The bestselling author of Gulp and Packing for Mars explores the military’s odd and obscure adversaries and the scientists who seek to conquer them
Mary Roach is the New York Times bestselling author of several popular science books. She has written for the Guardian, Wired, BBC Focus, GQ and Vogue. She lives in California.
‘An absorbing tale that blends compassion and a bracing realpolitik
into a fascinating account of one woman’s unquenchable will to not
only survive but thrive.’
*Irish Times*
‘Roach [is] a gentle, highly original and exceptionally funny
science writer…Grunt is an extraordinary piece of reporting…alive
with stories and gobbets of trivia, many of them told for the first
time.’
*The Times*
‘Sometimes you simply have to marvel at her ability to get behind
the press release and into the laboratory…Completely
fascinating.’
*Marcus Berkmann, Daily Mail*
‘Takes a subject that we think we know a fair bit about…and hones
in…where our knowledge is probably nil.’
*Independent*
‘Mary Roach is the Hunter S Thompson of science writing…[Grunt]
proves again she is the most entertaining writer in science’.
*The Times, Books of the Year*
'Roach has a strong stomach...but also a wicked wit'.
*Sunday Herald*
‘[A] quick-fire exploration of the extraordinary world of military
science’.
*Sunday Express*
‘Hilarious and informative’.
*Soldier Magazine*
‘Fascinating...The book is a treasure trove of unorthodox thinking
and experimentation when faced with the challenge of war...Roach
gives a memorable starting point into the topic that leaves readers
wanting more.’
*New York Journal of Books*
‘Roach’s prose is a triumph…A master of synthesis and scene, she
unpacks subjects that on their surface might seem boring,
disgusting, outrageous, emotionally charged, or morally suspect and
infuses them with insight, humor, and humanity.’
*Boston Globe*
‘The unflagging enthusiasm in her books, the raw happiness that
bounces off the pages, isn’t the sort of thing that can be
faked.’
*Seattle Review of Books*
‘Mostly…she plays things for laughs, and the raw material is
irresistible. Take the guys who fire grocery-store chickens at jets
on a runway (to study bird strikes). Or the astonishing World War
II-era research into disseminating horrible stinks on a massive
scale, as a way to demoralize enemy troops. Not to mention the
blast-proof underwear.’
*Seattle Times*
‘[Roach] approaches her craft with a curious mind and a humorous
bent, translating high science into a highly enjoyable read.’
*Publishers Weekly*
‘A must read for fans of Roach and for those who relish learning
about the secret histories of everyday things.’
*Library Journal, starred review*
‘Roach joins Malcolm Gladwell and Steven Levitt in making a career
of turning serious research on oddball subjects into
bestsellers.’
*Kirkus*
‘Roach lightens the scene with her snarky sense of humour and sharp
interviewing skills to make uptight military personnel loosen up
and share entertaining anecdotes.’
*Dallas News*
‘Our most consistently entertaining science journalist wanders into
the ‘corners and crannies’ of military technology. Roach goes
where other writers wouldn’t dare (witness her classic take on
cadavers, STIFF), here eyeing ‘the parts no one makes movies
about—not the killing but the keeping alive.” And her search
produces images-a kind of technopoetry-that are hard to forget; a
cannon firing chickens into airplanes, urethra replacement surgery,
a “brief history of stink bombs.”’
*O Magazine*
‘A mirthful, informative peek behind the curtain of military
science.’
*Washington Post*
‘From the ever-illuminating author
of Bonk and Stiff comes an examination of the
science behind war. Even the tiniest minutiae count on the
battlefield, and Roach leads us through her discoveries in her
inimitable style.’
*Elle*
‘A rare literary bird, a bestselling science writer...Roach avidly
and impishly infiltrates the world of military science...[she] is
exuberantly and imaginatively informative and irreverently funny,
but she is also in awe of the accomplished and committed military
people she meets.’
*Booklist, starred review*
‘She writes exquisitely about the excruciating while also
displaying supreme attunement to the oddness of the subculture
she’s writing about.’
*Chicago Tribune*
‘Mary Roach is one of the best in the business of science
writing...She takes readers on a tour of the scientists who attempt
to conquer the panic, exhaustion, heat, and noise that plague
modern soldiers.’
*Brooklyn Magazine*
‘Nobody does weird science quite like [Roach], and this time, she
takes on war. Though all her books look at the human body in
extreme situations (sex! space! death!), this isn’t simply a
blood-drenched affair. Instead, Roach looks at the unexpected
things that take place behind the scenes.’
*Wired*
‘Tremendously entertaining, wildly informative and vividly
written.’
*LA Times*
‘Extremely likeable…and quick with a quip….[Roach’s] skill is to
draw out the good humour and honesty of both the subjects and
practitioners of these white arts among the dark arts of war.’
*San Francisco Chronicle*
‘Brilliant.’
*Science*
‘Covering these topics and more, Roach has done a fascinating job
of portraying unexpected, creative sides of military science.’
*New York Post*
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