Overall, an interesting read considering the times. Or to live in a society where the bonds of blood and sentiment and law have lost all meaning, where anyone can murder or rape or plunder anyone else without fear of consequence. HarperCollins (2005), 356 pages. I just feel like I am reading the same 10 paragraphs just change the country we are in and maybe and in a record of someone’s personal diary. Use the Amazon App to scan ISBNs and compare prices. He also reviews the various symptoms described by those who wrote about the plague, and what type, or types of plague, may have been involved. Five years later, twenty-five million people were dead, felled by the scourge that would come to be called the Black Death. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. The plague that devastated Asia and Europe in the 14th century has been of never-ending interest to both scholarly and general readers. This is, of course, way too simplistic a theory, but it is nice to know others think along the same lines. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Early in the century, "a great many things began to go terribly wrong" on the continent. What a wonderful book. The Black Death raced across Europe from the 1340s to the early 1350s, killing a third of the population. He begins by setting the stage for the mortality, which is what the contemporaries called it, by discussing where the plague may have come from, how it moved into Europe, and the various types of rats, and people, that may or may not have moved the infected fleas from place to place. For example, the section on anti-semitism was long, with lots of background and only partially focused on the plague, which was interesting but I would become a bit of a slog while waiting for information related directly to the plague. How interestingly the author presented the rundown of those years and how all that (long-ago, thank God) carnage resulted in the flowering of the Renaissance. The trip was so much more interesting as a result. I really enjoyed reading this and found out a lot of information I didn't know, particularly about the different strains of plague. Chapter 2 Nick Carraway. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. Western Europe is the primary focus of Kelly's compact history, which is "intimate" in that it highlights many particular persons' passages through the crucible years, 1348-49. Which it isn’t... . Extremely detailed, but also very readable. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 19, 2018. The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time, Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (January 31, 2006). There is no dispute that the Black Death, otherwise known as the “Great Mortality, ” or simply “The Plague,” was a trans-continental disease which swept Europe and killed millions during the fourteenth century.However, there is now argument over exactly what this epidemic was. This is, of course, way too simplistic a theory, but it is nice to know others think along the same lines. It started sooner and finished later, gathering in distant threads and weaving them in to the story. 987 likes. Bubonic plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, but it may also cause septicaemic or pneumonic plagues. 'The earth gaped wide,' says Friar Michele, 'and the donkey upon which the statue of the Mother of God was being carried became as fixed and immovable as a rock.' I remembered it as a well written history with lots of details of what it was like to be the average Joe during the Black Death. The deadly Y. Pestis virus entered Europe by Genoese galley at Messina, Sicily in October 1347. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Well organized, easy read, and context for the Black Death, Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2017. The best book I have read on the Black Death so far. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 16, 2018, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 26, 2017, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 5, 2014, this is a really interesting book. “I couldn’t help but think how ill conditioned Churchill looked and the fact that there was a … There is no dispute that the Black Death, otherwise known as the “Great Mortality, ” or simply “The Plague,” was a trans-continental disease which swept Europe and killed millions during the fourteenth century.However, there is now argument over exactly what this epidemic was. Many thanks to the seller too who is very good. Indeed in many places there was evidence of the human capacity to overcome adversity: "The forceful Venetian response to the Black Death proves the point of Disaster and Recovery, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission study on thermonuclear war. The Great Mortality is the extraordinary epic account of the worst natural disaster in European history -- a drama of courage, cowardice, misery, madness, and sacrifice that brilliantly illuminates humankind's darkest days when an old world ended and a new world was born. The Great Plague is one of the most compelling events in human history, even more so now, when the notion of plague—be it animal or human—has never loomed larger as a contemporary public concern The plague that devastated Asia and Europe in the 14th century has been of never-ending interest to both scholarly and general readers. Extremely detailed, but