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The World’s Deadliest Plagues: The History and Legacy of the Worst Global Pandemics
*Includes pictures
*Includes excerpts of contemporary accounts
*Includes a bibliography for further reading
Human beings seem to have a particular fascination for microbiological threats. They are invisible, unpredictable and mysterious, and it is only in the past 150 years or so that scientists have begun to understand microorganisms and the maladies they can cause. Modern society has long been horrified and enthralled by accounts of such pestilences as the Black Death, which exterminated up to 60% of the population of Europe from 1347-1351. Less known is the Plague of Justinian which was even more deadly in that it carried away a quarter of the world’s population within the space of one year (542 CE). The Great Plague of London, which killed 100,000 in 1666, is another infamous pestilence, as is the Spanish Flu of 1918, which took the lives of as many as one million worldwide, making that epidemic even deadlier than the medieval Black Death.
Such virulent outbreaks of disease are by no means distant historical events. While scientific and technological advances have limited and in many places eradicated such community-devastating diseases as cholera, smallpox, bubonic plague, typhus, Salmonella and yellow fever, new microscopic threats have arisen, including Ebola, SARS, bird flu, and most recently Coronavirus 2.
The terror associated with pestilence speaks to people’s insecurities concerning the unknown and invisible. The ancients had no knowledge of microorganisms that caused disease-instead they postulated that pestilence was caused by miasma, air fouled by decomposing matter. That said, modern awareness of microscopic viruses and bacteria does nothing to lessen humanity’s insecurity. If anything, it is terrifying that such tiny creatures have the capacity to overthrow powerful and vibrant societies. This is one of the themes of H. G. Wells’ famous War of the Worlds (1897). When the human race fails to survive the onslaught of Martian invaders and was on the point of extinction, it is microbes, not men, that destroys them. Microscopic organisms become the ultimate lords of Earth, over both humans and Martians.
The World’s Deadliest The History and Legacy of the Worst Global Pandemics charts the history of the diseases, including the Antonine Plague, the Plague of Justinian, the Black Death, the Spanish Flu, and more, and how they shaped subsequent events, bringing down nations while inadvertently lifting others. It also describes the diseases’ victims, and how certain segments of society may have avoided contracting it. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about the world’s worst outbreaks like never before.
*Includes excerpts of contemporary accounts
*Includes a bibliography for further reading
Human beings seem to have a particular fascination for microbiological threats. They are invisible, unpredictable and mysterious, and it is only in the past 150 years or so that scientists have begun to understand microorganisms and the maladies they can cause. Modern society has long been horrified and enthralled by accounts of such pestilences as the Black Death, which exterminated up to 60% of the population of Europe from 1347-1351. Less known is the Plague of Justinian which was even more deadly in that it carried away a quarter of the world’s population within the space of one year (542 CE). The Great Plague of London, which killed 100,000 in 1666, is another infamous pestilence, as is the Spanish Flu of 1918, which took the lives of as many as one million worldwide, making that epidemic even deadlier than the medieval Black Death.
Such virulent outbreaks of disease are by no means distant historical events. While scientific and technological advances have limited and in many places eradicated such community-devastating diseases as cholera, smallpox, bubonic plague, typhus, Salmonella and yellow fever, new microscopic threats have arisen, including Ebola, SARS, bird flu, and most recently Coronavirus 2.
The terror associated with pestilence speaks to people’s insecurities concerning the unknown and invisible. The ancients had no knowledge of microorganisms that caused disease-instead they postulated that pestilence was caused by miasma, air fouled by decomposing matter. That said, modern awareness of microscopic viruses and bacteria does nothing to lessen humanity’s insecurity. If anything, it is terrifying that such tiny creatures have the capacity to overthrow powerful and vibrant societies. This is one of the themes of H. G. Wells’ famous War of the Worlds (1897). When the human race fails to survive the onslaught of Martian invaders and was on the point of extinction, it is microbes, not men, that destroys them. Microscopic organisms become the ultimate lords of Earth, over both humans and Martians.
The World’s Deadliest The History and Legacy of the Worst Global Pandemics charts the history of the diseases, including the Antonine Plague, the Plague of Justinian, the Black Death, the Spanish Flu, and more, and how they shaped subsequent events, bringing down nations while inadvertently lifting others. It also describes the diseases’ victims, and how certain segments of society may have avoided contracting it. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about the world’s worst outbreaks like never before.
- GenresHistoryNonfictionScience
213 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 1, 2020
73 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 4, 2024
Kinda text book, written for popular audience, but a good one, serving its purposes. I'd recommend it to history-lovers, who are interested in the subject. The book makes use of memoirs and letters of the survivors extensively, and that makes the text particularly intriguing especially for those who are interested in the symptoms of plague and influenza, and in the reactions of people to the lethal epidemics.
April 24, 2020
That was a very educational, if somewhat disconcerting read!!! I knew that there had been plages in the past, but I never imagined the extent of these plagues. Nor did I realise how they had brought empires to their knees, i.e. the Roman Empire (or were contributing factors to this destruction). All of these deadly plagues right from the era of The 'Antonine Plague' during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus (ancient Roman), In 165 CE, until now, were devastating. with incredibly high death. It changes how i see history, truly fascinating. It also changes the way i see the contemporary corona virus pandemic.
April 10, 2020
What an incredible read. My view of the topic has change extensively in these days of the Corona-Virus. In the midst of "world-wide hunker down" in response to an illness with which medical science has very little experience, this read becomes far more meaning full.
Thanks for a lot of information, well laid out, AND your timing is fantastic
Thanks for a lot of information, well laid out, AND your timing is fantastic
August 7, 2025
I listened to this in audiobook format on Spotify. Overall, I found it interesting and enjoyed hearing about the history around some of the deadliest plagues. I don't know if it was a glitch on Spotify or if it is how the book was written, but I was disappointed in the word-for-word repetition across multiple chapters for some excerpts. Despite that, I liked the book overall.
April 16, 2020
Timely read
Looking at pandemics over the ages gives an insight of what we have today. It shows that many of the actions taken this time are the same as in the past with similar results.
Looking at pandemics over the ages gives an insight of what we have today. It shows that many of the actions taken this time are the same as in the past with similar results.
November 11, 2024
Not bad, not great. It dwells too much on history around the plagues without getting too much into the pandemics itself. Entertaining but to a certain extent.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews