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392 reviews for:
The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, The Most Devastating Plague of All Time
John Kelly
3.78 AVERAGE
392 reviews for:
The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, The Most Devastating Plague of All Time
John Kelly
3.78 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
Well-paced and engaging, really enjoyed this (even if the intro aged like milk...)
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.
informative
slow-paced
informative
slow-paced
dark
informative
medium-paced
The author went on a lot of tangents, in a very roundabout way they taught the history of the plague. I did find myself lost a few times. Less a medical history and more, as in the title, of an intimate history focusing on those who were living through it. The author writes about many cultures experiences of the Death, not just a focus on the English of the time.
dark
informative
fast-paced
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
I believe I am being pretty kind to this book by giving it 2.5 stars, and some of this is nostalgia.
The book is, admittedly, not without some merit. John Kelly is a fair writer, and it is a very readable book. Coming out of a bachelors and masters in history, it is nice to have a break from that type of academic writing, which can get dry and have no regard for the audience, even if the audience is other historians. This book is a good introduction to the Black Death, and was one I read very early on in my studies of Medieval history and disease history. It is engaging and well put together, but that is about the best I can say for it.
While Kelly clearly put effort into his research, he does choose to play fast and loose with the facts in multiple places. I would take this book with a grain of salt, because even if it is not necessarily rife with falsehoods, he has a flair for the dramatic that is not always appropriate when teaching about historical events. I am being a bit vague here because some part of me does want people to read this if they are interested in a starting point to learning about the Black Death, but it is not the most accurate piece out there. It's a solidly okay book for someone without a history background who wants to learn more about the Black Death, and it is a book I have kept for sentimental reasons. But for a more comprehensive overview, I would suggest following it with "The Black Death: 1346-1355 The Complete History" by Ole J. Benedictow.
The book is, admittedly, not without some merit. John Kelly is a fair writer, and it is a very readable book. Coming out of a bachelors and masters in history, it is nice to have a break from that type of academic writing, which can get dry and have no regard for the audience, even if the audience is other historians. This book is a good introduction to the Black Death, and was one I read very early on in my studies of Medieval history and disease history. It is engaging and well put together, but that is about the best I can say for it.
While Kelly clearly put effort into his research, he does choose to play fast and loose with the facts in multiple places. I would take this book with a grain of salt, because even if it is not necessarily rife with falsehoods, he has a flair for the dramatic that is not always appropriate when teaching about historical events. I am being a bit vague here because some part of me does want people to read this if they are interested in a starting point to learning about the Black Death, but it is not the most accurate piece out there. It's a solidly okay book for someone without a history background who wants to learn more about the Black Death, and it is a book I have kept for sentimental reasons. But for a more comprehensive overview, I would suggest following it with "The Black Death: 1346-1355 The Complete History" by Ole J. Benedictow.
informative
slow-paced