The Black Death was the fourteenth century's equivalent of a nuclear war. It wiped out one-third of Europe's population, takingmillion lives. And yet, most of what we know about it is wrong. The details of the Plague etched in the minds of terrified schoolchildren -- the hideous black welts, the high fever, and the awful end by respiratory failure -- are more or less accurate. But what the Plague really was and how it made history remain shrouded in a haze of myths.Now, Norman Cantor, the premier historian of the Middle Ages, draws together the most recent scientific discoveries and groundbreaking historical research to pierce the mist and tell the story of the Black Death as a gripping, intimate narrative.
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Michael Prestwich
Professor of Medieval History, University of Durham, and author of "The Three Edwards: War and State in England, 1272-1377"
This is a splendid book. It is extremely lively and readable -- it gives a wonderful wide perspective of biomedical issues and history -- and also provides some fascinating detailed studies of the way in which the 1348 plague outbreak affected politics and society..."In the Wake of the Plague" is full of good things.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Norman F. Cantor is Emeritus Professor of History, Sociology, and Comparative Literature at New York University. His academic honors include appointments as a Rhodes Scholar, Porter Ogden Jacobus Fellow at Princeton University, and Fulbright Professor at Tel Aviv University. His previous books include Inventing the Middle Ages, nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award, and The Civilization of the Middle Ages, the most widely read narrative of the Middle Ages in the English language. He lives in southern Florida.
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IN THE SIXTH MONTH OF THE new millennium and new century, the American Medical Association held a conference of infectious diseases. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
IN THE SIXTH MONTH OF THE new millennium and new century, the American Medical Association held a conference of infectious diseases. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By Serpentinite
Format:Paperback
As a keen amateur historian, I have encountered several dire books that have purported to relate historical events whilst displaying a stunning ignorance of known sources of information on the period concerned. However, none have been such a rich fount of unmitigated drivel as this book!
The text is dry and uninteresting, showing no passion for the subject matter whatsoever. The writing style of the author is banal to say the least, with the degree of repetition being truly astounding - surely even a retarded goldfish would succumb to boredom induced by encountering the same "fact" for the umpteenth time. Indeed, the intellectual level of the target audience is summed up by the reference to Henry II being a "young stud" (the fact that Henry had died in 1189 - over one hundred and fifty years before the onset of the Black Death - gives an insight into the pertinence of much of the text to the subject matter allegedly being dealt with).
However, the shortcomings of the prose are as nothing compared to the main problem with the book - that it is simply factually inaccurate in so many places! There are, regrettably, far, far too many errors to cite here - just one example occurring in the first few pages of the book is that the works of Thomas Hardy are transposed to Devon (providing not only a shock to the tourist industry of Dorset, but also another example of how relevant most of this tosh is). The author displays absolutely no grasp of British or European history whatsoever, being consistently inaccurate with his chronology of events and paying scant regard to the most basic historical fact.
I have never come so close to failing to finish reading a book because it was unbearably awful, but this one tested my resolve. I would certainly challenge it's classification as a "history" title - bad fiction would be more suitable. In summary - PLEASE DO NOT BUY THIS RUBBISH!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Norman Cantor has produced the worst book I have read in quite some time. Unfortunately I failed to make it to the end as it simply annoyed me that a Professor of History has such a poor understanding of his discipline. I stopped reading half way through when Professor Cantor rambled utter nonsense on the Peasant Uprising. As he delved into the realm of what if history he came to the conclusion that Richard II had put an end to a "Working class take over of the government and a socialist state."!!!
Perhaps Mr Cantor went temporarily insane when he wrote this book, if this were the case then it would still not have been the most accurate book in the asylum.
I wont go into more detail about Cantor's own brand of pseudo history. Just take my warning, do not buy this book if you want to learn about the Great Plague, or indeed anything else.
I feel sorry for his students.
Perhaps Mr Cantor went temporarily insane when he wrote this book, if this were the case then it would still not have been the most accurate book in the asylum.
I wont go into more detail about Cantor's own brand of pseudo history. Just take my warning, do not buy this book if you want to learn about the Great Plague, or indeed anything else.
I feel sorry for his students.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Russ
Format:Hardcover
I bought this book in an airport in the states thinking that it would be an interesting book of popular history for my flights. After the sloppy & iritating prose and the inaccuracies that I spotted in the first couple of chapters I gave up. This is the first book I considered throwing away rather than simply "shelving" it.
The book was clearly being marketed heavily in the States, as it was in a prominent position in most bookshops I visited. It is the worst case of dumbing down, as opposed to popularising, a historical subject I've ever seen.
Don't bother.
The book was clearly being marketed heavily in the States, as it was in a prominent position in most bookshops I visited. It is the worst case of dumbing down, as opposed to popularising, a historical subject I've ever seen.
Don't bother.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Mixed Feelings about this Book
Norman Cantor's "In the Wake of the Plague" is rather an interesting read yet my feelings on this were mixed. Read more
Published on 3 Mar 2008 by Zadius Sky
3.0 out of 5 stars
Irritating and too shallow
I disliked much of this book. It is probably the worst book on Medieval history I have read. The main problem is that the author seems to have little insight into how Medieval... Read more
Published on 26 Jan 2008 by John Hopper
1.0 out of 5 stars
avoid like the plague
This is not a good book. Firstly an awful lot of of it is not about the plague but a general rambling random history of Britain. Read more
Published on 12 Jan 2008 by mark hartley
2.0 out of 5 stars
LightweightI
I was very disappointed with this book. I found it neither scholarly nor populist. It was light on facts, considering that it was written by a professor, as well as being... Read more
Published on 16 May 2006 by Patron
5.0 out of 5 stars
If You Liked A Distant Mirror, You Will Love This Book!
This book deserves more than five stars for being the most interesting, enjoyable and insightful book I have read about the Middle Ages. Read more
Published on 11 May 2004 by Donald Mitchell
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