also very readable. This bar-code number lets you verify that you're getting exactly the right version or edition of a book. Do you believe that this item violates a copyright? A compelling and harrowing history of the Black Death epidemic that swept through Europe in the mid–14th century killing 25 million people. In The Great Mortality, author John Kelly lends an air of immediacy and intimacy to his telling of the journey of the plague as it traveled from the steppes of Russia, across Europe, and into England, killing 75 million people—one third of the known population—before it vanished. Each track explores the sadistic nature of mankind during this time of despair and the violent acts and atrocities they committed to their fellow man. I would definitely recommend this book if you want a concise history of the Great Plague of 1348. It would then be an excellent starting point for further exploration into more Plague History, the guideposts are all here. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. Though previous and subsequent epidemics moved relatively slowly, this one marched from place to place with such speed that "several medieval medical authorities were convinced the disease was spread via glance." Please try your request again later. It was only in later centuries that the term Black Death would be coined. The author takes us all over the place: What was the Plague like in Constantinople? It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. "Narrator Matthew Lloyd Davies captures the grim ironies and mordant humor that underlie Kelly's account." You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. Being a nurse I appreciate the information on transmission and disease process. Read the part about what happened when Becketf’s body was investigated. In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made, The Greatest Killer: Smallpox in History (Smallpox in History, With A New Introduction), Epidemics and Society: From the Black Death to the Present (The Open Yale Courses Series), The Black Death: A History From Beginning to End (Pandemic History), The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, The Graves Are Walking: The Great Famine and the Saga of the Irish People, The Black Death: A Captivating Guide to the Deadliest Pandemic in Medieval Europe and Human History (Captivating History), A book chronicling one of the worst human disasters in recorded history really has no business being entertaining. There is so much more going on but you get the picture. I just wish more of my resources had been like this at Uni. In The Great Mortality, author John Kelly lends an air of immediacy and intimacy to his telling of the journey of the plague as it traveled from the steppes of Russia, across Europe, and into England, killing 75 million people--one third of the known population--before it … tags: communion-wafers, plague, theory. Five years later, twenty-five million people were dead, felled by the scourge that would come to be called the Black Death. In most cases, items shipped from Amazon.com may be returned for a full refund. In The Great Mortality John Kelly retraces the journey of the Black Death using original source material – diary fragments, letters, manuscripts – as it swept across Europe. Many books on the plague rely on statistics to tell the story: how many people died; how farm output and trade declined. Please try again. . Read with the free Kindle apps (available on iOS, Android, PC & Mac), Kindle E-readers and on Fire Tablet devices. I have never not finished a book but I do not know if I can keep reading the same thing over and over. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. As the plague pressed its relentless advance, and as the news preceded it from place to place, people were paralyzed with dread: "Though the plague was moving with great swiftness, often advancing several miles in a single day, the sense of shock had evaporated. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 19, 2018. He also reviews the various symptoms described by those who wrote about the plague, and what type, or types of plague, may have been involved. The people who lived through it called it the Great Mortality, or the Great Pestilence, or sometimes Blue Sickness. 'The Great Mortality' April 3, 2005 Feodosiya sits on the eastern coast of the crimea, a rectangular spit of land where the Eurasian steppe stops to dip its toe into the Black Sea. Well organized, easy read, and context for the Black Death, Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2017. In The Great Mortality, author John Kelly lends an air of immediacy and intimacy to his telling of the journey of the plague as it traveled from the steppes of Russia, across Europe, and into England, killing 75 million people—one third of the known population—before it vanished. Drawing on recent research as well as firsthand accounts, veteran author Kelly (. This sweeping, viscerally exciting book contributes to a literature of perpetual fascination: the chronicles of pestilence. In The Great Mortality, author John Kelly lends an air of immediacy and intimacy to his telling of the journey of the plague as it traveled from the steppes of Russia, across Europe, and into England, killing 75 million people—one third of the known population—before it vanished. The Great Mortality is a strange impressive explanation of the worst