A friendship between an environmental historian and a chronically ill US Marine yields a powerful exploration into the toxic effects of war on the human body.

Alexander Lemons is a Marine Corps scout sniper who, after serving multiple tours during the Iraq War, returned home mysteriously ill. Joshua Howe is an environmental historian and professor who met Lemons as a student in one of his classes. Together they have crafted a vital book that shifts our understanding of the risks that members of the military face: from the acute violence of bullets and bombs to the “slow violence” of toxic exposure and lasting trauma. In alternating chapters, Lemons paints an intimate portrait of his experiences of war and its aftermath in his body, while Howe expertly delves into the hazards Lemons and millions of other veterans have faced, including a heightened risk of traumatic brain injury, PTSD, and exposure to heavy metals, fine particulate matter, and noxious chemicals. Chronicling Lemons’s moving journey back to health, Warbody challenges us to rethink the violence we associate with war and the way we help veterans recover.

About the Authors: 

Joshua Howe is an associate professor of history and environmental studies at Reed College and lives in Portland, Oregon.

Alexander Lemons was a Marine Corps scout sniper and recipient of a Bronze Star and Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Valor. He now works as a conservation tech in Park City, Utah.