When Plague Strikes: The Black Death, Smallpox, Aids

When Plague Strikes: The Black Death, Smallpox, AIDS is a work of historical, medical-focused nonfiction by James Cross Giblin. First published in 1995 and aimed at young adults, the book examines three of the largest plague epidemics in world history to consider how they affected society. Critics praise the book for its accessible narrative style, and its comprehensive approach to epidemics. Giblin wrote comic strips and plays before he turned to a career in publishing. After working as an editor-in-chief at Clarion Books, Giblin focused on writing and researching full-length works. He’s the author of numerous award-winning nonfiction books.

When Plague Strikes dedicates five chapters to each of its three topics—the Black Plague, smallpox, and AIDS. Giblin examines the historical origins of each disease and traces their histories. He considers how the diseases spread, and how society reacted each time. After discussing these major epidemics in some detail, Giblin concludes by discussing the future of modern medicine. He believes that antibiotic resistance, and lack of alternative treatments, will cause an epidemic in the future. It’s impossible to imagine what the outcome will be, but Giblin admits that we should be worried.

What’s so fascinating about disease, for Giblin, is how people respond to it. Whether it’s the present day or Ancient Egypt, we react the same way. When we face an epidemic, we treat it like an enemy. We’re at war with something unseen, but no less lethal or terrifying. We feel the effects of these diseases for months and years. Just as society must rebuild itself after a catastrophic event, so we must evolve and survive when we face new viral threats.



Given that When Plague Strikes is intended for young adults and children, it covers the social, economic, and political implications of each disease. The book shows young adults how to combine history, science, and other subjects to develop their knowledge and comprehension skills. It’s also suitable for adults looking for a quick overview of these epidemics and how they shaped medical advancements.

When Plague Strikes begins thousands of years ago in Athens. An unknown disease spreads through the city, infecting hundreds of citizens within a few days. Greek doctors haven’t seen an illness like this before, and they don’t know how to treat the various symptoms. People die quickly, and the body count soon becomes unmanageable. Livelihoods are destroyed, crime rates soar, families disappear, and Athens never looks the same again.

When an illness appears and we don’t know how to treat it, and it seems beyond contemporary medicine, we call the illness a plague. Giblin briefly explains the difference between viral and bacterial infections, and why we can treat some with antibiotics and not others. He notes that, while we now understand infection control, the Athenians didn’t.
As a result, whole crews died at sea if one sailor contracted the plague, and neighborhoods succumbed very quickly. Overcrowding and poor sanitation made containing the plague virtually impossible.



Giblin continues his overview of the plague by looking at where it went next. He follows its journey across the Black Sea into Europe. War and invading armies carried the plague to new territories, and it spread wildly. Most importantly, Giblin notes, no one’s ready for the germ invasion when it happens, and all physicians can do is reflect upon the aftermath and what it teaches them about medicine.

The second part of When Plague Strikes begins in Ancient Egypt. Although he’s in good health, pharaoh Ramses V dies suddenly one day at the peak of his rule. His symptoms suggest smallpox, but we don’t know for sure. All we know is that citizens began dying from similar symptoms soon after the pharaoh’s death, which leads Egyptians to conclude that there’s an epidemic at work.

Giblin notes that the smallpox rash looks fairly like syphilis, at least in the early stages. When smallpox eventually hits Europe, people call it “the small pox” to distinguish it from “the great pox” of syphilis. It’s many years before scientists eventually find any treatment for smallpox, and it’s still a serious illness with life-threatening consequences.



In the third part of the book, Giblin examines the biggest health crises of our time—AIDS. AIDS spreads rapidly and reached epidemic levels a few decades ago. For many years, scientists struggled to find any treatment for the disease, but promising vaccines against HIV now exist. While these vaccines are still unreliable, and we haven’t tested them thoroughly, Giblin’s optimistic that we’ll find a cure one day.

Each new epidemic leaves scientists and doctors with questions to answer. However, once one epidemic dies out, it’s only a matter of time before a new plague infiltrates our world. We rely so heavily on antibiotics that we won’t know what to do when antibiotic-resistant bugs and viruses appear in large numbers. We’re already seeing the effects of superbugs in hospitals and communities, and Giblin admits we aren’t properly prepared for the next great plague in our history.