on a Trident submarine, sat in on a penis transplant on cadavers at Johns Hopkins, and participated in a heat survivability experiment. The result is a compulsively readable and fun blend of science, trivia, and expository journalism.

[zoes_human · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Non-fiction is seldom this fun. Grunt is a great book for people who love to learn about random aspects of larger fields. Did you know the military has a use for a chicken gun? Did you ever think about all the factors that need to be considered for a uniform? Has it ever occurred to you that diarrhea is a serious military concern?All of this and along with tons of other things that I never would have thought to ask are presented in layman's terms with humor. I would issue one caution. Animal testing is referenced in here. It's not gone into in any detail, but some experiments are described which might be upsetting to some.

[guide2_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Some interesting facts, but not quite what I expected. This is mostly medical/autopsy information about the impact of war on the human body, not really about war or the technology linked to combat. Guess I should have read the title! :)

[switchknitter · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love Mary Roach. Grunt is another instant classic.

[jessicareadsthings · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So proud of myself for finally finishing a book! It's been a few months.

This is a typical Mary Roach affair, irreverent writing and self-deprecating humor in tact. I liked this one much better than Gulp and maybe a little less then Spook and Stiff. I love that Roach has basically written a book thanking those in the thankless jobs, and that she was not (and is never) afraid to just come right out with something that most people would avoid.

I feel like there is a poignancy to this book that many of her others don't have. The scientists she writes of are desperately trying to keep the people who serve in the military alive. This becomes most evident in the final chapter, where even in death military personnel are still protecting their living brethren. So, while there is humor, there is also meaning. Overall, a great book even if you think you aren't interested in military nonfiction.

[tobinelliott · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another winner. I love Mary Roach's books. Yes, they're fairly breezy, but there's always some fascinating nuggets of information in every one.

I find it odd that some are saying this book isn't as funny as some of her other ones. Um...it's about looking at ways to prevent soldiers from being maimed and killed, as well as improving the care for those who have been maimed. I think, based on the subject matter alone, she did well to get as much humour as she did into the book.

Keep them coming, Mary, and I'll keep reading them.

[reader1009-863136 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

nonfiction. Another funny/interesting title from Mary Roach. I usually listen to the audio versions of her books (which are also very good), but I'm not sure if they include the entertaining footnotes (I'm guessing not)--and now I am left to ponder what I might have missed in her previous 3 projects.

[bgknighton · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An entertaining look at some of the problems of being a soldier and some of the solutions being sought for them — some more fanciful than practical. The problems range from intestinal to sleep deprivation. A wide ranging overview of a soldier’s life.

[glennbell_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Mary’s book includes 14 chapters on various topics related to military science. She picked some areas of particular interest related to sweat, sleep, autopsy, genital injury, hearing, automotive safety, clothing,diarrhea, and penile transplants. The author has a good sense of humor and conducted significant research. I am impressed that she was permitted access and information from the military. Overall it is an interesting read I do not consider it one of her best books.

[elam11 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have high standards for Mary Roach's almost-always monosyllabic romps through science's intersections with humans, and Grunt did not disappoint.

Disclaimer: I won an ARC from a GoodReads giveaway (my first and only so far, hooray), and my honest review will be based on that.

It'd be easier to list things I didn't like in this book. I thought the later chapters flowed a bit better than the earlier ones. The early chapters had perfunctory transitions from chapter-to-chapter, but the internal sub-sections of topics seems to just...shift. We'd have a few paragraphs about e.g. body donation, then suddenly we're talking "deck slap." It all fits within the overall chapter, but there wasn't really internal flow beyond that. I guess I prefer that to stilted transitions trying to force a connection, but it was still something that stood out to me pretty early on.

Also-- and this is totally nitpicky, and maybe an ARC thing-- but the images at the start of each chapter weren't doing it for me. Typical Roach book goes like this: you finish a chapter, turn the page, encounter some strange photograph that seems a little absurd and whimsical but foreshadows the topic of the succeeding chapter; turn the page again, and start the chapter. Grunt places the images on the same page as the chapter heading, and opposite the first page of the chapter. I missed that sort of meditative moment of pondering the out-of-context image before diving in again. Also, the images selected for this book were sort of boring. Guy poking his head out of a tank? Not even a funny moustache or dog to liven it up. Anatomical figure chasing another anatomical figure? Yawn.

Pretty minor things! I learned a lot, and I felt like I could trace some of her research here back to stuff she must have found out while researching Stiff, Bonk, and probably Gulp. I feel like an opportunity was lost to do a little cross-promotion to those who might have read those yet! I was suitably grossed out at times, but still laughed out loud a few times, too. Coworkers and family got to hear all kinds of things over the few days I was breezing through this work. Good times!

