New Light on the Black Death, The Cosmic Connection by Mike Baillie

[domi]

I have finished reading this relatively short book (a little over 200 pages) and I found it to be accessible for somebody not familiar with the field of study.

What is this book about, other than what the title obviously alludes at?
Well, in the words of the author, who summarizes it quit well in the preface:

... instead as a dendrochronologist and a paleoecologist...I try to see what story can be conjured from the wide-ranging scientific evidence relating to any given period; in this case the fourteenth century. So this book is an attempt to pull together a picture of the environmental happenings across the fourteenth century that can act as a backdrop for the plague, whatever it was, that arrived into Europe in 1348.

Mike Bailie does a really great job of concisely building up the evidence for the influence of a cosmic hand in the black death by covering:
- dendrochronology (tree ring studies)
- radiocarbon
- ice core records
- myth
- historically documented fireballs, earthquakes, tsunamis
- plague
- comet frequencies

At the end of the book he wraps it up nicely and comes full circle by saying:

It seems inescapable that the history of the fourteenth century (and quite a number of other centuries) must now begin to take account of the records that are written in both the trees and the ice. It really does appear that the key issues, previously missing in considerations of the Black Death, are comets, impacts, earthquakes, and corruption of the atmosphere[emphasis by the author]

After reading this book a lot more events in our history are starting to make sense and have made me more of a realist as far as the workings of the universe, the (relatively) fragile nature of humanity and the role comets and meteors seem to play as cosmic agents of change showing up periodically to 'stir things up'.

Indeed, change is coming to America (and the rest of the world).

I want to conclude by quoting the author in his introduction since the below has become true for me as well:

Through tree-rings, and the environmental events highlighted by them, I have become an environmental catastrophist

 

[Gertrudes]

I was going to get this book when it first came out.

I have just checked it and it is now being sold at amazon.uk at a staggering £117 (roughly 140euros)!
Funny how books that strongly challenge what is commonly known become so expensive.

 

[Ollie]

I was going to get this book when it first came out.

I have just checked it and it is now being sold at amazon.uk at a staggering £117 (roughly 140euros)!
Funny how books that strongly challenge what is commonly known become so expensive.

Well, I bought it last year, or it may have been the year before, for a lot less than that, closer to GBP17. :)

Domi's review of the book is spot on.

 

[Gertrudes]

Domi's review of the book is spot on.

It seems like a must read :)

The book can be found for a reasonable price here: _http://www.oxbowbooks.com/bookinfo.cfm/ID/48160//Location/Oxbow

 

[1984]

I have finished reading this relatively short book (a little over 200 pages) and I found it to be accessible for somebody not familiar with the field of study.

I agree. When the book was recommended awhile back, I bought it and was concerned that it would be a bit 'over my head' field-wise. It was one of the most easily read and absorbed books I've read on any topic. He ties a lot of information together in an almost story-telling way. I highly recommend it. Great book! :)

 

[Cosmos]

Scientist have found the first extraterrestrial Protein inside a meteorite:

First extraterrestrial PROTEIN discovered inside a meteorite

The protein found in the meteorite that landed in Algeria - hemolithin - contains iron and lithium, suggesting that the building blocks of life could already exist in space.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Scientists Claim to Have Found The First Known Extraterrestrial Protein in a Meteorite

A new discovery could be a clue for us to see if life could emerge elsewhere in the Solar System.

www.sciencealert.com

[2002.11688] Hemolithin: a Meteoritic Protein containing Iron and Lithium

arxiv.org