Justinians Flea, William Rosen
Justinians Flea, William Rosen
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Justinian's Flea
Plague, Empire, and the Birth of Europe

Author: William Rosen

Narrator: Barrett Whitener

Unabridged: 11 hr 53 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/28/2007


Synopsis

The Emperor Justinian reunified Rome's fractured empire by defeating the Goths and Vandals who had separated Italy, Spain, and North Africa from imperial rule. At his capital in Constantinople, he built the world's most beautiful building, married its most powerful empress, and wrote its most enduring legal code, seemingly restoring Rome's fortunes for the next 500 years. Then, in the summer of 542, he encountered a flea. The ensuing outbreak of bubonic plague killed 5,000 people a day in Constantinople and nearly killed Justinian himself.

Weaving together evolutionary microbiology, economics, military strategy, ecology, and ancient and modern medicine, William Rosen offers a sweeping narrative of one of the great hinge moments in history, one that will appeal to readers of John Kelly's The Great Mortality, John Barry's The Great Influenza, and Jared Diamond's Collapse.

About William Rosen

William Rosen was an editor and publisher at Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, and the Free Press for more than twenty-five years. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey.


Reviews

AudiobooksNow review by Edwin on 2008-12-07 16:10:23

Terrific work. Great insight for me into a time that is shadowy, but important and intriguing--and very well written.

Goodreads review by Kara on August 11, 2012

Can you say “bait and switch”? Justinian’s Flea, as its title, description, and introduction are eager to announce, examines how the bubonic plague epidemic in the sixth century contributed to the demise of the Roman Empire. Already on shaky ground but no means down for the count, the empire was stru......more

Goodreads review by George on December 01, 2008

This was a challenging book to read, even though I have a keen interest in the subject matter. William Rosen makes a valiant effort to tie together the collapse of classical civilization with the emergence of the Black Plague in the mid-7th century, but what's lacking is a clear or coherent narrativ......more

Goodreads review by Maria on September 13, 2011

Very well written, (almost unbearably) informative; reads like a mystery novel. Bubonic plague during Justinian's sixth-century reign -- much here to interest devotees of the place and period. Wonderful perspective, engagingly written -- self-deprecatory style, tongue-in-cheek erudition. Drawbacks: e......more

Goodreads review by Steve on December 16, 2009

As a rule it’s great getting recommendations from friends. An exception may occur if your friend is way more of an expert on the book’s topic than you are. In this case, said friend is a Roman history buff. To him, a book that assumes you already know the cast of characters in late antiquity, who co......more

Goodreads review by Andrea on February 25, 2016

I was pretty excited about this book because the plague of the 14th century gets so much more attention than Justinian's Plague, but I found Justinian's Flea rambeling and unfocused. The first half is a detailed history of Rome after it's split in two by Diocletian up to the reign of Justinian, and......more