Oh, one other disappointment, less minor, chronologically speaking: surprisingly few citations at the end. A few chapters only had 1 or 2 articles cited, and I really hope it was more of a "selected works, most likely to be interesting/accessible to the everyday reader" and not meant to be a thorough references list. : That would be disappointing.

[hardlyhardy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

“People tend to think of military science as strategy and weapons — fighting, bombing, advancing.... I'm interested in the parts no one makes movies about — not the killing but the keeping alive.” — Mary Roach, “Grunt”

Hollywood is not likely to make a movie based on Mary Roach's “Grunt” (2016), but if it could make one as interesting and as amusing as her book, it could be a box-office smash.

As a young girl Roach must have read one of those books with titles like “Science Is Fun” and believed every word of it, for all her books, with titles like “Spook” and “Bonk,” take science seriously, but not all that seriously. This time her subject is military science, not better weapons but better ways of protecting American soldiers or, failing that, helping them recover from their wounds.

She writes about the science of camouflage, noting that the Navy uses a blue camouflage that looks like water. She quotes one anonymous officer as wryly observing, "That's so no can see you if you fall overboard."

She notes that soldiers can now wear underwear popularly termed Blast Boxers that, while hardly bombproof, can guard against contamination of wounds in that area from fungi and bacteria.

Elsewhere she comments that the fittest soldiers are often those most likely to suffer from heatstroke, simply because they are the ones most likely to push themselves hardest in hot climates.

She writes too about ear protection in the extreme noise of war, genital transplants and medical maggots. Even in peacetime, she notes, sailors aboard nuclear submarines are kept so busy that there is little time for sleep. Thus a submarine might leave port with a thousand pounds of coffee aboard to keep everyone awake. She also observes that the most dangerous part of a submarine voyage is coming to the surface, since it can be extremely difficult even with today's technology to know what might be directly above.

Like Roach, one does not need to have any interest in battles, weapons or military strategy to find all this fascinating — and despite the serious subject matter, often very, very funny.

[lyndainoregon · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Mary Roach, whose recent literary career has been based on asking the un-askable (Why do we poop? Can the soul be weighed? What are the mortician's favorite cosmetic tricks?) and providing answers which are both informative and highly readable, has tackled an equally unlikely subject in 'Grunt'.

Technically, one could categorize this as "military science / medicine". Roach takes a look at everything from genital reconstruction to sleep deprivation to stink bombs and -- most often -- manages to keep her wry humor and finely-tuned sense of the ridiculous.

But this is a tough climb, and the book is at times a difficult read. One can endure only so many descriptions of the kinds of damage intentionally done to one human by another before the mind numbs and simply wants to shut down.

The book is buoyed (pun intended) by the chapters on submarine service -- underwater escape techniques, the Navy's search for an effective shark repellent, and even a study of sleep-deprivation among submarine crews.

Overall, it's a worthwhile read, but probably not the best introduction to Roach's oeuvre.

[bragan_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This isn't a book about the science of weaponry or anything like that, but instead focuses on various oddball problems faced by the military in its attempts to keep human bodies alive and functional on battlefields and in ships, and the science and technology it's explored for that purpose. And, OK, also on things like attempts to create demoralizing stink bombs to drop on the enemy. If you've read any of Mary Roach's previous books, this one will feel very familiar. It's quirky and breezy and cheerfully willing to look at subjects that other people politely (or disgustedly) turn away from, whether it's the scourge of diarrhea, the use of maggots to clean wounds, or the details of reconstructive surgery on someone who's had his genitals blown off.

I will say that I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as some of her others. I think that may be partially because her approach to things has gotten a little too familiar by now. (Ho, hum, she's talking about feces again.) Also partly because even though she is deliberately not talking about the killing-people parts of military technology, war is a subject that feels uncomfortable and sad to me in ways that even the discussions of death in [Stiff] didn't. Hell, [Stiff] genuinely helped me to feel more comfortable with the idea of death and dead bodies, and that was a really good and useful thing. But I don't want to get comfortable with, or have fun with, the idea of war. And I think that made it a little weird to read.

But, still. Even not-quite-as-enjoyable Mary Roach is still full of bizarre and fascinating facts and stories and entertaining little asides, and this one certainly still has all of that. Especially as the military has apparently come up with some very, um, creative ideas over the years.

