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In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made Paperback – Illustrated, March 17, 2015

by Norman F. Cantor (Author)
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 365 ratings
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A New York Times bestseller, In the Wake of the Plague is a fascinating study of the cultural and religious consequences of one of the deadliest tragedies to befall humanity: the black plague. Though rigorously scientific in his approach, Norman F. Cantor has produced an unforgettable narrative that in many ways employs the novelist’s skill for storytelling.

The Black Death was the fourteenth century’s equivalent of a nuclear war. It wiped out one-third of Europe’s population, and irrevocably changed the lives of those who survived. And yet, most of what we know about it is wrong. The details of the Plague etched in the minds of terrified schoolchildren—the hideous black welts, the high fever, and the awful end by respiratory failure—are more or less accurate. But what the Plague really was and how it made history remain shrouded in a haze of myths.

Here, Norman Cantor, the premier historian of the Middle Ages, draws together recent scientific discoveries and groundbreaking historical research to pierce the mist and tell the story of the Black Death as a gripping, intimate narrative. By focusing on twenty pivotal figures from the time, Cantor shows the lasting influence the Plague has had on history, culture, and religion.

“Professor Cantor’s style is easy—no jargon. He is far beyond just knowing his period; he understands it and so he can explain, without oversimplifying, the variety and complexity of this great section of the West’s past” (The New Yorker).
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  1. Print length
    256 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    March 17, 2015
  4. Dimensions
    5.5 x 1 x 8.38 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1476797749
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1476797748
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Norman F. Cantor (1929–2004) was a professor of history, sociology, and comparative literature at New York University. Among his many academic honors are appointments as a Rhodes Scholar, Porter Ogden Jacobus Fellow at Princeton University, and Fulbright Professor at Tel Aviv University. He was nominated for the NBCC Award for Inventing the Middle Ages.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster; Reissue edition (March 17, 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1476797749
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1476797748
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.1 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1 x 8.38 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 365 ratings

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Norman F. Cantor

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4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
365 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kathleen Egan
5.0 out of 5 stars I have always been fascinated by the medieval era and ...
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2015
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I have always been fascinated by the medieval era and the impact of the Black Death and the Hundred Years' War. I found this book to be
a font of information about this horrific biomedical disaster and the way it impacted life in Western Europe. I have always felt sympathy for
our ancestors who lived through this terrifying event because they had no knowledge of it's cause or how to deal with it. A terrifying thought but
similiar to our experience with AIDS and Ebola today. Thank you Professor Cantor for your insight into this devastating medical disaster and
how it shaped our world. K. Egan
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W. David McGuinn Jr.
4.0 out of 5 stars You are all wrong - it is a good book
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2009
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I must stand athwart this chorus of negativity and yell - STOP - THIS IS A VERY GOOD BOOK. I get the impression that the first few reviewers had some animosity toward the author, panned the book and then subsequent reviewers parroted their disparagement. From some of the remarks, I had to ask myself if I could possibly have read the same book as these guys - but I did (twice) and I loved it. And I am not a stranger to Professor Cantor, Barbara Tuchman (who the book cites as a source), the Middle Ages or critical review. Please forgive me if I must respond to these at these criticisms at some length.

First, Professor Cantor was a Rhodes Scholar. He taught history at the University of Chicago, NYU, Columbia and the University of Tel Aviv. Not shabby. But among academic historians he was considered a Tory. He was also a talented and successful popular writer. These factors do not engender warm-fuzzies among envious campus curmudgeons and may contribute to the animosity toward this book. This was a late work of a most accomplished man accustomed to writing as a stream of consciousness; he was pouring his inestimable knowledge of history on the pages in a race against time (of which he had little left). So I agree that the editing could have been a bit tighter (hence four not five stars).

But if it is somewhat a stream of consciousness it is still neither convoluted nor full of isolated tidbits; its organization is quite obvious. The effects of the plague on European society were multifaceted and Professor Cantor examines each of those facets - the effects on the royal families (particularly that of Edward III and his son John of Gaunt), the Hundred Years War, the serfs (and indeed the end of serfdom), agricultural practices, commerce and economy. He shows how the plague greatly increased the power and influence of women while at the same time devastating the clergy and weakening the Church. This diminution of the Church contributed to the coming Reformation. And he shows how the effects of the plague are with us today. The natural selection process of the plague now protects many folks of white European ancestry from HIV infection due to a mutation in a particular cell surface antigen that is necessary to the acquisition of both diseases.

And no, there were not many "thoughtful nobles" in the 14th century. During that the very height of chivalric feudalism, the nobility was far too busy observing mass, having promiscuous sex and killing each other to ponder much of anything but their salvation and their next conquest. Besides, there was little left to them to ponder. In this era before the printing press, books were rare and expensive. Higher thinking was dominated by the Thomist synthesis of Aristotelian scholasticism and Catholic theology. Anything that strayed from this was heresy worthy of capital castigation. The class system was rigid. Ignorance, prejudice and piety rendered this society suffering the plague completely incapable of responding to it effectively and that is part of Professor Cantor's message.

