Grunts: Inside the American Infantry Combat Experience, World War II to Iraq

Grunts: Inside the American Infantry Combat Experience, World War II to Iraq by John C. McManus  518 pp.

Military history is not generally one of my go-to topics when reading non-fiction, except in the case of books written by this author. I first learned of him when my son was in a military history class taught by Dr. McManus, the Curators’ Distinguished Professor of U.S. Military History at the Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T). This book, like his others are very readable and understandable by anyone regardless of previous knowledge of the wars contained in it. Through interviews with the soldiers who lived through extreme battles, McManus details conflicts in the forests and jungles as well as the streets of villages and cities where infantrymen do the legwork and hand-to-hand fighting. The modern idea of "push-button" wars, begun during the Persian Gulf War, where the battles are fought just with technology rather than men on the ground is exaggerated. While hesitating to call reading this book as enjoyable, it is engaging on a number of levels.