sergek94 's review for:

The Black Death: A History From Beginning to End by Henry Freeman

3.0

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"Adieu, farewell earths blisse
This world uncertaine is
Fond are lifes lustful joys
Death proves them all but toyes
Non from his darts can flye
I am sick, I must dye.
Lord, have mercy on us."
- Thomas Nash

A brief overview of the many major facets of The Black Death that ravaged the world from 1348 to 1352. I believe it's very important to look back at these tragedies and learn from them in order to improve our lives today and not repeat these events that devastated millions of people. This is especially relevant today since at the time I'm writing this, the world is going through the Corona virus pandemic. Like the author mentioned, we humans have the remarkable capacity of survival and we document the events we go through, which serve as valuable information for the coming generations.

I learned a lot of interesting facts about The Black Death thanks to this short book, such as it possibly being a combination of 3 types of diseases which spread across the world and the most probable ways the plague spread itself, through certain flees that inhabited rodents, as well as counter-arguments to those claims. The author also explores the cultural impact this plague had on society and what I find particularly interesting was the fact that it contributed to women being able to have access to literature and do their own writing, since the plague paved way for literature to become more accessible to the common folk, women included, and not be exclusive to individuals of the noble class.

Lots of interesting facts to be learned in this book, expressed in an easy to read and digestible manner. Definitely recommend!