The Great Mortality

The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time | John Kelly

so-so

Kelly‘s history of The Black Death draws predominantly from accounts of those left behind in the plague‘s wake, creating a fascinating glimpse of life in the 14th century. But, he tends to meander a lot in this - something I didn‘t expect from an author primarily known for science writing. It made it easy set down for a long stretches of time to read things more “exciting.” I enjoyed what I learned, but wanted a more focused approach. 3⭐️

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BeckyWithTheGoodBooks

The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time | John Kelly

For this month‘s #20in4 #readathon, I will be trying to make progress on “The Great Mortality” and finishing “The Shining.” “TGM” is about the Black Death, so it will be a weekend of morbid reading. LOL. 🖤

Andrew65

Andrew65 Enjoy your weekend of morbid reading and good luck 😁 13mo

BeckyWithTheGoodBooks @Andrew65 Thank you!! 13mo

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JenniferEgnor

The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time | John Kelly

Happy Halloween book nerds! Please enjoy this plague doctor. And remember, we are all, always one moment closer to our final hour. Hopefully yersinia pestis will not make a great comeback and take us out!

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shanaqui

The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time | John Kelly

so-so

Mostly historical rather than scientific. If you want something fairly exhaustive about where the plague struck and how people reacted, this is great -- but I found the brief discussion of the increased virulence and different characteristics of the Black Death compared to modern bubonic plague tantalising and in need of more detail.

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