The Black Death Transformed: Disease and Culture in Early Renaissance Europe (Arnold Publication)

Rating:
Summary: Mindnumbingly comprehensive
Review: "It is clear from the evidence presented in this account that the Black Death was almost any disease other than the rat-based bubonic plague whose bacillus was discovered in 1894."

The author starts off well and the premise is fascinating and well supported. No one can claim that the author has not done his homework. However, the catalog of study after study may play well for an academic treatise, it becomes monotonous and mind-numbing for the rest of the world.

I can't imagine someone with out an advanced degree and a really keen interest in the research of the black plague finding this book enjoyable. After reading the first five chapters or so I ended up reading the first two pages of each chapter and moving on.

Definitely would not recommend this for the lay person. Extremely marginal recommendation even for a scientist unless you are really specialized in this area.

Rating:
Summary: The Truth about the Black Death
Review: I feel compelled to counter the San Diegan's review. While there is a lot of information in there to buttress the author's apparently overwhelmingly convincing premise, it is true that only the most statistical minded will find all of the quantitive information intriguing. I skipped over most of the charts and diagrams, but there is no denying that much of the author's recounting is facinating, especially with regards to the social implications of each plague outbreak. Anyone interested in the middle ages should read (most of) this book.