What a fascinating historical narrative. I felt moved by the story as these men had to literally starve and still try to preserve some normalcy in their sequestered lives. Lots of historical and scientific facts that I doubtfully would have learned anywhere but through this book, such as how the men were all convinced that their cognitive powers to think and reason were diminished while starving, yet this was proven false, This book made me want to go search through scientific sources for more information, such as how starving people rarely get cancer, even recover from tumors while starving and this has been medical knowledge since the Middle Ages, and also how hearing can be enhanced and even restored during starvation. Truly fascinating read, I also gained a great respect foer conscientious objectors.