Ysenia Pestis, bubonic plague, pneumonic plague, rats. These words inspire a thrill of fear in many of us, even if we aren't 100% sure why.
Since 2020, we, as a society, have become familiar with the fear and uncertainty of a plague. Ours didn't have the dramatic name, but it was, and still is, a source of anger and even Xenophobia. This isn't new. Throughout the Great Mortality of the 1340s, the one group of people that was blamed for this massive die-off was the Jews. Apparently, there was a global conspiracy to kill the Gentiles! Of course, Jews died at pretty much the same rate as the Christians...
John Kelly braids a massive world tragedy with multiple strands into an interesting narrative for the lay-person to grasp. For those that want to understand a pivotal moment in history, how it effects us today, and what the people felt, then I would highly recommend this history.
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