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The Black Death: A Global History
Brought to you by Penguin.
Thomas Asbridge’s remarkable new book reveals the global impact of humanity’s greatest natural disaster, and the terrible human cost of this calamity.
In the mid-fourteenth century, a lethal plague struck the medieval world, causing unimaginable suffering and destruction. This terrifying pandemic – the Black Death – was unquestionably one of history’s defining episodes, yet a critical feature of its progress has often been the disease was not confined to Europe, but rather affected almost all of the known world, including the Near and Middle East, Byzantium, north Africa and Asia.
Tracing the pandemic’s course across the medieval globe, The Black Death contrasts the experiences of different peoples, including Christians, Muslims and Jews, charting this catastrophe’s transformative effects on diverse aspects of medieval life. And crucially, Asbridge demonstrates that the plague was often at its most destructive in the Islamic world, where it ultimately played a role in the collapse of the mighty Mamluk Empire.
The Black Death also brings the human drama of this calamitous era to life, evoking the terror and the turmoil that beset cities such as London, Cairo and Florence. Asbridge reconstructs the lives of the men, women and children who faced the Black Death – from ruling monarchs to peasant farmers – laying bare both the abject horror they endured and the courageous resolve they often demonstrated while striving to survive.
Uncovering a story that speaks to our own age, The Black Death highlights humankind’s capacity for compassion and resilience amidst a global crisis to explain how the medieval world confronted, and ultimately overcame, this shattering pandemic.
Thomas Asbridge 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
Thomas Asbridge’s remarkable new book reveals the global impact of humanity’s greatest natural disaster, and the terrible human cost of this calamity.
In the mid-fourteenth century, a lethal plague struck the medieval world, causing unimaginable suffering and destruction. This terrifying pandemic – the Black Death – was unquestionably one of history’s defining episodes, yet a critical feature of its progress has often been the disease was not confined to Europe, but rather affected almost all of the known world, including the Near and Middle East, Byzantium, north Africa and Asia.
Tracing the pandemic’s course across the medieval globe, The Black Death contrasts the experiences of different peoples, including Christians, Muslims and Jews, charting this catastrophe’s transformative effects on diverse aspects of medieval life. And crucially, Asbridge demonstrates that the plague was often at its most destructive in the Islamic world, where it ultimately played a role in the collapse of the mighty Mamluk Empire.
The Black Death also brings the human drama of this calamitous era to life, evoking the terror and the turmoil that beset cities such as London, Cairo and Florence. Asbridge reconstructs the lives of the men, women and children who faced the Black Death – from ruling monarchs to peasant farmers – laying bare both the abject horror they endured and the courageous resolve they often demonstrated while striving to survive.
Uncovering a story that speaks to our own age, The Black Death highlights humankind’s capacity for compassion and resilience amidst a global crisis to explain how the medieval world confronted, and ultimately overcame, this shattering pandemic.
Thomas Asbridge 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
Audible Audio
First published May 26, 2026
About the author
Thomas Asbridge
12 books435 followersThomas Asbridge is an internationally renowned expert on the history of the Middle Ages and author of the critically acclaimed books 'The Crusades: The War for the Holy Land' and 'The Greatest Knight: The Remarkable Life of William Marshal, the Power Behind Five English Thrones'. HIs latest publication is 'The Black Death: A Global History'.
Thomas studied for a BA in Ancient and Medieval History at Cardiff University, and then gained his PhD in Medieval History at Royal Holloway, University of London. His is now Reader in Medieval History at Queen Mary, University of London.
Thomas studied for a BA in Ancient and Medieval History at Cardiff University, and then gained his PhD in Medieval History at Royal Holloway, University of London. His is now Reader in Medieval History at Queen Mary, University of London.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
May 15, 2026
*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*.
The Black Death is a non-fiction book that explains the Black Death pandemic that occurred in the mid-fourteenth century. This book explains the science behind this pandemic but also the human cost that was paid. This book explains how monarchs were impacted by this plague but also local villagers. This author picks out certain people and explains their individual stories to show how the Black Death impacted them. There are many parallels from this pandemic to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before this book when I thought of the Black Death I would think of rats in London but this book shows how the pandemic affected the Middle East, Byzantium, North Africa and Asia.
This book does exactly what it says in will in the synopsis. This perfectly explains the outbreak of the Black Death, how it was transmitted and the bacteria that caused it. I learnt a lot from this and it gave me a much more diverse view of this pandemic. I didn’t realise the Black Death impacted Middle Eastern countries so much and it was really interesting to read how Christians and Muslims viewed this plague. This was a little dry though and I did have to push myself through this at times. That said, I am giving this 4 stars and I will be recommending this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the Black Death. I found the chapters on transmission to be the most interesting.
The Black Death is a non-fiction book that explains the Black Death pandemic that occurred in the mid-fourteenth century. This book explains the science behind this pandemic but also the human cost that was paid. This book explains how monarchs were impacted by this plague but also local villagers. This author picks out certain people and explains their individual stories to show how the Black Death impacted them. There are many parallels from this pandemic to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before this book when I thought of the Black Death I would think of rats in London but this book shows how the pandemic affected the Middle East, Byzantium, North Africa and Asia.
