Sign-In
Cart
Warbody: A Marine Sniper and the Hidden Violence of Modern Warfare
Hardcover
Military BiographiesArmed ForcesMental Health
Publisher Price: $29.99
ISBN13: 9781324066330
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: Mar 11 2025
Pages: 304
Weight: 1.10
Height: 1.40 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.10
Language: English
Alexander Lemons is a Marine Corps scout sniper who, after serving multiple tours during the Iraq War, returned home seriously and mysteriously ill. Joshua Howe is an environmental historian who met Lemons as a student in one of his classes. Together they have crafted a vital book that challenges us to think beyond warfare's acute violence of bullets and bombs to the slow violence of toxic exposure and lasting trauma.
In alternating chapters, Lemons vividly describes his time in Fallujah and elsewhere during the worst of the Iraq War, his descent into a decade-long battle with mysterious and severe sickness, and his return to health; Howe explains, with clarity and scientific insight, the many toxicities to which Lemons was exposed and their potential consequences. Together they cover the whirlwind of toxic exposures military personnel face from the things they touch and breathe in all the time, including lead from bullets, jet fuel, fire retardants, pesticides, mercury, dust, and the cocktail of toxicants emitted by the open-air burn pits used in military settings to burn waste products like paint, human waste, metal cans, oil, and plastics. They also consider PTSD and traumatic brain injury, which are endemic among the military and cause and exacerbate all kinds of physical and mental health problems. Finally, they explore how both mainstream and alternative medicine struggle to understand, accommodate, and address the vast array of health problems among military veterans.
Warbody challenges us to rethink the violence we associate with war and the way we help veterans recover. It is a powerful book with an urgent message for the nearly twenty million Americans who are active military or veterans, as well as for their families, their loved ones, and all of us who depend on their service.
Also from
Howe, Joshua
Also in
Armed Forces
Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World
Wallace, Chris
Hardcover
Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest
Ambrose, Stephen E.
Paperback
A Crisis of Peace: George Washington, the Newburgh Conspiracy, and the Fate of the American Revolution
Head, David
Hardcover
The Last of the Old Breed: An Oral History of the Final Marines from World War II
Davis, Scott
Hardcover
The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777
Atkinson, Rick
Paperback
Kennedy's Coup: A White House Plot, a Saigon Murder, and America's Descent Into Vietnam
Cheevers, Jack
Hardcover
Losing Freedom: Socialism and the Growing Threat to American Life, Liberty and Free Enterprise
Dee, Laura
Blue, Linden
Paperback
The Boys in the Light: An Extraordinary World War II Story of Survival, Faith, and Brotherhood
Willner, Nina
Hardcover
God Forgives, Brothers Don't: The Long March of Military Education and the Making of American Manhood
Craven, Jasper
Hardcover
Until the Last Gun Is Silent: A Story of Patriotism, the Vietnam War, and the Fight to Save America's Soul
Delmont, Matthew F.
Hardcover
Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest
Ambrose, Stephen E.
Paperback
The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War
Gladwell, Malcolm
Paperback
The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777
Atkinson, Rick
Hardcover
Send It: Canada's Snipers at War in Afghanistan
Nisbet, Barry C.
Bahmanyar, Mir
Cullen, Gordon
Paperback
The Trillion Dollar War Machine: How Runaway Military Spending Drives America Into Foreign Wars and Bankrupts Us at Home
Freeman, Ben
Hartung, William D.
Hardcover
The Confederacy Myth: How an Insurrection of Slaveholders Tried to Destroy the United States
Williams, Connor
Hardcover
George Washington's One-Man Army: The Life, Legend, and Battles of Peter Francisco
Palmer, John T.
Hardcover
The Making of the American Mind: The Story of Our Declaration of Independence
Spalding, Matthew
Hardcover
Splendid Liberators: Heroism, Betrayal, Resistance, and the Birth of American Empire
Jackson, Joe
Hardcover
The Winter Army: The World War II Odyssey of the 10th Mountain Division, America's Elite Alpine Warriors
Isserman, Maurice
Paperback
Ortiz's War: The Allies' Secret Weapon Against the Nazis in France
Reynolds, Nicholas
Sanders, Katie
Hardcover
Race Against Terror: Chasing an Al Qaeda Killer at the Dawn of the Forever War
Tapper, Jake
Hardcover
American Spartan: The Promise, the Mission, and the Betrayal of Special Forces Major Jim Gant
Tyson, Ann Scott
Paperback
We Are Soldiers Still: A Journey Back to the Battlefields of Vietnam
Moore, Harold G.
Galloway, Joseph L.
Paperback
Henry Knox's Noble Train: The Story of a Boston Bookseller's Heroic Expedition That Saved the American Revolution
Hazelgrove, William Elliott
Hardcover
A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II
Makos, Adam
Alexander, Larry
Paperback
Doom 34: A Firsthand Account of the Top-Secret Mission that Launched Operation Desert Storm
Morriss, Trey
Hardcover
Aberration in the Heartland of the Real: The Secret Lives of Timothy McVeigh
Painting, Wendy S.
Paperback
A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II
Makos, Adam
Alexander, Larry
Hardcover
This Kind of War: The Classic Korean War History, Fiftieth Anniversary Edition
Fehrenbach, T. R.
Paperback
Partisans and Redcoats: The Southern Conflict That Turned the Tide of the American Revolution
Edgar, Walter B.
Paperback
George Washington's Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved the American Revolution
Yaeger, Don
Kilmeade, Brian
Paperback
PT 109: An American Epic of War, Survival, and the Destiny of John F. Kennedy
Doyle, William
Paperback
Shot Down: The true story of pilot Howard Snyder and the crew of the B-17 Susan Ruth
Snyder, Steve
Paperback
Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany
Miller, Donald L.
