Probe: Poking Into the Curious World of Mary Roach

"Journalist Mary Roach had no special interest in writing a book when an agent approached her back in 2000 after reading her Salon.com column. In fact, she told him, "Don't be silly!"

He disagreed and kept pushing her to give it a try. And now 16 years later, she has written six New York Times best-sellers, and acquired informal titles such as "America's funniest science writer."

We spoke with Roach over the phone from her home in Oakland, California — prior to her upcoming visit to Colorado College on Dec. 15 — and asked her about everything from her choice of topic for her first book, Stiff, to working with the military for her most recent, Grunt."

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