New Light on the Black Death The Cosmic Connection

by Baillie, Mike

• ISBN13: 9780752435985
• ISBN10: 0752435981
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-09-15
• Publisher: Tempus
• More Book Details

Summary

Over the years doubts have been expressed about the accepted view that the Black Death was caused by bubonic plague. By looking at the evidence of tree-rings and ice cores, Mike Baillie, professor of dendrochronology, has identified a series of natural catastrophes at the beginning of the 14th century caused by meteor strikes. On the basis of the current scientific evidence and of contemporary accounts of the nature and spread of the disease, he is convinced that the disease was airborne, not carried by rats. This fascinating book reveals the detective that led to this revolutionary conclusion.

Author Biography

Mike Baillie is a leading expert in dendrochronology, or dating by means of tree-rings, and is the author of Exodus to Arthur: Catastrophic Encounters with Comets.

Table of Contents

Preface	7	(2)
Introduction	9	(106)
1 How tree-ring research highlights the fourteenth century	15	(12)
2 The global picture	27	(14)
3 The radiocarbon story	41	(10)
4 The Americas	51	(8)
5 Descriptive myth	59	(10)
6 Descriptive metaphor	69	(12)
7 Earthquakes and other issues	81	(12)
8 More on earthquakes	93	(12)
9 Back to the tree rings	105	(10)
10 Changing gear	115	(12)
11 The Lewis chapter	127	(8)
12 The 1290's set the tone	135	(8)
13 Fourteenth-century ice and other records	143	(6)
14 The plague decade	149	(4)
15 Comet frequencies	153	(8)
16 Further elaboration on ammonium	161	(12)
17 Rounding out the story	173	(8)
18 Toads and snakes and dragons	181	(4)
19 Drawing together the strands	185	(14)
Postscript	199	(4)
Appendices	203	(6)
Endnotes	209	(12)
Index	221