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

John Kelly

Aug 2012 · Sold by Harper Collins

About this ebook

“Powerful, rich with details, moving, humane, and full of important lessons for an age when weapons of mass destruction are loose among us.” — Richard Rhodes, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb 

The Great Plague is one of the most compelling events in human history—even more so now, when the notion of plague has never loomed larger as a contemporary public concern.

The plague that devastated Asia and Europe in the 14th century has been of never-ending interest to both scholarly and general readers. Many books on the plague rely on statistics to tell the story: how many people died; how farm output and trade declined. But statistics can’t convey what it was like to sit in Siena or Avignon and hear that a thousand people a day are dying two towns away. Or to have to chose between your own life and your duty to a mortally ill child or spouse. Or to live in a society where the bonds of blood and sentiment and law have lost all meaning, where anyone can murder or rape or plunder anyone else without fear of consequence.

In The Great Mortality, author John Kelly lends an air of immediacy and intimacy to his telling of the journey of the plague as it traveled from the steppes of Russia, across Europe, and into England, killing 75 million people—one third of the known population—before it vanished.

Ratings and reviews

It was so bad that I requested a refund. I've read a lot of crummy books off the play store and have never done that before. I don't care to hear about Petrarch and Laura every single chapter, or how Pope Clemont IV spent a ton of money, or about all the logistical intricacies of moving the papacy to Avignon, or wether or not Joanna killed her husband. This book is not about the plague, but instead a soap opera dedicated to rich people from 1347-48. Save your time.

Wonderful, incredibly researched book that is VERY MUCH SO about the black plague from beginning to end. Unfortunately, even idiots can leave reviews. Thorough, expansive--an absolute joy for the true history nerd. If that's you, it's absolutely worthy of your collection.

About the author

John Kelly, who holds a graduate degree in European history, is the author and coauthor of ten books on science, medicine, and human behavior, including Three on the Edge, which Publishers Weekly called the work of "an expert storyteller." He lives in New York City.