THE GREAT MORTALITY by John Kelly (2005)
I enjoyed this book. However, I have to admit that it took me months to finish. Perhaps it was the time, with other distractions getting in the way such as the defense of my thesis, graduation, etc. Being a student of the Medieval Era I found the wealth of information about this time period to be fascinating. Kelly not only explains the technical aspects of the Black Death from the 14th Century, he also weaves into the narrative stories and accounts of events impacted by this great plague. Some might argue that he spends an inordinate amount of space on some of these issues, such as the antisemitism of the time. However, historical events should always be considered in the overall context of the period, recognizing that disease impacts many areas of a society, including family, economics, politics, and faith, to name but a few. Kelly walked away from his extensive study with a mixture of sadness and encouragement. Sadness over the horrific imme...