This book does exactly what it says in will in the synopsis. This perfectly explains the outbreak of the Black Death, how it was transmitted and the bacteria that caused it. I learnt a lot from this and it gave me a much more diverse view of this pandemic. I didn’t realise the Black Death impacted Middle Eastern countries so much and it was really interesting to read how Christians and Muslims viewed this plague. This was a little dry though and I did have to push myself through this at times. That said, I am giving this 4 stars and I will be recommending this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the Black Death. I found the chapters on transmission to be the most interesting.
May 19, 2026
To be honest the book felt a little… unfinished? Sort of as if the guy just collected all his research notes, collated them according to region and then edited it somewhat. What resulted was a book that goes from place to place recording roughly similar practices, with little analysis that felt at all gripping or original. Sometimes information was mentioned that literally has nothing to do with anything to do with the Black Death it felt as if the author just liked it and so in it goes. Tighter editing, stronger narrative through-line, clearly articulated argument, anything like that would have substantially strengthened this reading experience for me.
July 2, 2026
The Black Death. It's a subject we come back to time and time again, even before COVID rocked the world and prompted numerous comparisons. It is a disease some believe to have been totally eradicated. Rather, it became something that could be managed with modern medicine. Small outbreaks appear all the time, as mentioned in the third section of the book. And, if one wishes, there was an episode of House MD where the diagnosis was the bubonic version of the Plague. Similarly in NCIS, one of the characters was infected with the pneumonic version. Both survived with prompt treatment (but oddly no one else was infected by interacting with them before it was diagnosed).
In many ways the Black Death lead to a jump in understanding of disease, though they still were not quite sure how to handle it or pandemics like it for hundreds of years. The Black Death was unprecedented in all meanings of the word. The doctors and nurses and other medical people of the time did what they could with what they had. So, too, did the layman. But that was then and this is now. It's enough to frustrate a person when someone in the modern day downplays modern pandemics and claims we don't actually know how to stop the spread as if they're people from the 14th century and believe we haven't advanced medically quite a bit since then.
The Black Death has been written about so much that a reader can be forgiven for sighing and going "another one?" although I was intrigued when I saw this one because I wondered if something new had been discovered before I read the description and when I did read it, I was even more intrigued that the author came at the subject via the human experience and reaction rather than a dry rehash of the disease's movement. The Black Death is like Jack the Ripper, there are so many people writing about it. But at least in the case of the Black Death, we have the actual identity of the killer.
What I enjoy about this book is it isn't a rehash of the spread of the disease but rather a look at the response to it on an emotional and societal level. This is often missing from other books and research. It is important to know how people felt at the time, in order for later pandemics to be manageable on an emotional level. Panic and depression can be just as damaging.
As the author writes, we see that some went to incredible extremes to stop the spread. Or some turned to theft. Both were seen in the pogroms against the Jews. This is part of the Black Death knowledge that is often missing from peoples' minds. The Jews were cast as the villains of the Black Death, with accusations of poisoning water supplies. So many Jews were murdered while others were put through criminal trials which just almost always ended in being executed.
Jewish ideals such as Pikuach Nefesh, which asserts that health is most important of all. This ideal is what is given as a reason to not fast during fasting holidays if the Jew in question is ill or requires food on a constant basis during the day (often related to things like diabetes). And then there's the coincidence of handwashing being a part of ritual observance. Even just rinsing your hands can help remove the germs on your hands. (Eventually, of course, handwashing was suggested throughout the 'known world' during successive plague resurgences. They may not have known exactly why that helped, but at least they did it. Same with learning to social distance.)
The attacks on Jews were not solely motivated by the conspiracy of poisoning the wells, of course. But there was a monetary aspect as well. As the writer notes, the Pope of the time, Clement VI, himself hit upon the reason for Christians to be attacking Jews: they wanted the money Jews had or they wanted to completely destroy the evidence of loans that the Jews had to wipe away the debt that Gentiles had accrued. Jews at that time were moneylenders, bankers. So in a way, Jews couldn't win.
I enjoyed the writing quite a bit and would certainly suggest that anyone interested more in the human experience of the plague read this book. And overall it reminds us that we can't really do anything but feel sympathy for those who lived through the Black Death. Nor can we mock the medical response to it as they did the best they could with what they had and knew at the time.
I will admit I kept waiting for the Plague Doctors to come up but they never did. I would have loved to see something about them even or especially if it was debunking our idea of a Plague Doctor. Or at least the fact that it wasn't employed during the first Black Death (or, rather, the Second Plague). So if you're thinking of getting the book for that, this won't be the book for you.
I was also intrigued by the last part of the book talking about the aftermath. Outside of the bigger overarching changes, you rarely hear how they tried to control the spread of future diseases, including the introduction of the process of quarantine. So I was very much intrigued by Part 4.
(Oh and thank you, Mr. Asbridge, for not writing the excerpts of various documents verbatim. I do not enjoy trying to read Medieval/Middle English.)
Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the review copy!