Paperback
Those Who Face Death: The Untold Story of Special Forces and the Iraqi Kurdish Resistance
Grdovic, Mark
Paperback
Taking Midway: Naval Warfare, Secret Codes, and the Battle That Turned the Tide of World War II
Dugard, Martin
Hardcover
The Drillmaster of Valley Forge: The Baron de Steuben and the Making of the American Army
Lockhart, Paul
Paperback
The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard's Most Daring Sea Rescue
Sherman, Casey
Tougias, Michael J.
Paperback
Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest
Ambrose, Stephen E.
Hardcover
The Indispensables: The Diverse Soldier-Mariners Who Shaped the Country, Formed the Navy, and Rowed Washington Across the Delaware
O'Donnell, Patrick K.
Paperback
Hunting the Jackal: A Special Forces and CIA Soldier's Fifty Years on the Frontlines of the War Against Terrorism
Waugh, Billy
Keown, Tim
Paperback
No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden
Owen, Mark
Maurer, Kevin
Paperback
Countdown Battle of the Bulge: The 40 Days of World War II That Crushed Hitler's Last Hope
Wallace, Chris
Hardcover
The Last Stand of Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour
Hornfischer, Estate Of James D.
Hardcover
Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man
Vincent, Lynn
Vladic, Sara
Paperback
The State and the Soldier: A History of Civil-Military Relations in the United States
Schake, Kori
Hardcover
The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Philbrick, Nathaniel
Paperback
All-Star Quilts of Valor, 2nd Edition: 37 Patriotic Patterns from Star Designers
Quilts of Valor Foundation
Paperback
War Is a Racket: The Antiwar Classic by America's Most Decorated Soldier
Butler, Smedley D.
Paperback
Surprise, Kill, Vanish: The Secret History of CIA Paramilitary Armies, Operators, and Assassins
Jacobsen, Annie
Paperback
No Ordinary Dog: My Partner from the Seal Teams to the Bin Laden Raid
Layden, Joe
Chesney, Will
Paperback
Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution
Philbrick, Nathaniel
Paperback
The Bulge and Beyond: The Things Our Fathers Saw-The Untold Stories of the World War II Generation-Volume VI
Rozell, Matthew
Hardcover
The Memoirs of General William Tecumseh Sherman: The Complete Annotated Edition
Sherman, William T.
Hardcover
Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage
Drew, Christopher
Sontag, Sherry
Paperback
W.E. Fairbairn's Complete Compendium of Lethal, Unarmed, Hand-to-Hand Combat Methods and Fighting
Fairbairn, W. E.
Hardcover
Alone at Dawn: Medal of Honor Recipient John Chapman and the Untold Story of the World's Deadliest Special Operations Force
Schilling, Dan
Longfritz, Lori
Paperback
The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour
Hornfischer, James D.
Paperback
On Desperate Ground: The Epic Story of Chosin Reservoir--The Greatest Battle of the Korean War
Sides, Hampton
Paperback
Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10
Luttrell, Marcus
Paperback
Military Ribbon Guide Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force & Coast Guard
Foster, Col Frank C.
Paperback
Washington's Immortals: The Untold Story of an Elite Regiment Who Changed the Course of the Revolution
O'Donnell, Patrick K.
Paperback
Special Reconnaissance and Advanced Small Unit Patrolling: Tactics, Techniques and Procedures for Special Operations Forces
Wolcoff, Edward
Paperback
The Boys of Pointe Du Hoc: Ronald Reagan, D-Day, and the U.S. Army 2nd Ranger Battalion
Brinkley, Douglas
Paperback
Parachute Infantry: An American Paratrooper's Memoir of D-Day and the Fall of the Third Reich
Webster, David
Paperback
The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West
Nelson, Megan Kate
Paperback
Where Custer Fell: Photographs of the Little Bighorn Battlefield Then and Now
Brust, James S.
Pohanka, Brian C.
Barnard, Sandy
Paperback
World War II Generation Speaks: The Things Our Fathers Saw Series, Vols. 1-3
Rozell, Matthew
Hardcover
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (Large Print Edition)
Hillenbrand, Laura
Paperback
Thunder in the Mountains: Chief Joseph, Oliver Otis Howard, and the Nez Perce War
Sharfstein, Daniel J.
Paperback
The Boys of Winter: Life and Death in the U.S. Ski Troops During the Second World War
Sanders, Charles J.
Paperback
Against All Odds: A True Story of Ultimate Courage and Survival in World War II
Kershaw, Alex
Paperback
A Soldier's Life: A Black Woman's Rise from Army Brat to Six Triple Eight Champion
Cummings, Edna W.
Hardcover
This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War (National Book Award Finalist)
Faust, Drew Gilpin
Paperback
Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations Into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis
Jacobsen, Annie
Paperback
Such Troops as These: The Genius and Leadership of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson
Alexander, Bevin
Paperback
Killing Custer: The Battle of Little Bighorn and the Fate of the Plains Indians
Welch, James
Paperback
The Pentagon's Brain: An Uncensored History of Darpa, America's Top-Secret Military Research Agency
Jacobsen, Annie
Paperback
The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany 1944-45
Ambrose, Stephen E.
Paperback
Everything You Were Taught about the Civil War Is Wrong, Ask a Southerner!
Seabrook, Lochlainn
Paperback
The Ghost Mountain Boys: Their Epic March and the Terrifying Battle for New Guinea--The Forgotten War of the South Pacific
Campbell, James
Paperback