- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Pocket Books (4 Feb 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0743430352
- ISBN-13: 978-0743430357
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
48,216 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5 in Books > History > Britain & Ireland > Black Death
- #36 in Books > History > Other Historical Subjects > History of Medicine
- #92 in Books > History > Europe > Vikings, Dark Ages, Medieval Europe 501-1500
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Product Description
Product Description
IN THE WAKE OF THE PLAGUE is a social history, not just of collapse but of rebirth. It is a fascinating investigation into how the Plague rocked the sociological, commercial, cultural and religious foundations of medieval civilisation. Arguably the greatest biomedical disaster in history - the Black Death wiped out 40% of the European population - the results are not confined to figures of mass fatality. They are diverse and long standing, extending to the present day: with the population depleted, the peasants could claim land for themselves, creating Europe's first class of independent farmers, hastening the modern capitalist era; the Catholic Church, powerless in the face of such disaster, watched as the faith healers became influential; efforts to block windows and doors against supposed airborne germs with woven tapestries generated a whole textile industry. Cantor presents an eclectic mix of individuals directly affected by the plague, some are well known today - Robin Hood, Richard the Lionheart, Edward the Black Prince - others have been forgotten by history books but have valuable stories to tell. Underlying this vivid recreation of a grave chapter of history is an interrogation of the medical facts. How closely linked are the Plague and the infamous 1918 flu epidemic? Is it something closer to today's medical phobia, Mad Cow disease? Cantor undermines the confidence we have in our world, doused in disinfectant and dosed with antibiotics, challenging us: can we be sure the Black Death is extinct - or is it just dormant?
About the Author
Norman Cantor is Professor of History, Sociology and Comparative Literature at New York University and is America's leading historian of the Middle Ages.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Undisciplined and sloppy,
This review is from: In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World it Made (Central Asian Studies) (Paperback)
I feel this title lacked the academic and literary discipline which you would expect of a scholarly work of this kind. The most negative striking feature I feel is the sloppy prose; indeed in one instance Cantor describes Eleanor of Acquitaine's second husband as a "young stud" (not even in my A level days would I have describes Henry II as so). And this example shows how the author meanders chronologically (he gives us a potted, and might I say slanted history of Britain from roughly the twelfth century, which frankly is not needed).Never before have I stopped reading a book because it was bad, but I would sincerely recommend the reader stear clear of this title. There are many other fine titles out presently such as Ziegler's 'The Black Death' and Cohen's new book 'The Black Death Transformed' which will more than adequately satiate any intellectual interest you have in the subject.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
In search of the lost editor,
By grumpy retiree (Herts England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World it Made (Central Asian Studies) (Paperback)
There may not be a mistake on every page, but sometimes in the course of this horribly frustrating book it seemed like it. When I saw that my 15 year old daughter had bought it to read on holiday, I was pleased to see her reading around what is becoming a very narrow GCSE syllabus. Sadly neither of us learned very much, apart from how much it seems European history has to be reprocessed for the simple-minded and culturally isolated US undergraduate and popular science market.A couple of examples: Thomas Hardy's works are transposed from Dorset to Devon (why even mention them as they come 500 years later?) and there is a horribly cocked-up timescale in the story of the downfall of a noble English family. The author similarly messes up the timescale of the events surrounding the collapse of Bordeaux, serving up a series of internal contradictions that can be identified without reference to source materials. A good editor might have made something of this book, although someone with such an exalted position in the academic world might not have taken kindly to some basic lessons in logic and research. Don't waste your money buying this book, or your time reading it. Buy chocolate instead - the wrapper is more accurate.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
DIsappointing,
This review is from: In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World it Made (Central Asian Studies) (Paperback)
The first problem with this book seems to be that the publishers couldn't quite decide who to pitch it to - the mass market, or as a niche academic read. As a result, it falls somewhere between the two, thus almost guaranteeing that its reception won't be exactly warm as a pestilent fever.The second problem is that it really isn't that interesting. The text is largely dry, and will probably provide no new information to anyone with a general grasp of the workings and significance of the Bubonic Plague and Yersina Pestis (although the anthrax information is slightly more interesting - what there is of it). A quick, easy read, but insubstantial. I was hoping for significantly more.
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