In many ways the Black Death lead to a jump in understanding of disease, though they still were not quite sure how to handle it or pandemics like it for hundreds of years. The Black Death was unprecedented in all meanings of the word. The doctors and nurses and other medical people of the time did what they could with what they had. So, too, did the layman. But that was then and this is now. It's enough to frustrate a person when someone in the modern day downplays modern pandemics and claims we don't actually know how to stop the spread as if they're people from the 14th century and believe we haven't advanced medically quite a bit since then.
The Black Death has been written about so much that a reader can be forgiven for sighing and going "another one?" although I was intrigued when I saw this one because I wondered if something new had been discovered before I read the description and when I did read it, I was even more intrigued that the author came at the subject via the human experience and reaction rather than a dry rehash of the disease's movement. The Black Death is like Jack the Ripper, there are so many people writing about it. But at least in the case of the Black Death, we have the actual identity of the killer.
What I enjoy about this book is it isn't a rehash of the spread of the disease but rather a look at the response to it on an emotional and societal level. This is often missing from other books and research. It is important to know how people felt at the time, in order for later pandemics to be manageable on an emotional level. Panic and depression can be just as damaging.
As the author writes, we see that some went to incredible extremes to stop the spread. Or some turned to theft. Both were seen in the pogroms against the Jews. This is part of the Black Death knowledge that is often missing from peoples' minds. The Jews were cast as the villains of the Black Death, with accusations of poisoning water supplies. So many Jews were murdered while others were put through criminal trials which just almost always ended in being executed.
Jewish ideals such as Pikuach Nefesh, which asserts that health is most important of all. This ideal is what is given as a reason to not fast during fasting holidays if the Jew in question is ill or requires food on a constant basis during the day (often related to things like diabetes). And then there's the coincidence of handwashing being a part of ritual observance. Even just rinsing your hands can help remove the germs on your hands. (Eventually, of course, handwashing was suggested throughout the 'known world' during successive plague resurgences. They may not have known exactly why that helped, but at least they did it. Same with learning to social distance.)
The attacks on Jews were not solely motivated by the conspiracy of poisoning the wells, of course. But there was a monetary aspect as well. As the writer notes, the Pope of the time, Clement VI, himself hit upon the reason for Christians to be attacking Jews: they wanted the money Jews had or they wanted to completely destroy the evidence of loans that the Jews had to wipe away the debt that Gentiles had accrued. Jews at that time were moneylenders, bankers. So in a way, Jews couldn't win.
I enjoyed the writing quite a bit and would certainly suggest that anyone interested more in the human experience of the plague read this book. And overall it reminds us that we can't really do anything but feel sympathy for those who lived through the Black Death. Nor can we mock the medical response to it as they did the best they could with what they had and knew at the time.
I will admit I kept waiting for the Plague Doctors to come up but they never did. I would have loved to see something about them even or especially if it was debunking our idea of a Plague Doctor. Or at least the fact that it wasn't employed during the first Black Death (or, rather, the Second Plague). So if you're thinking of getting the book for that, this won't be the book for you.
I was also intrigued by the last part of the book talking about the aftermath. Outside of the bigger overarching changes, you rarely hear how they tried to control the spread of future diseases, including the introduction of the process of quarantine. So I was very much intrigued by Part 4.
(Oh and thank you, Mr. Asbridge, for not writing the excerpts of various documents verbatim. I do not enjoy trying to read Medieval/Middle English.)
Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the review copy!
November 28, 2025
Thomas Asbridge's The Black Death, an account of the plague which spread across the known mediaeval world and probably well beyond it in a series of pulses from the mid fourteenth century onwards is, quite simply, the most informative, accessible and comprehensive history book I think I have ever read. It's by no means the first book about this apocalyptic event that I've read, though it is the first since our current century's own experience of a much lower level pandemic.
At 560 pages it's a chunky offering, to say the least, but every one of those pages is packed with information and insight. The book is split into three sections. The first, which reads like a thriller, covers the progress of the disease from its first appearance in the shores of the Black Sea as it spread through an initially unaware and later terrified western hemisphere. The second considers how the world responded to this unprecedented disaster: how cities dealt with the loss of trade and the collapse of their economies, how they tackled the problems of feeding the living and burying the dead. The third looks at how the mystery of the plague's origins and nature was unravelled and the impacts it had upon the world not just in the immediate aftermath but for centuries to come.
I was utterly enthralled by it, largely because Asbridge quotes extensively from contemporary accounts and the words of those who suffered -- their pain, their bewilderment, their sense of utter terror -- prove both poignant and (I felt a little guilty about this) compelling. Some stayed, some fled. Some accepted it as their punishment from God, some railed against religion. And many of them -- possibly half the population -- did not survive.
In my experience it's rare that a historian takes in such a well-known topic and covers it with such a fresh eye. I admired this book for many things, including its comprehensive coverage of a huge topic and the quality of its writing, but most of all I commend the author for making such a complex event so easily understandable. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learned a vast amount from it.
