They starved so that millions could live.
Favored by the possibility of doing their service as conscientious objectors in a country that allowed them to do it, 36 young men set on to experience lab-controlled starvation for the benefit of civilian victims all over the world – without knowing that the study itself was funded by the Army.
Could such a study be done today? I don’t know – probably not – which makes it all the more valuable.
By introducing several life trajectories of the author’s study – Dr. Ancel Keys – and of the brave men that took part in the experiment, this book is a living proof that legacies can be left not only by designing clinical trials, but even more so by participating in medical experiments.
The results on the modified behavior as men were starving and the scientific results in rehabilitating the famished (proving that calories per se are more important than any cocktail of proteins and vitamins) is one more proof that civilization depends on resources – especially on food.
If you feel like opening its covers, the book can be found at your closest library.
