It's the plaaaaaague!

[damned_colonial]

It's July 1st. Let the "Plagues and Pandemics" discussion begin!

I'll be posting some questions/prompts for discussion over the next month, at least one a week and hopefully a bit more than that. If anyone else has points for discussion, please feel free to post with them. I am responsible for making sure *some* discussion posts happen, but I'm happy to share!

For now I'd like to open up with something very general:

What have you noticed are the main similarities and differences between the various plague stories you've read?

What impressions did you get regarding the author's historical research? How do you think the author's understanding of the period in question affected the way the story was told?

Comments

[epershand]

I read Doomsday Book, A Journal of the Plague Year, and The Great Influenza (nonfiction about 1918 inflenza pandemic). So I hit two influenzas, two plagues, and no cholera, etc.

A couple of things I noticed across books:
- The idea of a pandemic as an almost supernatural occurance, striking where, when and whom it chooses and completely out of human control.
- Related, the battle of humans and technology against disease.
- All three books layed down moral judgements, JotPY and DB against those fleeing the plague who brought it with them, and GI againt the public health officials who lied about the extent of the pandemic to tone down the panic.