Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence: From Ancient Times to the Present

Some encyclopedias such as "The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers," "The Encyclopedia of Country Living," or "The Cat Fanciers' Association Cat Encyclopedia" are interesting and well-organized enough to be read straight through. The same cannot be said of "Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence," mainly because of the way its subjects are ordered. I would have been tempted to arrange the encyclopedia by disease, then historical occurrences within the disease category. Instead, the editor used a strictly alphabetical format that usually begins with the name of a country or city, e.g. "African Influenza Epidemic of 1890" is followed by "Albenga Meningitis Epidemic of 1815." There are also plagues listed under the names of emperors and saints, e.g. Antonine Plague, Plague of Cyprian, and Plague of Justinian. Luckily, there are several appendices including a "Timetable of Plague and Pestilence" and a "Geographical Appendix." One of the more interesting entries in the latter appendix is "Ancient History"--not precisely a geographical entity but containing references to plagues such as the "Thasian Mumps Epidemic" (c. 410 B.C.), and the "Cough of Perinthus" (c. 410 B.C.). This book was first published in 1995, so it is slightly outdated as far as AIDS (the only entries are for Africa and the United States), and some of the hemorrhagic fever outbreaks, although the Zairian Ebola Epidemic of 1976 is thoroughly covered. The SARS virus, and the new potential mass killer, the H5N1 avian flu virus are not included, but articles can be found on the H1N1, H2N2, and H3N2 influenza outbreaks (if you know to look under headings such as "Russian (Red) Influenza Pandemic of 1977-78" for H1N1.) The encyclopedic entries generally offer a discussion of how and when an epidemic started, how or why it occurred or spread, whom it affected, and what the eventual outcome was. Also included (when available) is the number of casualties, symptoms, and historical implications. For instance, under "Dancing Mania (St. John's Dance, St. Vitus's Dance, Tarantism)" the author reports that "...dancing mania was closely related to the flagellant movement--a cult desperate to find someone or something responsible for the Black Death..." The entries in the "Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence" are fascinating to browse, but if you are trying to research a particular disease such as cholera, you will be making heavy use of this book's 8-point-type index. A magnifying glass is strongly recommended!

I found this book to be a most helpful resource for researching the history of communicable disease. The entries are pithy, but well referenced. The bibiliography in the back of the book is a goldmine of reference material. This is an excellent subject-specific encyclopedia with no axe to grind and little fluff.