[.uk] Justinian's Flea: Plague, Empire, and the Birth of Europe (ISBN 1400153859)

Good Read:
Justinian's Flea is a very interesting book, especially the first 3 sections. However, the last section is poor enough that I cannot give this book a full 5 stars. I'll start with the good parts: The book is based on the premise that a bacterium, Y. Pestis, has played a much more significant role in human history than previously believed, particularly in the formation of Medieval Europe. William Rosen begins the book describing the background needed to understand the importance of Y. Pestis, the cause of the Black Plague. He discusses, the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the rise of the Eastern Roman Empire, Justinian himself, and the bacteria, Y. Pestis. I found these discussions to be the strongest part of the book, and the main reason to recommend the book itself. The discussions are concise, yet detailed. Society, religion, politics, and military affairs are all discussed, creating a well-round picture of the Europe of late-antiquity. All the while, Rosen's writing style is flowing and easy to read. It's the last section where the book falls short. It is here that he makes his argument. I felt that Rosen's writing became more convoluted than in previous sections. I wasn't sure where he was going at times. He seemed to get off track. Even so, by the end, he was able to tie everything together. I could be wrong, and others may find this part vital to Rosen's argument, but I think that Rosen could have made just as strong a point as he did without much of the last section, particularly the discussion about China. Despite the last section, I highly recommend this book if you are interested in late-antiquity, early-medieval European history. Rosen is able to weave an enormous amount of information into an interesting and easy to read book. I wish he had made his last section tighter; however, this is a minor complaint about a very good book.

A very hard read:
Justinian's Flea: Plague, Empire, and the Birth of Europe For non-specialists this book is a very hard read. It is a political and military history of several centuries before and after the reign of Justinian, and includes some of the religious history of the period, as well as the story of the plague. It deals little with the economic and social history of the time. The book describes the migrations, invasions and wars of the successive waves of peoples from Central Asia. These are very difficult to follow in the absence of adequate maps. Similarly with the succession of emperors and caesars: for readers with only a passing knowledge of the time, the relationships are difficult to unravel and keep in mind in the absence of any table or chart showing chronology and relationships. The battles would have been much more interesting if maps or diagrams were provided. The story of the plague is interesting in itself with the contemporary accounts quoted, but it does not stand out as compared with other plague literature (e.g . Philip Ziegler's `The Black Death). Interesting too are a number of the vignettes, such as brief story of Khalid the `the Sword of Allah'. The book seeks to explain why Europe fragmented into many states while China remained united, with the argument that this was considerably due to the relatively greater impact of the plague on the Roman Empire. But it does not examine (for example) whether Europe suffered more waves of invaders than China, or not. In my view the book does not fulfil its subtitle "Plague: Empire and the Birth of Europe". Perhaps readers with a much better background in the history of the time than I have would appreciate it more than I did. But if written for a much more informed audience, much of the confusing background detail would not have been required.

avoid like the plague:
Avoid this book like the plague. I am an avid reader of history and found this book one of the most poorly written history books that I have had the misfortune ever to read. The writer redefines the term pedantic. Historical premises are often followed by a minimum of three pages of material unrelated to the central point. By the time the reader comes back to anything remotely resembling the author's thesis the central point is nearly forgotten.Discussion of the book's central theme does not even occur until page 183. The author rambles on throughout and an editor is sorely needed. There is absolutely no linear flow and the author gaps from one historical period to another so frequently it is almost impossible to determine its relevancy to Byzantium. Beware deeply discounted Amazon book offers...there is a reason

Interesting:
Divided into three parts. Part one covers a general historical narrative of Byzantium from the fall of the West to the rise of Justinian. Part two surveys some of Byzantium's more notable cultural and military achievements for the timeframe (Justinian and his advisors were truly among the last great Romans). Part three is the actual plague and how it impacts greater society. The author's prose is conducive enough to reading, and he seems conversant enough with the topic. The topic itself is interesting. One can easily draw the following conclusion: Islam owes its existence to bacteria ridden fleas who wiped out two great empires, allowing a coalition of Arab tribes to sweep through their shattered remains. I waited till this book was reduced to bargain price before I bought it. It's a nice book, but don't pay full price for it unless you're a diehard Byzantine enthusiast.

Bio-historico-biographical-political science:
By my title I wish to suggest that this is a complex text. It is a somewhat difficult read: not really popular history. Some knowledge of the period and the theory concerning transmission of the plague is useful. (I mean its connection with the maratime gran trade and the identification with later pandemics, both of which are subject to scholarly disagreement.)The book breaks in the middle: the halves are Justinian's Empire pre-plague and after. There is surprisingly little concerning his rise to power, a good discussion of the construction of the church of Holy Wisdom and some discussion of the Hippodrome and the city walls, minimal discussion of the Patriarchate vs the Papacy, indeed of the Patriarchate in general. There is glancing discussion of the role of Monophysitism in its political ramifications and a bit concerning Arianism but little on the theological controversy itself. Bilisarius and Narses and John the Cappodocian make their appearance, as do numerous princes and potentates, but none are seriouslydiscussed in depth. A serious premise is that it was this period and the events which determined the boundaries and nature of modern Europe. Good discussion- some about Spain is really interesting. Still, one can argue the importance of Charlemagne and the rise of the Holy Roman Empire or technology, or Islam in place of the last gasps of the Roman Empire and the plague. And on and on. The vast area and extensive time span , and the tentacles of the Eastern empire means the events can only be sketchy at best. Thus, there is some worthwhile information on the pre-Islamic Persian empire and its interactions with the Eastern Empire that gives insight into modern problems. The author, for example, suggests the Zoarostrian era as one which achieved imperial greatness but is obscured or denied for theological reasons by contemporary Iranian society, which results in a sort of disassociation of culture . In all, not for the uninformed or casual reader, but not a textbook. Some things to think about. Some to disagree with. Certainly worth a few dollars and hours from a person interested in erly medievalism. By the way, the author does not presume knowledge of Greek or Latin on the part of the reader, footnoting present but not obtrusive.