Plague
Subtitle: a very short introduction
By: Paul Slack
Series: Very short introductions -- 307.; Very short introductions -- 307.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 138
ISBN-13: 9780199589548
Subjects: Social aspects; Plague
Description: This Very Short Introduction explores the historical impact of plague over the centuries, the ways in which it has been interpreted, and the powerful images it has left behind in art and literature. Paul Slack assesses its causes, which have often been disputed and are now being illuminated by microbiologists and archaeologist, and he looks at possible reasons for its periodic disappearance from whole continents. He shows what plague meant for those who suffered from it, and how governments began to fight against it and in doing so invented modern notions of public health. His focus throughout the book is on how people coped with death and disease in epidemic.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-132) and index.
Table of contents: title: Plague: what's in a name?; title: Pandemics and epidemics; title: Big impacts: the black death; title: Private horrors; title: Public health; title: Enduring images; title: The lessons of histories.