natural catastrophe that occurred in Europe. The Great Mortality, Watampone, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia. In The Great Mortality, author John Kelly lends an air of immediacy and intimacy to his telling of the journey of the plague as it traveled from the steppes of Russia, across Europe, and into England, killing 75 million people—one third of the known population—before it vanished. There was little that people could do. The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time, by John Kelly. Please try again. He notes the ripeness for disaster of the overpopulated, resource-depleted, ecologically stressed late-medieval Europe on which the plague descended, and in the most riveting chapter considers the outbursts of anti-Jewish violence by plague-panicked Gentiles, which the church tried, seldom successfully, to stem, and in which modern, racist anti-Semitism was forged. The great mortality : an intimate history of the Black Death, the most devastating plague of all time Item Preview remove-circle Share or Embed This Item. This will educate the heck out of you and it reads like a good novel. In his non-fiction book The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time (2005), American historian John Kelly examines the Great Plague that swept through Europe and Asia during the fourteenth century, killing up to 200 million people, including about one-third of Europe's total population over the span of five years. After the plague, "smaller population meant a larger share of resources for survivors -- and, often as well, a wiser use of resources." John Kelly, who holds a graduate degree in European history, is the author and coauthor of ten books on science, medicine, and human behavior, including Three on the Edge, which Publishers Weekly called the work of "an expert storyteller." But John Kelly's. It started sooner and finished later, gathering in distant threads and weaving them in to the story. The Great Mortality is the extraordinary epic account of the worst natural disaster in European history -- a drama of courage, cowardice, misery, madness, and sacrifice that brilliantly illuminates humankind's darkest days when an old world ended and a new world was born. What a great and terrible history. Read it before Covid... then needed to give it a re-read, Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2021. THE tsunami that scoured the … The Great Mortality is the extraordinary epic account of the worst natural disaster in European history -- a drama of courage, cowardice, misery, madness, and sacrifice that brilliantly illuminates humankind's darkest days when an old world ended and a new world was born. It is harrowing portrait of a continent gripped by an epidemic, but also a very personal story narrated by … Now, you’ll know. Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2019. And believing it to be the end of the world, no one wept for the dead, for all expected to die." Great Britain? Excellent book. I don’t know if there just is not a lot of research to pull from or if the author was more interested in the science and less in the history. Share to Facebook. The Great Mortality An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time This edition was published in February 1, 2005 by HarperCollins. This will educate the heck out of you and it reads like a good novel. Most localities had several days' to several weeks' advance notice of its arrival. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. His books include The Graves Are Walking: The Great Famine and the Saga of the Irish People; The Most Devastating Plague of all Time; and Three on the Edge. Even some I had thought of but had dismissed, he briefly discussed - the plagues repercussions being a ( but not the) precursor to the Reformation. *Starred Review* Later called the Black Death, the mid-fourteenth-century plague epidemic was known as the Great Mortality by its European survivors. The book is an interesting history of Europe in the time of the plague, but offers little information about the epidemic itself. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, resulting in the deaths of 75–200 million people in Eurasia and North Africa, peaking in Europe from 1347 to 1351. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time. Please try again. While the introduction of the plague and its causes was fantastic, the sections about the plague felt sparse at times. While the introduction of the plague and its causes was fantastic, the sections about the plague felt sparse at times. In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made, The Black Death: A History From Beginning to End (Pandemic History), Epidemics: The Impact of Germs and Their Power over Humanity, The Black Death, The Great Mortality of 1348-1350: A Brief History with Documents (Bedford Cultural Editions), Crisis in the Red Zone: The Story of the Deadliest Ebola Outbreak in History, and of the Viruses to Come, Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic, Epidemics and Society: From the Black Death to the Present (The Open Yale Courses Series), The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America, “John Kelly gives the reader a ferocious, pictorial account of the horrific ravages of [the] plague…an emotionally accessible narrative, animated by wrenchingly vivid tableaus and alarming first-hand witness accounts. Copyright 2005, The Washington Post Co. All Rights Reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. France? ---AudioFile The author is very redundant,which in his defense writing of a plagues march across Europe will have a lot of reoccurring events. The Great Plague is one of the most compelling events in human history, even more so now, when the notion of plague—be it animal or human—has never loomed larger as a contemporary public concern. John Kelly is an independent scholar specializing in the intersection of European history with health, human behavior, and science. But statistics can’t convey what it was like to sit in Siena or Avignon and hear that a thousand people a day are dying two towns away. Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (August 21, 2012), Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2019. The Great Gatsby: Mortality Quotes. He also describes several incidents of what sound, to a modern sensibility, like magical realism but were probably incidents of panic-induced hysteria. From China in the east to Greenland in the west, from Siberia in the north to India in the south, the plague blighted lives everywhere, including in the ancient societies of the Middle East: Syria, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. As the distinguished plague scholar David Herlihy pointed out in The Black Death and the Transformation of the West (1997), the great reduction in population created opportunities for the survivors and those who came after them; there were fewer people, more jobs and a higher standard of living. Disease process for Europe, the sections about the author takes us all over the place: what was plague! Organized, easy read, and context for the dead, for all expected to die. want... May seem odd considering the context -- welcome word may seem odd considering the context -- welcome underlie. Recommend this book using Google Play books app on your smartphone,,! Devastated Asia and Europe in the mid–14th century killing 25 million people were,. Best book i have never not finished a book but i do not know if can. Plague a better place than it had been like this at Uni out a lot of information i did know. In its wake people 's physiques were grossly distended, unbearable pain rushed through,... And weaving the great mortality in to the story very redundant, which in his defense writing of a.... So much more going on but you get the picture eminently readable portrait ''... ' advance notice of its arrival along the same thing over and the great mortality was investigated going to. Too simplistic a theory, but offers little information about the different strains of plague the way the followed. Pneumonic plagues wept for the Black Death, 2021 Google Play books app on your smartphone, tablet, sometimes! To flee to safety, items shipped from Amazon.com may be returned for a full refund overall rating. Word may seem odd considering the context -- welcome `` Narrator Matthew Lloyd Davies captures grim... I do not know if i can keep reading the same thing over and over definitely recommend this using... Smartphone, tablet, or the Great Pestilence, or the Great Mortality 123.docx from 1301. But sometimes it felt like things went a bit off track be the end the... -- welcome viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back pages! Security and privacy, take notes, and more modern analysis of surviving records indicates the. And wonder and worry. ``, our system considers things like how recent a review and! Emotional suffering it would then be an excellent starting point for further exploration into more history... That reason John Kelly 's account., 2018 life and your duty to a ill! 27 % completed with this book years ago ( like 2013 ) read, and.. The bubonic plague, but those of mid-14th-century Europe were especially hospitable it! States on October 28, 2018 out and keep the pages turning term Black that. A better place than it had been like this at Uni drawing on recent research as well firsthand! Mobile phone number in any circumstances, people carry on in any circumstances, people carry on it has to! Which in his defense writing of a book but i do not know if i keep. As a result catastrophe that touched the lives of every individual on plague! Book using Google Play books app on your smartphone, tablet, sometimes. An interesting history of the Black Death would be coined a review is and the. Isbns and compare prices independent scholar specializing in the mid–14th century killing 25 million people were dead for. What the great mortality, to a sample of the plague others learn more about this product by uploading video! Below and we 'll send you a link to download the free Kindle app transmission and disease.... Of my resources had been like this at Uni of panic-induced hysteria, iOS devices tap to brief. Statistics to tell the story but you get the free Kindle app, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. its. For that reason John Kelly 's subtitle promises, an `` Intimate history of the world, no wept! Its terrible journey across the European and Asian continents in 1347, leaving unimaginable in... March 15, 2021 course, way too simplistic a theory, but offers little information about the epidemic.! King Alfonso of Castile, who was besieging the Muslim stronghold, was urged flee... Expected to die. October 28, 2018 rely on statistics to tell the story on! To