The Black Death

by Sean Martin

The author looks at the origins of the disease and traces its terrible march through Europe from the Italian cities to Scandinavia.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Science, Collections

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Author of bestsellers The Knights Templar: The History & Myths of the Legendary Military Order, The Gnostics: The First Christian Heretics and The Cathars: The Rise & Fall of the Great Heresy. My new book, A Short History of Disease, will be published in June 2015.

Reviews

[Checkman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compact but very readable primer about the history of the so-called Black Death. At only 140 pages there is no room for padding so Mr. Martin gets right to the point. He gives over the bulk of this little book to the first and most famous outbreak which ran from approximately 1346 - 1352. The possible point of origin (China/Mongolia), the spread of the disease (to include the Middle East which is traditionally overlooked by Eurocentric historians), the death count, the response to it (government, religious, personal), the economic,political and sociological impact of the plague and then a brief accounting of subsequent outbreaks up to the present and a brief rundown of the medical research. Very impressive work for under 140 pages. I read this book in approximately ninety minutes. It isn't what I would call a time-suck, but I still learned a few things. Proof positive that not all books have to be 400 (+) pages to be informative.

[GoldGato · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slim but very concise volume on the causes of the Black Death of the mid-1300s and why we should still be very wary today. That's because the Plague followed an overpopulation boom and natural disasters (quakes, volcanoes, storms, droughts). Originated in Asia, it essentially progressed through...human greed. As the Silk Road was opened up, caravans which had previously passed the nucleus of the infected Marmots of the Asian Steppes, now traversed through ground zero. Moving westward, it came to Europe via Genoese galleys, as the captains did their best to hide their dying crew so they could continue to sail into ports to sell their flea-infested goods.

Unlike the Plague of Justinian or the Third Epidemic, the Black Death moved far faster than any rat could travel. It developed into airborne droplets so deadly, that many victims would immediately start showing symptoms after conversing with an already-infected carrier. The milder form had the buboes, but the lung and blood forms had the higher death rates. It's likely the Black Death had mutated so violently and so quickly that it eventually slowed as it ran out of hosts to kill.

This is not a big volume but it's just right to get the history across, including the Jewish pogroms that ensued and the decline of the Catholic Church as people realized that God didn't seem to be very picky. The Plague still exists today, in perhaps even scarier form, via the biological warfare research of the Soviets. Yikes.

Book Season = Winter (putrefaction on the pallets)

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise look at the spread of the infamous plague and its affect on various regions of the world (with a primary focus on Europe). It's a compact read, the kind of primer I'd pluck off the shelf in middle school and enjoy the hell out of, and though it's short it doesn't dumb down the material and offers some fascinating contemporary anecdotes and statistical data for anyone interested in the subject. A fine introduction, but you'll need to go elsewhere for a deep dive.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a non-fiction chronology of the spread of the plague, not just in Europe, but aslo in Asia and other parts of the world. The author explores the possible origins of the disease, the spread along trade routes, and the eventual discovery of the pathogen. This book was a short, informative, eye-opening read. I was not aware of how many plague outbreaks occurred even after the "Black Death" or how wide-spread it was around the world. The author also points out how Medieval Europe's class order as well as views on religion were changed in the aftermath of the plague (harrolding in the Renaissance).

[Pam Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked up my interest instantly. Was very authentic and historic, but told with such finesse that it felt like a seamless story. I love history and anyone who like history or the stories of true history that felt like ficton, you will love this book. City by City, and Country by Country all over you will learn of the beginning and the end of this plague put on man.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of details of deaths and symptoms in the time of the Black Death along with a chapter at the end summarizing many times plague has arisen again. Not very well written in my opinion. It was an eye-opener to what it was like--horror.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are many topics I’d like to read more about in a non fiction book. But I often find the books are like 500+ pages, which is often more of a time commitment than I’m willing to make. Therefore, I can highly recommend this succinct overview of the topic of the Black Death. It’s comprehensive but with no wasted diversions or unnecessary words, just straight to the point. It also has a useful bibliography if you’re interested in more reading.

My takeaways from the book include learning that we’ve had outbreaks of the plague into the 21st century! Including some major ones in the last 20th century. I also learned that the famous plague masks had the beak for the purpose of putting flowers or aromatic herbs. And that perhaps the renaissance would not have occurred without the social changes caused by the plague.

