Mary Roach is one of the few writers that I just wait around, twiddling my thumbs, waiting for her to publish a new book. I dont even care what the book is about. In fact, Im pretty sure when I pre-ordered my copy of Grunt, all I knew about it was the title. Mary Roach is a must-read for people like me people who are fascinated about science but arent necessarily knowledgeable on the topic. As in all of her books, Roach explained the science of how the military life impacts human beings in a way that was both hilarious and completely lacking in condescension. She holds her readers hands through complex scientific explanations without them ever feeling as theyre being talked down to. Grunt isnt my favorite Mary Roach (Stiff will always take that spot in my heart), but she didnt fail at bringing her particular brand of irreverence, humor and intelligence to a topic I previously found myself ambivalent about. Elizabeth Allenfrom The Best Books We Read In June 2016: http://bookriot.com/2016/06/29/riot-r...

Let me start by saying, Mary Roach is one tenacious, iron-stomached, courageous and quirky humored, journalistic writer. She certainly doesn't shy away from asking some very personal, probing questions, delving into some fairly unique and sometimes grossly disturbing topics related to military science, survival, recovery, and endurance. For that, I commend her. She has penned one fascinating, unabashed non-fiction doozie. Indeed, Grunt is a fascinating read, no question about it. The writing quality, however, not so much. A bit hither and yon. And I must note: you might not want to read this shortly before or after eating a meal; or with thoughts of intimacy. Many of the topics and chapters were, for me, a bit unappetizing and/or uncomfortable to read about: Cadaver research - in DETAIL, maggots, diarrhea, sweat and other body pheromones, odor manufacturing as weapons, and penis reconstruction for IED victims . . . just to name a few. Due to the nature of the book, I could only read one or two chapters per evening. A couple times I thought to set it aside completely, but Roach's humor lightened the text just enough that it was doable. Plus, it opened up dialogue between myself and my husband - Dail - Navy Chief, retired, disabled. Dialogue that gave me a better understanding of what he endured during Vietnam as a Corpsman attached to the Marines, and then later as a Spec Warfare instructor attached with and for Navy Seals. All of which was before we were married. Therein, sometimes the value of a thing, isn't the thing itself, but that which it leads to.THREE **** No Holds Barred, Tenacious Journalism **** STARS

Roach has been receiving rave reviews for popularizing (what has been called morbid or gross) science for the last number of years. I had her book Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers on my TBR list when Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War became one of Audibles Daily Deals. I immediately downloaded Grunt and began listening. Im not sure how I would have reacted to Roachs other books, but this one didnt do it for me. For one, her approach to the subject seemed haphazard. Besides feeling disjointed, there was sometimes not enough depth and sometimes excruciatingly more detail than was needed. Roach picked an interesting subject so I could have handled that part. It was really the tone that gave me pause. Roachs banter with experts seemed YA, at times snarky and at other times almost flirty (at least thats the way it came across to me). I expect that in YA, but not in nonfiction. Lots of readers evidently like this approach, but I just found it distracting. 2.5 stars rounded up.