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ashablue's review against another edition
5.0
Everything Mary Roach writes is gold. Like her other books, Grunt focuses on aspects of what seems like a simple thing: corpses, going to war, and then reveals them to be these complex, fascinating, incredible things in a way that is instantly approachable and dare I say witty.
Did you know there's a scientist who is very serious about studying sweat? Or that sweat is actually blood plasma moving up to the surface of your skin?
Or how about the development of Shark repellent?
Did you ever wonder what happens if a special ops soldier gets bad diarrhea?
How about the purpose of the blue camo worn by Navy troops when the last thing you want is to be invisible if you fall overboard?
If you are a giant nerd who wants to know everything about everything without being bored out of your mind, then this and any Mary Roach book is for you.
Did you know there's a scientist who is very serious about studying sweat? Or that sweat is actually blood plasma moving up to the surface of your skin?
Or how about the development of Shark repellent?
Did you ever wonder what happens if a special ops soldier gets bad diarrhea?
How about the purpose of the blue camo worn by Navy troops when the last thing you want is to be invisible if you fall overboard?
If you are a giant nerd who wants to know everything about everything without being bored out of your mind, then this and any Mary Roach book is for you.
bookph1le's review against another edition
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's entertaining, funny, fascinating, sometimes disgusting, and often sobering, all in one. Roach's approach to her science non-fiction is unconventional, but it also shines a light on the myriad challenges scientists face in a variety of fields, something most of us take for granted.
mharrison13's review against another edition
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.75
Other than the abrupt ending, this book was great! Informative (if at times, nauseating) and funny. The narrator did a great job capturing Mary Roach’s sarcastic humor.
alicebme's review against another edition
4.0
Balance of dark humor and illuminating humanity. It’s not easy or appealing to think of the military members’ experiences if you have the privilege to ignore it. Mary Roach brings us in through the side door of military science, and all of a sudden there are people where we once saw an abstract “machine”. Also submarines. WTF.
libellum_aphrodite's review against another edition
4.0
Mary Roach is just the best. She is a master of lighthearted and funny, yet amazingly informative and accessible writing. In her books, in a mere few sentences, I can come away with a core understanding of how something technical works, plus feel like I know the person who designed it.
This topic was particularly fun. There are very challenging engineering problems under the surface of military operations, that are easy to gloss over, but fascinating to learn about. Among my favorites:
* submarine escape pods
* shark repellent
* fabrics for the field
* ear protection (Ever fired a gun? Ever since the first time I did, media's blatant disregard of how goddamn loud they are drives me insane.)
* medical officer training exercises
This topic was particularly fun. There are very challenging engineering problems under the surface of military operations, that are easy to gloss over, but fascinating to learn about. Among my favorites:
* submarine escape pods
* shark repellent
* fabrics for the field
* ear protection (Ever fired a gun? Ever since the first time I did, media's blatant disregard of how goddamn loud they are drives me insane.)
* medical officer training exercises