- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (April 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0060014342
- ISBN-13: 978-0060014346
- Product Dimensions: 20.3 x 13.6 x 1.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
1,218,066 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #90 in Books > History > Britain & Ireland > Black Death
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
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.
Product Description
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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First Sentence
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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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
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!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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.
Secondly it's very repetitive and continual makes the same points overe again.
Thirdly the author appears to try to popularise the subject through such obscure references to comparisons to HIV and suggestions that the plague came from outer space.
One to avoid.
Secondly it's very repetitive and continual makes the same points overe again.
Thirdly the author appears to try to popularise the subject through such obscure references to comparisons to HIV and suggestions that the plague came from outer space.
One to avoid.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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 understated. The thing that irritated me the most was that it was written with double spacing between the lines of text to give it the impression of being longer than it actually is! This is the second of Prof Cantor's books that I have read and it was exactly the same style and double spacing that this one was. He clearly knows his subject but the net result of his book is a feeling of being talked down to. Too lightweight for me. John Kelly's book is far better.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Utter drivel
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... Read more
Published on 7 Nov 2008 by Adam R. Lowiss
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
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
Awful
I bought this book in an airport in the states thinking that it would be an interesting book of popular history for my flights. Read more
Published on 29 April 2007 by Russ
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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