At 560 pages it's a chunky offering, to say the least, but every one of those pages is packed with information and insight. The book is split into three sections. The first, which reads like a thriller, covers the progress of the disease from its first appearance in the shores of the Black Sea as it spread through an initially unaware and later terrified western hemisphere. The second considers how the world responded to this unprecedented disaster: how cities dealt with the loss of trade and the collapse of their economies, how they tackled the problems of feeding the living and burying the dead. The third looks at how the mystery of the plague's origins and nature was unravelled and the impacts it had upon the world not just in the immediate aftermath but for centuries to come.
I was utterly enthralled by it, largely because Asbridge quotes extensively from contemporary accounts and the words of those who suffered -- their pain, their bewilderment, their sense of utter terror -- prove both poignant and (I felt a little guilty about this) compelling. Some stayed, some fled. Some accepted it as their punishment from God, some railed against religion. And many of them -- possibly half the population -- did not survive.
In my experience it's rare that a historian takes in such a well-known topic and covers it with such a fresh eye. I admired this book for many things, including its comprehensive coverage of a huge topic and the quality of its writing, but most of all I commend the author for making such a complex event so easily understandable. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learned a vast amount from it.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
There are some things in history that defy comprehension. I think the top of that list is the Black Death. It was so complex, devastating, and widespread that I'm not sure any human can comprehend the death of 100 million people from a tiny bacterium. All of these aspects also make the Black Death incredibly difficult to write about. Luckily, we have Thomas Asbridge.
This book was a no-brainer as soon as I saw it. Asbridge's The Greatest Knight is an all-time classic for me and thus I had every confidence he would deliver with The Black Death. I didn't know how, but I knew I'd enjoy myself.
Like other books on the plague-above-all, an author cannot write anything close to a narrative history with central characters and a solid through-line. Asbridge breaks his book up into four sections. The first follows how the plague wipes out Europe, as well as parts of Asia and Africa. He chooses a few characters to illustrate the day-to-day terror as death stalks its way to the Atlantic. The second section looks at how society responded to the plague. Verdict: Society held up surprisingly well considering. The third section, which I found to be the most fascinating, was about the way we humans figured out what the Black Death was and how it caused so much destruction. Well, we didn't figure out everything, but we figured out a few things. Part four looks at the aftermath and how recovery occurred.
I would say to readers that Asbridge is a detail-heavy author. This is not a veiled comment that he is long-winded or boring. On the contrary, everything he provides is relevant and important. He wants the reader to be fully steeped in the story and details so that they can best feel and understand the world they are reading about. As expected, this is not a lighthearted romp through Medieval Europe. This is a serious history of the largest natural disaster in human history. If you are looking for a quick rundown of the plague, then you are going to get way more than expected. For us hardcore history nerds, this is pure gold.
(This book was provided as a review copy by Random House.)
This book was a no-brainer as soon as I saw it. Asbridge's The Greatest Knight is an all-time classic for me and thus I had every confidence he would deliver with The Black Death. I didn't know how, but I knew I'd enjoy myself.
Like other books on the plague-above-all, an author cannot write anything close to a narrative history with central characters and a solid through-line. Asbridge breaks his book up into four sections. The first follows how the plague wipes out Europe, as well as parts of Asia and Africa. He chooses a few characters to illustrate the day-to-day terror as death stalks its way to the Atlantic. The second section looks at how society responded to the plague. Verdict: Society held up surprisingly well considering. The third section, which I found to be the most fascinating, was about the way we humans figured out what the Black Death was and how it caused so much destruction. Well, we didn't figure out everything, but we figured out a few things. Part four looks at the aftermath and how recovery occurred.
I would say to readers that Asbridge is a detail-heavy author. This is not a veiled comment that he is long-winded or boring. On the contrary, everything he provides is relevant and important. He wants the reader to be fully steeped in the story and details so that they can best feel and understand the world they are reading about. As expected, this is not a lighthearted romp through Medieval Europe. This is a serious history of the largest natural disaster in human history. If you are looking for a quick rundown of the plague, then you are going to get way more than expected. For us hardcore history nerds, this is pure gold.
(This book was provided as a review copy by Random House.)
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Years ago, during the last stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, I began the New Year by reading Thomas Asbridge’s The Crusades: The War for the Holy Land. I quite enjoyed that book, so when I saw Asbridge had a book about the Black Death, of course, I had to give it a read, and I can say it was better than I expected.
It is very hard not to compare how we feel about pandemics with the experience of the Black Death, since all of us who are going to be able to read this book, until the pandemic and post-pandemic babies grow up, still have the image of COVID-19 in our minds. One thing that stuck with me as I was reading the book was how much the world has changed, yet many of the conspiracies, lack of precautions, shifting blame, and fight-to-survive have stayed the same.
There were two main things I enjoyed about this book that I need to mention. One, the book covers a very wide range of research. I like that it does not just focus on one geographical area. One may find this a bit too much, but in my opinion, a catastrophic, worldwide event like this requires information from as many sources as possible.
My second enjoyment was from the way the book was written. As I mentioned, I was already interested in Asbridge’s writing because of The Crusades: The War for the Holy Land, and I found similar satisfaction from this book as well. I love how Asbridge did not just focus on the days of the Black Death, but also on its early stages and aftermath. Moreover, since we have recurring important sources throughout the book, continuity is easier for non-historians to follow. The book is quite long, but it is very well organized, and the writing style does not tire you while you read. This is why I think the book is fit for those who are not historians either.