[Rojon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vebanın tarihine dair bilgilendirici, sayılara ve zamanın dini görüşlerinin bakış açısına ve olaya karşı tutumlarına bolca yer veren, nispeten hızlı okunabilen çerezlik bir tarih kitabı olarak değerlendiriyorum. Okurken sık sık dehşete de kapılıyorsunuz.
Çevirisini ise hiç beğenmedim. Bazı cümleler gerçekten anlamını kaybedecek kadar kötü çevrilmiş ve çok zor anlaşılıyor. Düzeltme de yapılmamış gibi duruyor, bolca imla ve harf hatası var. "de" Bağlacının da yanlış yazıldığı çokça yer var. (Bir de "içersinde" değil, "içerisinde". Her gördüğümde dikkatim dağıldı ve maalesef kitapta çok fazla kullanılmış olan bir kelime.)
Normal şartlarda puanım 3,0/5,0 olurdu ancak kötü çeviri ve yetersiz düzelti yüzünden 1,0 puan kırıyorum. 2,0/5,0.

[Georgi_Lvs_Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

“People spat bits of blood, and one was covered with blotches and died… Every person in the morning or evening breathed out blood from his throat as if he had been slain without a knife”.

This was like reading a horror novel and realising that we ACTUALLY are living in this nightmare with the covid pandemic….. although The Black Death was much worse.

If you even touched the clothes of the infected, you would die. I couldn’t help but wonder (did you say this like Carrie in Sex and the City)? 😂 how we would have coped with The Black Death then or if it was to return in the 21st century.

“Once a disease has been let out of the bottle, like all the most troublesome, dark genies, it can never be fully put back in again.”

I’m intrigued by the ‘further reading’ section!

[Kaan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Öncelikle, kısa ama dolu bir kitap. Anlattığı dönemle ilgili yüzeysel de olsa bir bilgi edinmenizi sağlıyor. Fakat çevirisi berbat. Tam anlamıyla, berbat. Cumhur Atay'ın İngilizce bildiğine inanası gelmiyor insanın. Bu bir kenara, o kadar bariz anlatım bozuklukları mevcut ki, ana dili Türkçe olan biri nasıl böyle cümleler kurabilir, aklım almıyor. Tek suç çevirmende değil elbet; gelen metni muhtemelen hiçbir denetimden geçirmeden direkt baskıya gönderen yayınevi de bir o kadar suçlu. Her halükarda, kendi alanındaki az sayıda eserden biri olan bu kitap, hak ettiği kadar ilgi görmemiş. Baştan savma bir şekilde hazırlanmış ve sunulmuş.

[Onur Yz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Epidemik ve pandemik salgınların tarihi geçmişine dair muhteşem bir eser. Geçmişi bilmeden şimdiyi ve geleceği değerlendirmek son derece yanlış. Sıradan insanlar daima anlık, şimdiki zaman ile yaşıyorlar ama geçmişin etkileri, geçmişin tepkileri, geçmişteki deneyimleri fark etmemek çok açık bir ifadeyle bilgisiz kalmak demektir. Mutlaka okunması gereken bir eser.

[Lori Wale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written overview of the Black Death. Very easy to follow and compact -- can finish in a sitting or two. Definitely worth a read if this is an historical event that interests you.

[Kamil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kara ölüm, vebanın ortaçağda yarattığı yıkımı muhteşem özetleyen bir kitap. Salgın hastalıklar ile ilgilenenler mutlaka okumalı.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accessible and full of info.

[Victor Sonkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An account of the BD epidemic, more or less for children.

[Todd Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really well written, sticks to the facts, good overviews - a smooth read.

[J K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and terrifying

[Marrije · Rating 4 out of 5]

The past was not a fun place.

[jzmcdaisy · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I checked out this book on Libby, I was surprised that it was just over three hours long. I found it strange that the audiobook version is considered an essential pocket guide as well. However, this book manages to fit a surprising amount of history into a short run time. I'd first heard snippets of it when my fiancé listened to it while making dinner. This made me realize a couple things. First, I realized how much I missed playing Plague Inc. Second, I realized how badly I wanted to read pandemic nonfiction.