Nor is the book disjointed or difficult to follow if one has some acquaintance with the age. This is not a text for a freshman course in Medieval History. It is a sophisticated study that presumes the reader actually knows who the 1st Duke of Lancaster was and grasps his historical importance. Many of the primary sources for this book are academic and hitherto unreported in the popular literature. They include correspondences, inventories and official communiqués all named in the text and all catalogued in a ten page critical bibliography. Thus, Professor Cantor's judgments and assessments are well founded and well cited. The chapter on the effects of the plague on European Jews, far from blaming them, is entirely sympathetic, clearly demonstrating how they were brutally blamed for the plague due to superstition, fear and hatred with comments on how this mistreatment echoed down the future.

The section on a posited correlation between the plague and anthrax is fascinating but it does demonstrate Professor Cantor's lack of expertise in some scientific aspects of "biomedical disaster" (a term he uses a bit to distraction, I think accounting for the accusation of repetition). Anthrax is not spread easily as an airborne contagion nor by flea bites but by direct ingestion of spores. Outbreaks would have been small and localized (and terrifying). But the hypothesis has noteworthy support in the scientific community and Dr. Cantor does an able and engaging job of presenting it as he does the hypothesis that the disease was brought by a space borne swarm of bacteria descending on the Earth. This Andromeda theory is not widely embraced in the scientific community but Professor Cantor presents it in an interesting and dispassionate narrative. These accounts are further evidence that Professor Cantor was attempting to look at the plague from all possible angles.

And he succeeded. So I reiterate, THIS IS A VERY GOOD BOOK. Read it. But you may wish to read Professor Cantor's earlier book "The Civilization of the Middle Ages" first so you might better understand this one.
17 people found this helpful
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5.0 out of 5 stars Classic History Book!
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2020
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This is an excellent, classic history book by the most prolific American medievalist of the past 60 years.
2 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Can I trust the assertions?
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2022
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Early in the book, the author asserts unproved historical rumor as fact, so it tainted the whole book for me. Interesting, but speculation at best. Take it with a grain of salt.
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Nico Vela
5.0 out of 5 stars A popular History.
Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2019
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A quick popular History on the Black Death, and one that I found a little easier than the more academic texts.
One person found this helpful
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Mark Howells
1.0 out of 5 stars Just plain bad.
Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2001
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Disconnected ramblings sprinkled with historical trivia may be fascinating to listen to in a freshmen lecture hall, but such a style fails miserably in book form. For all his obviously detailed knowledge of the subject, the author fails to coherently string together a premise, supporting evidence, or a conclusion. I suppose this is the type of book one writes when one really doesn't have anything to say on a topic.
Sort-of based on the happenings surrounding the Black Death, this book doesn't ever come to any conclusions about the material presented - either original or in support of others'. The author plays fast and loose with historical facts and renders large doses of his highly personalized opinion on a variety of issues.
Don't bother picking this one up. This is one of those books that should never have been printed in the first place.
24 people found this helpful
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david Conford
5.0 out of 5 stars 1348--not the best of all possible years....
Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2017
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A readable and massively-researched history of the Black Plague, mostly but not exclusively centered on England by perhaps the most readable of all medievalists. Fascinating and (surprise, surprise) horrifying.
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CW
4.0 out of 5 stars AP World History Review-Good book, very informative
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2018
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AP World History Review

I would recommend this book to any researcher or student interested in this subject of history. This book gives an extensive point of view on the people who actually lived during the time of the Plague, the mid-1300’s . The book “In the Wake of the Plague” tells you how people reacted to the plague and what they did. Some people started to blame their religion and converted to another one and others look at the scientific side of it by using their knowledge and the knowledge of philosophers.
What this book needs is more broad examples of cause and effect of the Black Plague. For example; how did it spread so fast, were there people to blame for it and how did it change the world we live in today. Besides not having any broad examples this was an amazing book that I would fully recommend.
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Dezi
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in Canada on January 24, 2024
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I like to know details
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Alexis
5.0 out of 5 stars Black spotted thumbs up
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 16, 2018
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Very interesting. Very very interesting. Especially if you admire the plague.
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H
3.0 out of 5 stars Heute leider überholt.
Reviewed in Germany on March 28, 2020
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Ich lese das Buch im Jahr 2020.
Heute wurden einige Ansichten schon widerlegt (vor allem im medizinischen Bereich). Mich stört auch der übertrieben wertende Ton des Buches, was es leider nicht besser macht als ein populärwissenschaftliches Werk. Immerhin unterhaltsam.
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John Clifford
5.0 out of 5 stars what a good read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 29, 2013
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Hi there at Amazon this book should be in every book lovers libruary it would make us all appreciate how easy life is today kind regards John Clifford
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 1, 2016
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Excellent book in optimal conditions
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