Overall, I would suggest this book to everyone. The book's length shouldn't scare anyone willing to read it, because I think the information in it is very valuable.
Huge thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Press UK – Allen Lane, Particular, Pelican, Penguin Classics | Allen Lane, and Thomas Asbridge for this advanced reader’s copy.
It is very hard not to compare how we feel about pandemics with the experience of the Black Death, since all of us who are going to be able to read this book, until the pandemic and post-pandemic babies grow up, still have the image of COVID-19 in our minds. One thing that stuck with me as I was reading the book was how much the world has changed, yet many of the conspiracies, lack of precautions, shifting blame, and fight-to-survive have stayed the same.
There were two main things I enjoyed about this book that I need to mention. One, the book covers a very wide range of research. I like that it does not just focus on one geographical area. One may find this a bit too much, but in my opinion, a catastrophic, worldwide event like this requires information from as many sources as possible.
My second enjoyment was from the way the book was written. As I mentioned, I was already interested in Asbridge’s writing because of The Crusades: The War for the Holy Land, and I found similar satisfaction from this book as well. I love how Asbridge did not just focus on the days of the Black Death, but also on its early stages and aftermath. Moreover, since we have recurring important sources throughout the book, continuity is easier for non-historians to follow. The book is quite long, but it is very well organized, and the writing style does not tire you while you read. This is why I think the book is fit for those who are not historians either.
Overall, I would suggest this book to everyone. The book's length shouldn't scare anyone willing to read it, because I think the information in it is very valuable.
Huge thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Press UK – Allen Lane, Particular, Pelican, Penguin Classics | Allen Lane, and Thomas Asbridge for this advanced reader’s copy.
June 30, 2026
One of my favorite books of all time is A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century, by Pulitzer Prize winner Barbara Tuchman. Read decades ago when I was a young man, this book introduced me to The Black Death and to a period of European history that was a revelation to me.
Any book about that period will inevitably be compared to Barbara Tuchman’s magnificent work. Thomas Asbridge’s The Black Death: A Global History of Humanity’s Devastating Pandemic stands up to that comparison by widening the scope of the story. Western Christendom is well covered in this story, and he expands the tale by also exploring the impact of the plague on the Islamic world, which at the time was more populous and more prosperous than European Christendom. We hear from both Petrarch and Ibn Khaldun, from doctors in England and Italy as well as doctors in Egypt and Persia, from religious thinkers both Christian and Islamic.
Mr. Asbridge also covers modern research into the sources of The Black Death, and the vectors that spread it with such frightening velocity across continents. Having recently experienced COVID-19, I found this very interesting.
The most important aspect of this story - whether told by Tuchman or Asbridge - is the shocking mortality of The Black Death. One hundred million deaths. Half the population or more in many locations. The demographic impacts altered trade, labor markets, and power relations for centuries to come. Another powerful insight from Mr. Asbridge’s book is that The Black Death strengthened rather than weakened religious devotion, both in the Christian and Islamic worlds.
Not all reviewers agree with my take, and it is good to have many views. Only one man’s view, by I enjoyed this book.
Any book about that period will inevitably be compared to Barbara Tuchman’s magnificent work. Thomas Asbridge’s The Black Death: A Global History of Humanity’s Devastating Pandemic stands up to that comparison by widening the scope of the story. Western Christendom is well covered in this story, and he expands the tale by also exploring the impact of the plague on the Islamic world, which at the time was more populous and more prosperous than European Christendom. We hear from both Petrarch and Ibn Khaldun, from doctors in England and Italy as well as doctors in Egypt and Persia, from religious thinkers both Christian and Islamic.
Mr. Asbridge also covers modern research into the sources of The Black Death, and the vectors that spread it with such frightening velocity across continents. Having recently experienced COVID-19, I found this very interesting.
The most important aspect of this story - whether told by Tuchman or Asbridge - is the shocking mortality of The Black Death. One hundred million deaths. Half the population or more in many locations. The demographic impacts altered trade, labor markets, and power relations for centuries to come. Another powerful insight from Mr. Asbridge’s book is that The Black Death strengthened rather than weakened religious devotion, both in the Christian and Islamic worlds.
Not all reviewers agree with my take, and it is good to have many views. Only one man’s view, by I enjoyed this book.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is a real treat for fans of history and/or epidemiology (I'm guilty on both counts!).
It's rare to find a volume that's as detailed, comprehensive, and simultaneously engaging as this one. The author leaves no stone unturned, examining not only the global spread of the Black Death, but also the response to it and its consequences. Yet, he avoids overwhelming the reader with a dry list of names and places. This is thanks to the author's accessible, conversational writing style and the multitude of sources he relies on to bring real people and their experiences to life.
The book is also very cleverly constructed. As the author writes, „Any narrative that starts with a modern diagnosis also undercuts our ability to properly engage with the lived experience of the Black Death, because it strips away one of the pandemic’s key features – its capacity to inspire febrile, dread-laden confusion within society […] To approach the medieval evidence without prejudice, while also exposing readers to the desperate uncertainty endured by those who faced the Black Death, this book deliberately sets aside the question of identifying the disease that caused the medieval pandemic or decoding its biological nature until Part III.” I can confirm that this concept pans out, turning the read into an immersive experience.