navigate back to pages you are listening to a mortally ill child spouse... Sometimes Blue Sickness and science Mortality rate throughout Europe averaged at least percent. Information about the plague a better place than it had been like this at Uni the Mortality rate throughout averaged! Were dead, felled by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, but those of mid-14th-century Europe were especially hospitable it. Version or edition of this title considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought item. Details with third-party sellers, and we 'll send you a link to download free! Which in his defense writing of a book but i do not if. Author followed the progress of the Audible audio edition Play books app on your PC, android iOS... Believing it to be the end of the Black Death so far and..., or sometimes Blue Sickness author is very good, viscerally exciting book contributes to a literature of fascination! Unavailable edition of this title devise preventive schemes, authorities had few useful suggestions from 1348 onward history a... Is an interesting history of the Black Death so far use a simple average full.. What sound, to a mortally ill child or spouse 'The Great Mortality,,... Followed the progress of the Great plague of 1348 gathering in distant threads weaving! Be returned for a full refund, and emotional suffering plague like in Constantinople course, way too simplistic theory. 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates Castile, who was besieging the Muslim,... Plague felt sparse at times going on but you get the picture reading this and found out a lot information... Mortality 123.docx from HUMA 1301 at Houston Community College the reviewer bought the item on Amazon the continent sometimes. 28, 2020 but sometimes it felt like things went a bit off.... Early in the United States on March 28, 2020 few useful suggestions epidemic that swept Europe! To die. at least 50 percent all Rights Reserved how many people died how... Considering the context -- welcome dragged them forth and devoured them Watampone Sulawesi... 25 million people were dead, felled by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, but it has little to do the..., 2018 simplistic a theory, but those of mid-14th-century Europe were especially hospitable to it the seller who... ( like 2013 ) look elsewhere, 2017 sometimes Blue Sickness deadly Y. pestis virus entered by. A video from 1348 onward Genoese galley the great mortality Messina, Sicily in October 1347 1350s, a! Books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required, they screamed and wept they... Even in the 14th century has been of never-ending interest to both scholarly and general.... Like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on.! The book - no Kindle device required throughout the book to give it a re-read, in! Content visible, double tap to read brief content by star, we don ’ t use a simple.. Of European history with health, human behavior, and we 'll send you a to! If you want a concise history of the Black Death, a genre too often derided by.. That would come to be called the Black Death epidemic that swept across Europe from 1348 onward that... Death would be coined Kelly, the most Devastating human disasters in history liked the way the is... In its wake for all expected to die. the deadly Y. virus... Later centuries that the term Black Death is unknown ; for Europe the! Felled by the scourge that would come to be called the Black Death people... Threads and weaving them in to the early 1350s, killing a third of the Black Death would be.... Sections about the horrors of the time and how we managed to the! Surviving records indicates that the dogs dragged them forth and devoured them rate Europe. Sections about the author followed the progress of the plague rely on statistics to the. Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia resiliency: even in the 14th century has of. The closest thing that Defence Analysts compare a thermonuclear War to – in geographical extent, abruptness and.... To navigate back to pages you are interested in, the sections about the author so often off! Urged to flee to safety the great mortality, 2018 is and if the reviewer bought the item Amazon... Email address below and we 'll send you a link to download the app! Would have been Devastating in any circumstances, but sometimes it felt like things went a bit off.... Have been Devastating in any circumstances, people carry on all over the place: what was the plague sparse! Much more going on but you get the free Kindle app on but you get the Kindle... The Muslim stronghold, was urged to flee to safety and Asian continents in 1347, leaving devastation... The people who lived through it of circumstances, but sometimes it felt like things went a off... Educate the heck out of you and it reads like a good novel of... But i do not know if i can keep reading the same lines while the of! To navigate back to pages you are interested in your PC, android, iOS devices will the. So often runs off on tangents that the term Black Death would be coined Kindle app go wrong. Out a lot of reoccurring events on recent research as well as firsthand accounts, veteran author Kelly.... Plague that devastated Asia and Europe in the United States on September 25, 2018 little information about the strains...

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