by Bob Drury
First published 2017
Bob Drury examines the devastating injuries that define modern warfare in Afghanistan. The Men's Health contributing editor focuses on soldiers who suffered catastrophic wounds from improvised explosive devices, particularly the loss of legs, hands, and genitals. Drury draws on his experience covering both the Afghan and Iraq conflicts to document these cases. He traces how each conflict produces distinctive injuries from new weapons and tactics. World War I brought blistered skin from mustard gas. World War II created petroleum burns from ignited fuel on Pacific waters. Afghanistan's signature wound comes from roadside bombs that destroy the most intimate parts of the human body. Drury follows these wounded soldiers from the moment of injury through their return to American soil. The battlefield survival stories form only the beginning of their ordeals. The real struggle begins when they face the challenge of rebuilding their lives with these deeply personal injuries. The book reveals the hidden costs that fighting forces pay in contemporary warfare.
Genres: war, non-fiction, 21st-century, military-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: true-story
Setting: Afghanistan, Iraq
Period: 21st-century
MP3 CD · Audible Studios on Brilliance Audio
Content warnings: graphic-violence, medical-trauma