Even if you are well-read in medieval history, you will find plenty of fascinating new facts and stories here. The book is up to date on scientific research, presenting the latest data, quoting recently discovered sources and debunking many popular myths.
Thanks to the publisher, Penguin Press UK – Allen Lane, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
It's rare to find a volume that's as detailed, comprehensive, and simultaneously engaging as this one. The author leaves no stone unturned, examining not only the global spread of the Black Death, but also the response to it and its consequences. Yet, he avoids overwhelming the reader with a dry list of names and places. This is thanks to the author's accessible, conversational writing style and the multitude of sources he relies on to bring real people and their experiences to life.
The book is also very cleverly constructed. As the author writes, „Any narrative that starts with a modern diagnosis also undercuts our ability to properly engage with the lived experience of the Black Death, because it strips away one of the pandemic’s key features – its capacity to inspire febrile, dread-laden confusion within society […] To approach the medieval evidence without prejudice, while also exposing readers to the desperate uncertainty endured by those who faced the Black Death, this book deliberately sets aside the question of identifying the disease that caused the medieval pandemic or decoding its biological nature until Part III.” I can confirm that this concept pans out, turning the read into an immersive experience.
Even if you are well-read in medieval history, you will find plenty of fascinating new facts and stories here. The book is up to date on scientific research, presenting the latest data, quoting recently discovered sources and debunking many popular myths.
Thanks to the publisher, Penguin Press UK – Allen Lane, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4.25
Black Death by Thomas Asbridge is an exhaustive look at one of the greatest natural disasters to befall mankind—so far.
The book is split into several sections: the worldwide spread of the disease and its devastation on populations; the responses to the plague, both well-meaning and grotesque; the medical research, which takes us from the fourteenth century right up to the present day; and the Black Death’s lasting impact on surviving populations, culture, and religion.
The Black Death: A Global History is truly a remarkable book. Admittedly, I occasionally had minor quibbles about the focus and framing, but I cannot deny the sheer amount of work and research that went into it.
Asbridge adopts a very analytical and neutral tone, which serves the book extremely well. In the first section, the testaments and reports from travelling traders, who bore witness as villages were wiped out in what must have seemed like the end of time, are stark but impactful.
This tone is particularly effective when the author examines the innocent minority communities in affected cities, who suffered the wrath of panicking majorities seeking scapegoats or opportunity. The section is sobering and depressing—and sadly feels all too familiar today.
Overall, this is a highly informative and genuinely engaging book, which takes care to dispel any myths surrounding the infamous disease. The Black Death: A Global History is perhaps a catch-all on the subject, since so much is covered within its pages.
Highly recommended.
With thanks to Penguin Press UK – Allen Lane for the ARC.
Black Death by Thomas Asbridge is an exhaustive look at one of the greatest natural disasters to befall mankind—so far.
The book is split into several sections: the worldwide spread of the disease and its devastation on populations; the responses to the plague, both well-meaning and grotesque; the medical research, which takes us from the fourteenth century right up to the present day; and the Black Death’s lasting impact on surviving populations, culture, and religion.
The Black Death: A Global History is truly a remarkable book. Admittedly, I occasionally had minor quibbles about the focus and framing, but I cannot deny the sheer amount of work and research that went into it.
Asbridge adopts a very analytical and neutral tone, which serves the book extremely well. In the first section, the testaments and reports from travelling traders, who bore witness as villages were wiped out in what must have seemed like the end of time, are stark but impactful.
This tone is particularly effective when the author examines the innocent minority communities in affected cities, who suffered the wrath of panicking majorities seeking scapegoats or opportunity. The section is sobering and depressing—and sadly feels all too familiar today.
Overall, this is a highly informative and genuinely engaging book, which takes care to dispel any myths surrounding the infamous disease. The Black Death: A Global History is perhaps a catch-all on the subject, since so much is covered within its pages.
Highly recommended.
With thanks to Penguin Press UK – Allen Lane for the ARC.
May 28, 2026
This is honestly not my era—or area—of history, but the promise of a more global overview of the Black Death, and one that didn’t only focus on Europe, intrigued me enough to pick this book up. And I’m glad I did. This was a very good overview of the Black Death, and also a very approachable read, that I think even people who don’t read much history or non-fiction will have an easy time digesting. It also never got too technical with medical explanations, which I appreciated, because my eyes would have probably glazed over...
Now I will say, I do have a pet peeve with non-fiction books where authors say things like “probably this happened” or “this person probably thought this” etc etc… And though it’s far from egregious, this book does do this a few times. Which, hey, may not bother some people, but is a pet peeve of mine. As well, I wish this had been as global an overview as I was expecting. I understand from reading there’s not as much documentation about the Black Death further east, but there isn’t a complete lack either, and I wish we had looked at that a little more. But I don’t think those flaws are nearly enough to say this isn’t a good book. It very much is. Made all the more interesting by living in a post-Covid world.