I worked at a grocery store before the Covid vaccine was developed, so I learned just how selfish people are during a crisis. In the future, history books like this one will recount anti-maskers spewing conspiracy theories about China. Things feel safer thanks to the vaccine, and I'm comforted knowing I won't be included in those books. Ten percent of this book explains how the plague spread across the continents and the other ninety percent details the batshit human reactions to it.

Pandemic isolation drove me to consume disaster and horror literature just so I could remind myself that things could be worse. I've always liked history, but I had to put books about plague on the back burner a bit. After avoiding disease literature for a bit, I'm finally allowing myself to look at past plagues. I love history, but I took a break from listening to literature about past pandemics thanks to the present all of us just endured. And this was a time before the toilet paper shortages. I'll take that over being covered in pustules and buboes though.

From Mongolia to Italy to England to Ireland, the Black Death ravaged much more of the globe than I first thought. Bubonic plague was first introduced to Genoa via catapulted corpses from Mongolia, and things only got worse from there. Rats and Fleas were eventually discovered to be the catalysts of the plague, but plenty of crazy shit happened before that. Flagellation, hedonism, genocide, antisemitism were just some of its symptoms. The church attempting to rationalize God's alleged punishment while pretending to help people was perhaps the most menacing. Martin's book elaborates on all of them and more in a clear, prosaic and organized way. However, I think that if you do plan to read this book, know that it's a primer for further reading and not an encyclopedia.

[Sıla Filiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ortaçağ Avrupasını anlamak ve zihninizde betimlemeniz için piyasada bulunan ender kitaplardan beri. M.ö ki salgınlar da kusursuz bir biçimde incelenmiş. Kitabın sonunda veba kronolojisi, veba ile ilgili okunması gereken makaleler, başvuru kitapları ve romanlar, çocuk kitapları ve filmler de sıralanmış. Bu sayede bağlantı kurup konu hakkında daha detaylı bilgilere ulaşmamız için kapı açılmış. Vakanamelere atıfta bulunularak tez desteklenmiş. Bu yüzden de kaynak kitap olarak kullanılabilir. Decameron'ın giriş bölümüne kitapta yer verildiği için spoiler yiyebilirsiniz. Orta Asya ve müslümanların hakimiyetindeki topraklarda oluşan veba salgınlarınada kitapta yer verilmiş. Bu yüzdende bağlantı kurmamız, salgının yıkıcılığı hakkında fikir sahibi olmamız kaçınılmaz. Ölü sayıları hakkında temel bir bilgiye sahip olsakta, Sean Martine göre bu sayılar ütopik. Avrupa vebadan kırılırken, Milano bu konuda şanslıydı. El dokunulmamış gibi duruyordu. Bu konuda araştırma yaptım fakat bir netice elde edemedim. Sorumun cevabını da bu kitapta bulmuş oldum. Vebanın negatif ve pozitif sonuçları da kitapta yer bulmuş. Sebep- sonuç örüntüsü doğru bir şekilde okuyucuya aktarılmış. Veba dışında zamanın şartlarının gerektirdiği olaylardan da bahsedilmiş. Clement'in avignona yerleşmesi, papalıktaki karışıklıklar, yüz yıl savaşları, 4 yıllık kıtlık gibi ortaçağa damgasını vuran olaylar hakkında da bilgi sahibi olabilirsiniz. Ortaçağ avrupasının sosyo-kültürel yapısınada böylelikle hakim olacaksınız.

[Rogue Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Factual, numbers-based history of the black death, the bubonic plague that killed 20-30% of Europe's population and half of England's population in the late 1340s. An earlier pandemic occurred in Egypt under Roman rule 527-565. Cultural accommodation, medical mystery, travel and trade explain and describe the terrible time. Fascinating and also a warning.

--Ashland Mystery Ashland Mystery

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderfully readable and concise history of the Black Death. I really enjoyed it (but then again, I like morbid stuff)...

[Kath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very concise and comprehensive.

[Brad Rousse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but concise look at the Black Death, its causes and impact on Europe. Not the most detailed or robust narrative, but an excellent primer.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, reasonably well-written introduction to the topic.

[Lo]

I know how this will sound, but it's a breezy, pleasantly told story about an unpleasant topic that doesn't usually inspire words like "breezy." Short and sweet, it's a nice bit of nonfiction -- a good combination of far-above overview with some juicy/bizarre details and historical effects/repercussions.