The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, The Most Devastating Plague of All Time by John Kelly

3.78 AVERAGE

mariahgschroeder's review against another edition

3.5
dark informative medium-paced
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sfgregg99's review against another edition

4.0
dark informative medium-paced
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brightbrandibird's review against another edition

5.0
The narrative is engaging and descriptive while still being super informative and educational. I really enjoyed this.

theadmiral's review against another edition

4.75
informative medium-paced

breadandmushrooms's review against another edition

3.0
challenging informative slow-paced

sarahwatanabe's review against another edition

2.0
2 stars

Concept is really good but poor execution. Afterword is really nice and think it captures what the author wanted to highlight - the daily life and people he was studying as well as overarching sociopolitical impacts of the plague. And those parts were good but the overall structure was all over the place. Don’t think I even took away much from this book but I could’ve also just been checked out.

narcolex's review against another edition

3.5
dark informative slow-paced
There’s a lot of great information in here, but the author gets sidetracked and/or overindulgent at times. The county-by-county discussion of the plague’s spread through England was particularly challenging.

ksm's review against another edition

3.0
informative slow-paced
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lionessramping's review against another edition

4.25
informative medium-paced
Well-paced and engaging, really enjoyed this (even if the intro aged like milk...)

emgoboingo's review against another edition

5.0
Although this is filled with the "plague facts" you'd expect in nonfiction (death tolls, causes, effects) what makes this so powerful is Kelly's ability to put us in the mindset of the people of the time. Never have I felt our medieval ancestors were so close, so very like us, in their fears, pain, and needs. On the flip side, Kelly also reveals that we're still pretty darn medieval with our conspiracy theories and xenophobia.