(ARC provided via NetGalley)
Now I will say, I do have a pet peeve with non-fiction books where authors say things like “probably this happened” or “this person probably thought this” etc etc… And though it’s far from egregious, this book does do this a few times. Which, hey, may not bother some people, but is a pet peeve of mine. As well, I wish this had been as global an overview as I was expecting. I understand from reading there’s not as much documentation about the Black Death further east, but there isn’t a complete lack either, and I wish we had looked at that a little more. But I don’t think those flaws are nearly enough to say this isn’t a good book. It very much is. Made all the more interesting by living in a post-Covid world.
(ARC provided via NetGalley)
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The global pandemic known as the Black Death was a devastating event that took place in the mid 13th century but its effects rippled on for centuries. In this book Asbridge looks at the antecedents, including the Justinian Plague, and the effects of the plague on society. The book itself is split into several sections which provide an excellent structure. The progress of the disease from the East is tracked using a huge variety of sources, the research into levels of will-writing is great. The implications for individuals, families and everyday life is moving. What sets this apart from a standard history book is that there is a section looking at the tracing of pathogen and alternative theories as to the course. Finally the book considers the impacts on the human race, about the fall of empires, the progress in global exploration, changes in religion and a shift in agriculture and commerce.
It is a book with huge scope but the individual stories make it really interesting and accessible. The acknowledgements show the profound effect the story had on the author as he lived through a more recent global pandemic and that sense of humanity runs through the whole thing.
It is a book with huge scope but the individual stories make it really interesting and accessible. The acknowledgements show the profound effect the story had on the author as he lived through a more recent global pandemic and that sense of humanity runs through the whole thing.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I came to this one skeptical. The Black Death is well-trodden ground, and the pandemic-book genre got pretty crowded after 2020. But Asbridge is making a real argument, not just retelling the story, and the argument is overdue.
For most readers the Black Death is a European event with some gestures toward "the East." Asbridge inverts that. He treats the pandemic as a genuinely global catastrophe and spends serious time in places that usually get a paragraph: the Mamluk lands, North Africa, Byzantium, Persia, Central Asia. The claim that the plague hit the Islamic world harder than Europe, and that the demographic damage helped hollow out the Mamluk regime that eventually fell to the Ottomans, is the kind of long-arc thesis I wish more popular history books were willing to make.
The comparative material on how Christian, Muslim, and Jewish communities understood and responded to the disease is also instructive.
Worth your time if you care about the medieval world beyond Western Europe, or if you just want a pandemic history that takes the rest of the planet seriously.
For most readers the Black Death is a European event with some gestures toward "the East." Asbridge inverts that. He treats the pandemic as a genuinely global catastrophe and spends serious time in places that usually get a paragraph: the Mamluk lands, North Africa, Byzantium, Persia, Central Asia. The claim that the plague hit the Islamic world harder than Europe, and that the demographic damage helped hollow out the Mamluk regime that eventually fell to the Ottomans, is the kind of long-arc thesis I wish more popular history books were willing to make.
The comparative material on how Christian, Muslim, and Jewish communities understood and responded to the disease is also instructive.
Worth your time if you care about the medieval world beyond Western Europe, or if you just want a pandemic history that takes the rest of the planet seriously.
June 29, 2026
This is not an epidemiology-centered book, much to my disappointment. But the emphasis on the human experience is well-taken and certainly gave me a more empathetic perspective.
Some of the generalized takeaways are things we learned in school (with much more thorough evidence provided), such as the high mortality rates, societal transformation in labor and religion, violence against European Jews, etc. But Asbridge provides nuance and successfully shows how those generalized takeaways are for those societies with more English and French origins, and there was much more variation in impact “globally”.
My biggest critique is that this was advertised as “global” when what the book really covers is European, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern medieval kingdoms and empires. There’s maybe a dearth of evidence from some parts of Africa, but a clear reason for not including China is not given and I really think it would have strengthened the book.
Some of the generalized takeaways are things we learned in school (with much more thorough evidence provided), such as the high mortality rates, societal transformation in labor and religion, violence against European Jews, etc. But Asbridge provides nuance and successfully shows how those generalized takeaways are for those societies with more English and French origins, and there was much more variation in impact “globally”.
My biggest critique is that this was advertised as “global” when what the book really covers is European, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern medieval kingdoms and empires. There’s maybe a dearth of evidence from some parts of Africa, but a clear reason for not including China is not given and I really think it would have strengthened the book.
