Who Would Like This Book:
If you enjoy peculiar slices of history and love having a good "Did you know?" story up your sleeve, this book is for you! Waller brings to life the mysterious 1518 Strasbourg dancing mania, weaving together the social, religious, and psychological threads of late medieval Europe. History buffs, science fans, and anyone curious about quirky medical mysteries or mass hysteria will find plenty to dig into. The writing is engaging and accessible - think page-turning history meets fascinating case study.
Who May Not Like This Book:
Readers looking for a completely balanced investigation might be put off by the book’s firm stance on certain theories (while skipping others altogether). If you crave exhaustive footnotes or are bothered by a single interpretive viewpoint, you might find the sourcing and lack of alternative explanations a little frustrating. Some may also find the more speculative psychological angles less convincing, particularly in the final chapter.
About:
"Dancing Plague" by John Waller delves into the historical event of the Dancing Plague that struck Strasbourg, Germany in 1518. Through well-documented facts and detailed research, the author pieces together the social and political events of the time to reveal how such an odd phenomenon could occur. Waller argues that the psychological stress experienced by the residents of Strasbourg due to famine, unrest, and corrupt church leaders led to a psychological plague, with only religious solutions providing a cure.
Waller's writing style is described as engaging, well-written, and informative, making dry historical details exciting and almost novel-like. is divided into three parts, with the first section exploring the life of European peasantry in the Medieval era, the second section focusing on the 1518 outbreak in Strasbourg, and the final section examining other instances of mass hysteria. The author's storytelling skills make scientific history accessible and interesting, providing a synthesis of facts, interpretation, and myth surrounding the Dancing Plague.
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From The Publisher:
A gripping tale of one of history's most bizarre events, and what it reveals about the strange possibilities of human nature
In the searing July heat of 1518, Frau Troffea stepped into the streets of Strasbourg and began to dance. Bathed in sweat, she continued to dance. Overcome with exhaustion, she stopped, and then resumed her solitary jig a few hours later. Over the next two months, roughly four hundred people succumbed to the same agonizing compulsion. At its peak, the epidemic claimed the lives of fifteen men, women, and children a day. Possibly 100 people danced to their deaths in one of the most bizarre and terrifying plagues in history.
John Waller compellingly evokes the sights, sounds, and aromas; the diseases and hardships; the fervent supernaturalism and the desperate hedonism of the late medieval world. Based on new evidence, he explains why the plague occurred and how it came to an end. In doing so, he sheds light on the strangest capabilities of the human mind and on our own susceptibility to mass hysteria.
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