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The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time Reprint Edition

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John Kelly (Author)
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John Kelly (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars 166 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0060006938
ISBN-10: 0060006935
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 364 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (January 31, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0060006935
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060006938
  • Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.9 x 8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (166 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #76,574 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 80 people found the following review helpful
The Sprawling Circumstances of the Black Plague
By Debbie Lee Wesselmann TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on April 19, 2005
Format: Hardcover
In this book exploring the times and the details of the Black Plague, John Kelly introduces the lay reader to the pestilence that wiped out up to sixty percent of some of Europe's most bustling cities. From Messina to Florence to Paris to London - and all the cities and towns between and around them, the populace could not stop the spread of this particularly virulent form of Yersinia pestis, whether they sought laws to restrict it or simply chose to ignore it. The book provides insights into some of the potential causes of why this bout of plague is unequaled in history: sanitation, specific rodent populations (including that of the tarabagan of the Russian steppes), societal traditions, a burgeoning "global" economy, warfare, bacteriology, and other theories. The epidemiology of the disease and the forms it takes, from the "gurgling" bubos of bubonic plague to the respiratory infection that sounds frighteningly close to the hemorrhagic fevers, make for fascinating, if gruesome, reading.

The author recreates the events of individuals who succumbed to Y. pestis through written documentation and his own imagination. For an example, he writes "The headstone tells us only enough to suggest the following scenario . . . " He then continues for a page and a half to describe in detail the final days of a husband and wife. I found the method to make the plague more "intimate" through invented details somewhat troubling, although readers will find these passages the most compelling because of their focus on the individual. The book can occasionally be repetitive, stating in one chapter what was stated earlier.Read more ›
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72 of 75 people found the following review helpful
Gripping And Ghastly Tale
By Ricky Hunter on February 24, 2005
Format: Hardcover
John Kelly has produced a nasty, fascinating tale with The Great Mortality, as he covers the history of the Black Death (ca. 1347-1352) tour of Europe. One should not make the mistake of reading this book over lunch as the descriptions are accurately nauseating in their thoroughness. At times, a hint of monotony does creep into the tale as each country's encounters with the swiftly spreading disease is told. The tale does not vary much and is most interesting in the earlier chapters with the diseases first encounters with Europe in Italy. The book's strengths are its discussion of recent scholarship on both the origin and the nature of the plague. It is a gripping story of a most horrific and unimaginable event.
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74 of 85 people found the following review helpful
Fascinating, but lacking in structure and focus
By Amazon Customer VINE VOICE on May 27, 2005
Format: Hardcover
At it's best, John Kelly's "The Great Mortality" is a gripping, in your face look at the Black Death that began in 1348. Using a host of primary sources he draws the reader into what feels like a firsthand account of those grim days, all while remaining grounded in modern science and history. Unfortunately, at its worst it is a meandering account full of poorly identified speculation that fails to effectively straddle history and science. The result is an engaging, but ultimately uneven account that while worth reading fails to live up to its potential.

Kelly's introduction immediately reveals some of these flaws. He offers an overview of how the plague arose in nature, how it burst out of its generally isolated ecological niche, and its impact on society and history. There is much to commend this introduction, as it quite nicely captures the evolution of a pseudo-global economy, and its impact on the spread of the disease. He also offers some interesting insight into where plague fits in the natural order, and how it made the jump from rodents to humans. However, Kelly also tends to pass off assumptions of human behavior as fact, and frequently takes contemporary sources at face value, a cardinal sin in a history, but particularly when dealing with an era as steeped in superstition as the Middle Ages. Moreover, a problem that plagues (no pun intended) "The Great Mortality" is that Kelly never seems quite sure if he wants to be primarily a historian or a scientist. The result is a flirting with scientific theory that never quite meets expectations, and leaves the reader frustrated.Read more ›
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26 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Fascinating, Interesting, Scary
By John Matlock on March 1, 2005
Format: Hardcover
Today the news reports are about a new avian flu recently discovered in asia. The new flu has a mortality rate of 72%. Depending on the version of the plague you are talking about, the mortality was just about the same. Six centuries ago medicine knew nothing about the bacteria that caused plague, now we know little about the virus causing the avian flu.

This book almost seems to be several books in one.

First it's a history, drawing on original source material -- contemporary letters, diaries, and chronicles. It's a history, not only of the 1300's, but of Shiro Ishii and his experiments as commander of the Japanese Army's biological warfare unit during World War II that deliberately infected the Chinese city of Changteh.

Second it's a text, the nature of the plague, how it spreads, where, why, and how. It has a discussion of the various types of plague, and some discussion that the disease may not have been plague at all but possibly anthrax or an Ebola-like filovirus.

Third, it's a warning. With modern day transportation, not only of people on airplanes, but thousands of containers coming in with products made almost anywhere in the world. And that doesn't take in the possibility of deliberate attacks.

The writing style in this book is fascinating, a delight to read and the information content is very high and unfortunately it coule be timely.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Highly Recommended

This is a wonderful book if you want to know more about how the Black Plague affected Europe and the political, social, and religious ramifications which changed Europe forever. Read more

Published 26 days ago by tarty
Plagued by lack of discipline

The history of the plague is an interesting subject. The author does a great job of painting a picture of life in the Middle Ages, in providing the science of the plague, and in... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Alex Scorpio
Five Stars

good

Published 1 month ago by thenightlighter
Four Stars

Good

Published 2 months ago by Kendra
Flaws outweigh subject matter

Two stars because the topic is interesting, but no more because of the poor quality of the writing. The story leaps about seemingly following the movement of the plague, but this... Read more

Published 3 months ago by DJ Arboretum
Good book-recomended

Well done and conflates biology, economics, climate change and social upheaval. Well written and interesting. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Amazon Customer
So interesting, you are suddenly there as if you are an observor.

When you buy "The Great Mortality" buy a great atlas. It has a good map but I personally want a big map. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Mary of Laf.
A very good read from primary sources

A very good read from primary sources. You will learn more about the Plague than you may care to know.

Published 5 months ago by Burt Dunlap
Great Mortality. Great History. Not for Beginners.

Very well written and informative in a detailed way I haven't seen before in this type of writing. If you are a history buff and, particularly, if you understand the general... Read more

Published 5 months ago by Steven Beers
A+A+A+

A+A+A+

Published 5 months ago by Susie

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