July 2, 2026
thank you to netgalley and allen lane for providing me with this arc of thomas asbridge’s the black death: a global history
4.25 stars
this was a very interesting read and i’m glad i read it!
asbridge’s the black death explores how the black death had traversed through the world and affected societies during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; asbridge also explores how contemporary research had led to the solid existence of a plague
i really liked how asbridge looked at the black death in a more global lens. when i was at school, i was always taught that the black death was purely a european pandemic that had only changed european societies; i never actually thought the black death had a more global impact. however i do think the book still had a slightly more european viewpoint to it, where i thought there’d be a level examination of the effects of the black death on both europe and the middle east
4.25 stars
this was a very interesting read and i’m glad i read it!
asbridge’s the black death explores how the black death had traversed through the world and affected societies during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; asbridge also explores how contemporary research had led to the solid existence of a plague
i really liked how asbridge looked at the black death in a more global lens. when i was at school, i was always taught that the black death was purely a european pandemic that had only changed european societies; i never actually thought the black death had a more global impact. however i do think the book still had a slightly more european viewpoint to it, where i thought there’d be a level examination of the effects of the black death on both europe and the middle east
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I think this book did really well in discussing the plague; indeed too well. While I think that the selection of topics covered was excellent and Ashbridge’s writing style was conversational, I found the book much too detailed, with poor pacing. The depth of the material seemed to me to be akin to a thesis, not a book; I didn’t need as many examples on a given topic as there were. As the book went on, I found myself losing interest and near the end I felt I had gained as much as I would from the book and stopped reading. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the advance reader copy.
July 11, 2026
i really enjoyed this book!
very informative and i really liked the way the book was set out: how the people of the time would have viewed and experienced the plague before moving onto how we understand it today and modern parallels.
i also really enjoyed learning about not just the europe experience which is commonly talked about. the muslim and christian dynamic was interesting to explore.
i was surprised to learn that a lot of people would have assumed the black death was an act from god and that those who became ill and died perhaps deserved it. i have never really thought of it this way.
really really good and interesting book! highly recommend! (esp on audiobook)
very informative and i really liked the way the book was set out: how the people of the time would have viewed and experienced the plague before moving onto how we understand it today and modern parallels.
i also really enjoyed learning about not just the europe experience which is commonly talked about. the muslim and christian dynamic was interesting to explore.
i was surprised to learn that a lot of people would have assumed the black death was an act from god and that those who became ill and died perhaps deserved it. i have never really thought of it this way.
really really good and interesting book! highly recommend! (esp on audiobook)
June 5, 2026
Asbridge takes the Black Death out of its usual European confinement and follows it across the whole known world, from London to Cairo to the Mamluk lands where it hit hardest.
The real strength is scale paired with details: he tracks the disease globally while reconstructing how monarchs and peasant farmers alike actually lived and died through it. It is stronger on human texture than on grand argument, and it also runs a touch long.. The recent identification of the pathogen, told almost as detective work, is a highlight.
The real strength is scale paired with details: he tracks the disease globally while reconstructing how monarchs and peasant farmers alike actually lived and died through it. It is stronger on human texture than on grand argument, and it also runs a touch long.. The recent identification of the pathogen, told almost as detective work, is a highlight.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
In the mid-14th century, the Black Death devastated not only Europe but also the Near East, Middle East, Byzantium, North Africa, and Asia. This book traces the pandemic's global course, contrasting the experiences of Christians, Muslims, and Jews, and highlighting its transformative effects on medieval life. The book is fascinating, engaging, and easy to read.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
June 4, 2026
Absolutely fascinating, engaging and horrifying in equal parts, but at all times an engaging read.
I enjoyed this in-depth look at not just the deadliest plague in history, but also the causes, more modern outbreaks and the impact it had on society around the world afterwards.
An excellent and enjoyable history read.
I enjoyed this in-depth look at not just the deadliest plague in history, but also the causes, more modern outbreaks and the impact it had on society around the world afterwards.
An excellent and enjoyable history read.
June 13, 2026
I don't think I am the market for this book. The writing was good, though painfully detailed, and the story is fascinating, there is just too much of it. I don't need to know that so and so left his mattress in his will to his third cousin so and so in 14__. Probably great if you are doing a thesis, but not the fun romp through The Black Death I was craving.
June 23, 2026
Fascinating. The last bit started to drag, but otherwise a compelling history of the world first global pandemic, the science behind it, the social, political, economic and cultural impacts across the centuries, and what it means today. With COVID-19 marking the return of global pandemic’s it should be required reading.
May 29, 2026
Comprehensively and painstakingly researched, I certainly now know more about the Black Death than I ever thought I would. What's missing for my personal taste is a touch more narrative flair. It reads like a really impressive dissertation, but if I'm being greedy I wanted richer story telling.
June 5, 2026
This is a well researched book but it did not flow as a comprehensive story, it read as if it was composed of notations the author made while researching. Perhaps it needed a better editor but overall what could have been a fascinating tale came out rather dull.
July 10, 2026
This was such a great book. This is the first on the black death i've read that didn't solely present a Eurocentric view of its impact. Really well researched and presented. I was hooked right through.
May 12, 2026
4.75 stars. Incredibly interesting. Probably a full 5 stars, but my focus was bad while reading this and thus it influenced my experience. Maybe reread at a later date.
May 19, 2026
A really interesting, well researched book that deserves to become one of the definitive popular histories of the Black Death.
June 2, 2026
If you’re my friend, and I know that you like nonfiction, I have good/bad news! You’re probably going to get a copy of this book!
June 3, 2026
A lot of good information, but there was a load of occasions, where the was in which the information was framed, caused me to be turned off.
June 7, 2026
Such an excellent in-depth analysis of the black plague! A must read for anyone interested in the its history, development, and consequences
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