In the Wake of the Plague

The Black Death and the World It Made

By: Norman F. Cantor

Narrated by: Bill Wallace

Much of what we know about the greatest medical disaster ever, the Black Plague of the fourteenth century, is wrong. The details of the Plague etched in the minds of terrified schoolchildren the hideous black welts, the high fever, and the final, 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.

Norman Cantor, the premier historian of the Middle Ages, draws together the most recent scientific discoveries and groundbreaking historical research to pierce the mist and tell the story of the Black Death afresh, as a gripping, intimate narrative.

©2001 Norman F. Cantor (P)2003 Recorded Books

shockingly entertaining

I expected to be somberly informed; instead, the narrator and author cooperate to deliver an engaging narrative that is as informative about the horrors of plague life as it is hilariously critical of the hypocrisy and scandal of medieval nobility.

Thought provoking book; very bad audio production

First, the narrator is not Bill Wallace, it is John McDonough (sounds like). Second, the production is very bad because we hear phlegmy inhalations, gulps and other distracting (to me!) sounds. I just winced through much of it and missed the narration so had to go back and listen again. ugh! really, no excuse for this in a professional audio recording. Wish I had known before I bought it.

I enjoy Professor Cantor's books very much and this is another fine work. He chooses several threads and follows them through his, and others, interpretations of how The Plague had an impact on many social conditions, political fortunes, the arts, and religion. It is not a study of biomedical detail or scientific exploration.

I can recommend the book for a general survey of ideas about some of the effects of the plague on the western world, but not the production of this audiobook. I must be overly sensitive to these kind of "noises" as I don't see anyone else mentioning it, but yuck.

a quick lesson on the bubonic plague

If you could sum up In the Wake of the Plague in three words, what would they be?

this is a lively and quick listen for facts about the bubonic plague. It is skewed towards the social impacts of the plague, as opposed to the medical approach..

Just the ticket

I enjoy books that use an interdisciplinary approach to explore a subject, such as "Salt" by Mark Kurlansky or books by Jared Diamond. This book was right up my alley; I learned a lot that piqued my interest to learn more about the Middle Ages in Europe. The reader was an enjoyable combination of cultured-sounding and conversational. The pace was just right for me to follow the details (while driving) without rolling my eyes in impatience. It was relaxing, yet stimulating.

Fascinating Material, Lackluster Audio

I thoroughly enjoyed the book’s information and connections to both the past and present. Truly fascinating material. The audio though sounds like an antique radio recording from WWII, very staticky and grating. The chapters also do not line up with the chapters in the book but instead are in random places which is mildly annoying. Definitely worth reading but maybe grab a physical copy of the book instead.

Very interesting and enlightening

I'm not much on history, but this book was written in a manner which kept my attention. Knowing how the many deaths might have affected current populations is very thought provoking.

accessible history

This is not really all about the plague, but uses that event as a starting pint to spin narratives about the century before and after the 1348-49 pestilence.

I had thought that Cantor would be difficult, but this was accessible, even entertaining (if you like late medieval social history). I preferred it to novels about the era, most of which are written in worse prose. If your primary listening interest is literature, this book can help establish the background for novels. If you are a fan of Brit Lit written or set in later periods, you will learn, for example, details of how and why all those estates became "entailed."

Cantor starts with facts from records -- inventories, litigation, occasionally art and literature -- to spin interlocking narratives. He occasionally tries to enter the mentality of the different classes. He mixes well-known names of the time with educated hunches about the life of the unremembered masses.

As a reviewer below notes, this method can be circular. The same style is used in "The Lodger Shakespeare," for example. I agree that the Tuckman book mentioned in the review below is more comprehensive, but the Tuchman and Cantor books are of much different length and intents, I think.

Cantor also includes a pre-SARS wake up call to danger of infectious disease in global village.

The narrator sounds like a late middle-aged, charming, slightly corny university prof-- and that's how I imagine Cantor.

Comprehensive look at the Black Plague

Well written examination of the Black Plague, and its effect on world history, gender relations, class divisions, and changes in labor, religious, and monarchical power. Also examines the origins of the bacteria, the fear of Jews and Muslims, and the rise of European empires thanks to the plague. Well narrated by the granfatherly Bill Wallace. Other audiobooks he's narrated fall flat, but he does well with historical, nonfiction subjects

Satisfyingly scholarly but fascinating

I have a morbid fascination with this topic and after a lot of reading I can say there is nothing new. But it's a good compendium of issues for anyone interested in more than the gruesome details of the biggest plague event in human history.

I could do without the admiring Marxist overlay, but that's what one gets almost universally with academics these days.

I'm surprised at the negative reviews!

I really enjoyed this audio book. Great content. Great narrator. Narrator is perfect.

Some of the negative comments I read were:
1) Skewed negative skew on part of author, making the dark ages out to be all bad, evil, backward and generally horrible.
2) Made out all lords and church officials out to be greedy, murderous villains and the root of all evil.
3) Incoherent book structure, dry presentation and cherry picked fact, and incomplete narrative of the black death because origin is not sufficiently covered.

I am not a expert of the Dark Ages but I have read SEVERAL books on plagues and epidemics including the black death. This was the best book I have read so far. The mysterious inconsistency of the recorded history of the black death was well explained here. The current leading theories the explained, symptom, time lines, outbreaks and environments were described/explained effectively, and researchers and historians and historical records were referenced. Through the whole book, records from the time are referenced. I found the entire book to be well referenced, well explained, effectively presented and believable. Sections were separated by population class, and had a timeline through and after the many waves of plague. For example, gentry, peasants and church officials had their own sections on how they were effected during and after the plague. I found this presentation effective, easy to follow, and in my opinion, this format was by far the best choice.

As for those complaining about the negative portrayal of the Dark Ages, well, uh, it is called the Dark Ages for a reason. People were greedy, racist, and locked into a class system that left many people stuck in poverty and servitude through the generations. Jews were blames for the plague and burned. People were tortured routinely. Officials were bribed. The medical/scientific people were ineffective against the plague and believed the plague was caused by sin, witchcraft, Jews poisoning, "bad humor"ect. But, even so, the author gives examples of educated female intellectuals, generous lords taking care of their surfs, providing churches, mills, and such, churches having female preachers and leaders. I'm not sure what some readers expected, chivalry, noble knights, fairytales and robinhood heroes? But, the Dark Ages certainly wasn't all white knights and gentile lords and ladies, but neither does the author portray all people and everything as horrible evil darkness.

As for the complaints about lack of focus on the origins of the black death, the author DOES address/explain it effectively and thoroughly. But, the title of the book is "The Wake" of the black death, meaning AFTER the black death, and so this is the focus of the book, which I found fascinating. There is many details and examples given that illustrate the times and effects of the black death perfectly.

I highly recommend this book. It appears to be well researched and referenced. It is well laid out and conveys its content extremely well. This, coupled with a talented narrator, made for an enjoyable as well as educational listen.