Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War

    My attention has a habit of wandering quite a bit, which can be both a blessing and a curse. It does, however, mean that I really like books that touch on a lot of subjects, as evidenced by my fascination by The Secret History of Food or Humble Pi. So any any time that I can sate this appetite for a diet of varied information, I eagerly do so. My latest satisfying bite of information comes from Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach. 

    Science and the military have long been interconnected, one driving the other, then the second driving the first. There are famous cases, such as food canning being invented at Napoleon's behest, or, well, pretty much everything related to space. But those are older cases, and Mary Roach offers an insight into some new ones. Furthermore, what makes the work particularly interesting, is her concentration on the non-violent, even life-saving, technologies that play an integral, if noticed, role in the armed forces' capabilities. 

    Foremost in her mind are medical advances - both to reduce the risk of injury and to treat wounds. To explain the benefits of the research, Roach enlists the help of the scientists, adding a layer of validation to her words. Furthermore, rather than just interview and write about it, Roach tried to get involved, following audiologists into training exercises, personally meeting with maggots used to clean up decaying flesh in wounds... 

    Wait. Didn't I say advanced technologies? I thought leeching and stuff like that are a thing of the past? Well, maggots are actually a special case. Apparently, they are so good at cleaning up the dead flesh, that there is an FDA-permitted treatment that uses them. And even more shockingly, patients are reportedly on board with it, with only a small percentage requesting alternatives. Although, when you're at a state where your doctor recommends using maggots to help you heal, you might be getting a bit desperate. 

    Another of the more unusual discussions is the one about diarrhea. Soldiers are travelers. And so they get traveler's diarrhea. Except that when civilians get it, they aren't getting shot at. I'd never thought about it but it makes sense. The issue is also surprisingly prevalent. As Roach reports:

In that same survey, 77 percent of combatants in Iraq and 54 percent in Afghanistan came down with diarrhea. Forty percent of the cases were serious enough that the person sought medical help. (pg 142).

Fascinating. Who could have imagined? There are a lot of great tidbits like this, making the short, and easily readable, book worthy of recommendation.