[trile1000 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Grunt is Mary Roach’s entertaining yet informative take on military science. She continues her successes of Stiff and Packing for Mars with this latest edition of writer learning about weird and taboo subjects. Topics she tackles in this book include diarrhea, maggot therapy, genital wounds, genital surgery, sweat, stink bombs, and shark repellants. Such a strange collection but it works well. Grunt covers with gusto a broad and fascinating array of material. History, humor, and research are wrapped together in a fun package with some of funniest footnotes I’ve seen. A recommended read for those interested in military science yet still want a chuckle.

[miaculpa-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As a general rule science bores me so mad props to Mary Roach for making science so much more interesting than it has any right to be. In this case it's the science behind war and the soldiers that fight.

Being Mary Roach there's obviously references to faecal matter and genitalia, as well as plenty of gruesome stuff and stories about nuclear submarines that give you pause. Roach also supplies many a fine, humorous line that makes you turn the pages and then look forward to her next book.

[annasazi · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very interesting and accessible!

[maureencean · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Maybe a little less than four. I felt myself drifting from time to time listening to this, a bit of a data overload maybe, and the different topics did not flow together as smoothly as I recall from her other two books I have read. In fact, I thought the book ended practically in the middle of a train of thought. I was driving through a night paving zone at the time and thought maybe I was distracted so I listened to the last chapter again in the morning. Nope, it still felt like it just ended. I have adapted to this narrator, deciding in the end that the lighter tone of voice is perhaps more suitable for topics that are either morbid, tragic or just not mentioned in polite conversation. And it reflects the humor in her work as well. Roach excels at making various scientific topics accessible to the lay person, telling the story behind the story, and along the way humanizing hardworking scientists and other researchers. I can handle reading about harder science, but it wouldn't be nearly as much fun.

[judtheobscure · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Really, really not as fun as the other of her books I've read. Started out well with a chicken gun then never rose to the occasion as much afterward....

[juva_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A fascinating examination of the science and research that goes into keeping our soldiers alive in the field. Though the subject of war is weighty, Ms. Roach can find the humor in anything. Her lively journalistic narrative will keep you riveted as she uncovers the secrets of the war against heat stroke, sleep deprivation, and diarrhea.

[sirroger · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Those who know Mary Roach's work, know that she loves to explore the science of things that are a little bit gross, a little bit on the taboo fringes, generally. Whether she's discussing corpses in Stiff, the afterlife in Spook, or sex in Bonk, readers know they will be informed, engaged, and laughing out loud.

In Grunt, the unifying subject is war and the military. She covers all kinds of things that most people (especially lay persons not involved in military service) probably have never given much thought to, like genital transplants and post-op sex-ed for blast victims, or how to train combat medics, and the operate-able prosthetics involved. Sleep deprivation on submarines, WWII stink bombs, shark repellent, medical maggots, diarrhea and navy seals, the never-ending quest for the perfect military clothing. These are all topics Roach elucidates, and with her usual wit and aplomb.

While not as laugh-out-loud funny as some of her other books, Grunt is still very informative and engaging. I do recommend it, but those that are squeamish about the occasional irreverence, (or about discussion of surgery and amputation, for example) may wish to pass.

A note for listeners: I did not particularly like the audiobook reader (Abby Elvidge, just in case there are multiple versions). Her tone was a bit too "zany-jokey" for my taste, and I feel a different approach would better suit Roach's particular style of wit. It was most distracting in the beginning, making it hard to stay connected with the actual text of the book in the first few chapters. Whether Elvidge got used to the material and toned down her delivery, or whether I just got used to her, I'm not sure, but most of the book was fine after that.

I give the book 4 stars (I really liked it), and the reading performance 2 stars (It was ok).

[mstrust · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Roach goes where research is being done in all aspects of war survival and recovery. She attends a war survival recreation school, visits a laboratory that houses the most offensive smells ever created in the name of war, follows the trail of scientists who work to keep military food sanitary, thereby cutting down on serious illness among soldiers, and other scientists who believe maggots may be a viable medical tool. Roach has an incredibly high tolerance for the stuff that would have the rest of us barfing, but that doesn't stop this from being very readable, as it's full of amazing accomplishments, unsung heroes, and Roach's humor.

[iambookish-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

There aren't too many authors that make my pulse start racing when I hear they are coming out with a new book, Roach is definitely in that category! Funny thing, the last two offerings of hers I thought I'd like more than I did, and this one didn't seem like something that would interest me. Oh ye of little faith. I should have known that in Roach's capable hands and curious mind that she would make the subject of war thought provoking with out turning off the reader.

I hope with her wide readership that our young service men and women will become news again, instead of what makes the headlines currently!