In Warbody (Norton, Mar.), the Iraq War veteran and the Reed College historian explore what Lemons’s military service and subsequent illnesses reveal about modern warfare.

You write that the book aims to “rethink the violence we associate with war.” Can you expand on that?

Howe: When folks think about warfare, they think predominantly about the damage caused by bullets and bombs. We’re trying to demonstrate the unseen violence of warfare from toxic chemical exposures. Those things take a lot more time to manifest but are probably more common than the combat injuries characteristic of movies about war.

Lemons: The wounds that we’re talking about are ones you’re not thinking about—the things you eat or breathe—and their impact may not happen until 10 years down the road.

How is it that the U.S. military failed to consider possible toxic exposures to soldiers in Iraq, after discovering the effects of Agent Orange in the Vietnam War?

Howe: Agent Orange is important in a lot of ways—in particular because it raised the issue of exposures among veterans in ways that have helped healthcare after the fact. But it didn’t necessarily change the military’s mentality. What’s most alarming is that, after the first Gulf War, Congress did a huge study on all the toxins that military personnel were exposed to that might be causing illnesses and made a series of recommendations that simply were ignored during the Iraq War. We don’t use Agent Orange anymore, but I don’t think there was a sea change in the mentality that you need to track and minimize exposures in combat environments.

What do civilians get wrong about PTSD?

Lemons: Civilians assume that the most violent event will cause the most trauma, and that’s not the case—I think the most trauma will come from when you have the closest connection to somebody, or you’re emotionally exposed to something. Also, it’s hard to separate PTSD from other things we talk about in the book, like toxins.

What is “historical anatomy,” the term you use to describe your approach in this book?

Howe: Environmental historians have long defined toxicity based on geographies, personal histories, and social relationships.

Lemons: Everyone who reads this book has their own historical anatomy. You have a history of exposures you may not even know about. We’re creating problems down the road because exposures are really complicated, and when you see your doctor, they don’t ask, “Where did you live? How contaminated was your water, or were pesticides sprayed on your food?”