Author: Mary Roach [Website][Twitter] ; Read by Abby Elvidge [Website][Facebook][Twitter]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
ISBN: 9781511367912
Length: 7 discs ; 8 hours, 57 minutes
Obtained: Library audiobook copy
Why this book?:
I enjoyed Stiff and it sounded interesting. But I knew I wanted to listen rather than read the print. Then a coworker did a book talk in an adult services meeting and I was glad I already had it on hold.
Comments:
Mary has a great sense of humor and a quirky outlook that makes delving into details you'd likely never consider on your own fascinating. Every once and awhile I would realize I had drifted (usually related to things being crazy IRL), but I found the majority of the book intriguing. I could definitely tell the narrator was different from the first book I listened to by Mary, Stiff. This is something that generally throws me, but I quickly moved on and felt the voice suited the book.
Oh, the subjects discussed. Clothing, sleep deprivation, reconstructive surgery, diarrhea, entomology & medical maggots, hearing loss, sharks & submarines survival, odor (stink bombs), field medicine ... the list goes on. It's hard to imagine this collection in one book, but it all falls under Mary's research on "the curious science of war."
I'll definitely listen to more of Mary's work. And I think I may be gravitating toward more popular science in the future as well.
