This eye-opening book invites readers of all political and denominational stripes into a more meaningful conversation and community with soldiers and veterans. If Jesus is God, then God is a grunt—the humble, hardy folk placed at the bottom of the social hierarchy who are relied on to accomplish the dirtiest, most difficult (and most thankless) work. This is good news for millions of Christian soldiers and veterans in the U.S. because they have had to make an impossible choice, with no perceivable middle ground, between patriot and pacifist. In his new book, God Is a Grunt, Logan Isaac offers an opportunity for GIs, veterans, and those close to them to read Christian traditions as a soldier would—by and through the lived experiences of military service. This well-researched, meditative guide for Christians who have served their country delves deep into the Bible, while Isaac shares his own beliefs and thoughts on the life-altering experiences of battle. He attempts to fill the void most Christians in the military feel by providing theological resources to discern a better way of discipleship for GIs, affirming the nuance and complexity of armed service and the gifts GIs extend to Christians around the world.

This eye-opening book invites readers of all political and denominational stripes into a more meaningful conversation and community with soldiers and veterans. If Jesus is God, then God is a grunt—the humble, hardy folk placed at the bottom of the social hierarchy who are relied on to accomplish the dirtiest, most difficult (and most thankless) work. This is good news for millions of Christian soldiers and veterans in the U.S. because they have had to make an impossible choice, with no perceivable middle ground, between patriot and pacifist. In his new book, God Is a Grunt, Logan Isaac offers an opportunity for GIs, veterans, and those close to them to read Christian traditions as a soldier would—by and through the lived experiences of military service. This well-researched, meditative guide for Christians who have served their country delves deep into the Bible, while Isaac shares his own beliefs and thoughts on the life-altering experiences of battle. He attempts to fill the void most Christians in the military feel by providing theological resources to discern a better way of discipleship for GIs, affirming the nuance and complexity of armed service and the gifts GIs extend to Christians around the world.

A New York Times / National Bestseller "America's funniest science writer" (Washington Post) Mary Roach explores the science of keeping human beings intact, awake, sane, uninfected, and uninfested in the bizarre and extreme circumstances of war. Grunt tackles the science behind some of a soldier's most challenging adversaries—panic, exhaustion, heat, noise—and introduces us to the scientists who seek to conquer them. Mary Roach dodges hostile fire with the U.S. Marine Corps Paintball Team as part of a study on hearing loss and survivability in combat. She visits the fashion design studio of U.S. Army Natick Labs and learns why a zipper is a problem for a sniper. She visits a repurposed movie studio where amputee actors help prepare Marine Corps medics for the shock and gore of combat wounds. At Camp Lemmonier, Djibouti, in east Africa, we learn how diarrhea can be a threat to national security. Roach samples caffeinated meat, sniffs an archival sample of a World War II stink bomb, and stays up all night with the crew tending the missiles on the nuclear submarine USS Tennessee. She answers questions not found in any other book on the military: Why is DARPA interested in ducks? How is a wedding gown like a bomb suit? Why are shrimp more dangerous to sailors than sharks? Take a tour of duty with Roach, and you’ll never see our nation’s defenders in the same way again.

"Previously distributed as a masters thesis by the same title"--T.p. verso. Includes index. Chaplains, Military -- Biography.

This tragicomic novel set in sixteenth-century Jamaica is a “gusty, boisterous, [and] entertaining . . . slice of historical fiction” (Alan Cheuse, NPR, All Things Considered). Winner of the 2014 Townsend Prize for Fiction A fortune-seeking band of ragtag sailors travel aboard the Santa Inez, a Spanish vessel bound for the newly discovered West Indies. She is an unusual explorer for her day, carrying no provisions for the settlers and no seed for planting crops, and manned by vain, arrogant men looking for gold in Jamaica. The crew expects to make landfall in paradise after over a month at sea. Meanwhile, the timid, innocent Arawaks—who walk around stark naked without embarrassment and who venerate their own customs and worship their own gods—think these newcomers must have come from heaven. The ensuing entanglement of culture, custom, and beliefs makes for a “comic, tragic, bawdy, sad, and provocative” novel (Library Journal). “Darkly irreverent . . . With a sharp tongue, Winkler, a native of Jamaica, deftly imbues this blackly funny satire with an exposé of colonialism’s avarice and futility.” —Publishers Weekly “Well-written . . . Winkler’s descriptions of sea and sky as seen from a sailing ship, and of the physical beauty of Jamaica, are spot-on and breathtaking.” —Historical Novel Review “A thoroughly engaging adventure story from a renowned Jamaican author, sure to enchant readers who treasure a fabulous tale exquisitely rendered.” —Library Journal “Every country (if she’s lucky) gets the Mark Twain she deserves, and Winkler is ours.” —Marlon James, author of Black Leopard, Red Wolf

I always believed in what I could see. Sure I was raised in one of those Christian Non-Denominational churches by my parents and a very strict Mimi, but my beliefs were not exactly solid. That all changed when I found myself rocketing through the cosmos after hitting an ambush while on patrol in the sandbox. I landed in a magic circle made by an Archmage bent on world domination. Spoiler alert, Fantasy Hitler isn't bulletproof!Now I'm in a foreign land full of humans, elves, dwarves, and gnomes. No electricity, no decent music, and worst of all, basic hygiene isn't a concept these backward idiots have figured out. I'm doing my best to survive and find a way home. I've got a limited supply of ammo to feed my M4, a limited amount of batteries to power nods, two frags, and one claymore.My name is Staff Sergeant Kevin Holden, and this is my story."Mat Best meets Frodo, and kicks his ass!" -Tim SFC US Army (RET)"A Grunts wet dream, a fantastical world without ROEs, getting to operate without a LT." -Joseph Adams SGT USMC