Review of The Black Death A Personal History

The subject of the Black Death—the 14th-century pandemic that wiped out a significant percentage of Europes population— holds endless fascination for many of us. And theres no shortage of good books that offer details on its origin and spread, the measures taken by local governments to avoid or control it, the panicked reactions of people who witnessed it and escaped it, the gruesome details of the disease itself and, of course, the sheer volume of deaths. But much of this data is broad, general, spread out across the map of Europe. The student can study causes and effects, data and numbers, even, to a point, the human element. But most of the works written for a general audience lack something personal. It is this lack John Hatcher seeks to address in his unusual new book, The Black Death: A Personal History. Personalizing the Black Death By focusing on one English village and the people within and around it, Hatcher attempts to make the episode of the Black Death more immediate, more vivid, more—well, personal. He does this by drawing on the unusually rich primary sources concerning his village of choice, Walsham (now Walsham le Willows) in west Suffolk; by covering the events in detail from the first whisper of plague in Europe to its aftermath; and by weaving a narrative that revolves around everyday life. To do all this, he uses one more element: Fiction. In his preface, Hatcher observes how even the best and most abundant sources regarding events of the times cannot tell us what individuals experienced, heard, thought, did, and believed. Court records can only supply the bare bones of the events — notices of marriages and deaths; petty and serious crimes; difficulties with livestock; the election of villagers to positions of responsibility. The general reader, lacking the intimate acquaintance with the details of daily life that a specialist in the era enjoys, cannot really fill in the gaps with his own imagination. Hatchers solution is to fill in those gaps for you. To this end, the author has created a few fictional events and fleshed out actual events with fictional dialogue and imagined actions. He has even created a fictional character: the parish priest, Master John. It is through his eyes that the reader sees the events of the Black Death unfold. For the most part, Master John is a good choice for a character with whom the modern reader can identify; he is intelligent, compassionate, educated, and good-hearted. While most readers wont empathize with his lifestyle or excessive religiosity, they should understand it as defining not only what a parish priest was supposed to be but how most medieval folk viewed the world of the mundane and the holy, the natural and the supernatural. With the help of Master John, Hatcher reveals life in Walsham before the Black Death and how the first rumors of plague on the continent affected the villagers. Thanks to the late arrival of the disease in this particular part of England, Walsham residents had many months to prepare for and dread the coming plague while hoping against hope that it would overlook their village. Rumors of the most unlikely sort ran rampant, and Master John was hard-pressed to keep his parishioners from panicking. Their natural impulses included fleeing, retreating from public  and, most commonly, flocking to the parish church for spiritual comfort and to do penance, lest the Great Mortality take them while their souls were still heavy with sin. Through John and a few other characters (such as Agnes Chapman, who watched her husband die a slow, painful death), the arrival and horrifying effects of the plague are revealed to the reader in grisly detail. And of course, the priest is faced with the profound questions of faith that such harrowing and persistent misery is sure to engender: Why is God doing this? Why do the good and the evil die just as painfully? Could this be the end of the world? Once the pestilence had run its course, there were still more trials to undergo by Master John and his parishioners. Too many priests had died, and the young novices that came to fill the positions were much too inexperienced — yet what could be done? The numerous deaths left properties abandoned, uncared for, and in disarray. There was too much to do and too few able-bodied workers to do it. A marked change was taking place in England: Laborers could, and did, charge more for their services; women were employed in occupations ordinarily reserved for men; and people refused to take possession of the property theyd inherited from dead relatives. The hold that tradition had once had on life in Suffolk was rapidly giving way, as extraordinary circumstances made people look for new and practical solutions. Not Just Fiction All in all, Hatcher succeeds in bringing the Black Death closer to home through his use of fiction. But make no mistake: this is a history. Hatcher supplies extensive background in each chapter preface, and large portions of each chapter are primarily exposition, chock-full of historical fact and supported by extensive end-notes (resulting, unfortunately, in occasional redundancy). There is also a section of plates with period artwork that illustrates events covered in the book, which is nice; but a ​glossary would have been useful for newcomers. Although the author does sometimes get inside his characters heads, revealing their opinions, worries,  and fears, the depth of character one would find (or hope to find) in literature is not really there. And thats OK; this isnt really historical fiction, much less a historical novel. It is, as Hatcher puts it, a docudrama. In his preface, John Hatcher expresses the hope that his work will encourage readers to dig into some history books. I feel fairly certain that many readers who are previously unfamiliar with the topic will do just that. But I also think that The Black Death: A Personal History would make excellent assigned reading for undergraduates and even high school students. And historical novelists will find it valuable for the necessary details of the Black Death and life in later medieval England.

My Top Quotes from the Things They Carried - 961 Words

6.) â€Å"Most of this I ve told before, or at least hinted at, but what I have never told is the full truth. How I cracked. How at work one morning, standing on the pig line, I felt something break open in my chest. I don t know what it was. I ll never know. But it was real, I know that much, it was a physical rapture--a cracking-leaking-popping feeling. I remember dropping my water gun. Quickly, almost without thought, I took off my apron and walked out of the plant and drove home. It was midmorning, I remember, and the house was empty. Down in my chest there was still that leaking sensation, something very warm and precious spilling out, and I was covered with blood and hog-stink, and for a long while I just concentrated on holding†¦show more content†¦You feel an intense, out-of-the-skin awareness of your living self—your truest self, the human being you want to be and then become by the force of wanting it. In the midst of evil you want to be a good man. You want de cency. 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Human Resource Management Health Care Providing Organisation

Question: Discuss about the Human Resource Management of Health Care Providing Organisation. Answer: The Human Resources Management plays an important role especially in health care providing organizations. It should be remembered that the health staffs are responsible for delivering health service to the patients, and hence recruiting, motivating and retaining the right candidates is absolutely necessary. The health care providing organizations serve the patients in emergency, and hence shortage of staffs can be highly detrimental to the reputation of the organization. The workers aim at improving the health condition of the patients, and hence should be provided regular training to handle the patients. In order to avoid the problem of the organization being understaffed, the Human Resource manager needs to introduce Workforce Planning Model (WPM), whereby the HR must collect the information about the immediate needs of the workforce, and must start recruiting the necessary staffs to create pipelines for filling the future workforce needs (Leung et al., 2015). The health service providers must be provided sufficient training on a variety of topics like, Stress and Trauma Management, emergency preparedness, lifting and carrying patients, lab safety, and others (Weaver et al., 2014). Besides, while recruiting staffs, especially the volunteers, highly skilled and experienced staffs with clear personal and professional goals should be chosen, to ensure the quality of the service rendered. While sufficient recognition and appraisal can keep the volunteers motivated, offering high pay scale and long term benefits to the other medical staffs can surely increase their dedication. Poor relations disastrously affect the performance of an organization, and hence it is important to improve the working relationship with the HR. Seminars and conferences focusing on the importance of team work, should be held at regular intervals. Further, thanking the HR via gift cards, bonuses or free lunches can keep him happy and motivated. Team building activities can also be used to promote a sense of belonging in the HR. Reference List: Leung, P. P. L., Wu, C. H., Ho, G. T. S., Ip, W. H., Mou, W. L. (2015, December). Workforce modelling, analysis and planning: A feasibility study in a local nursing home. InIndustrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM), 2015 IEEE International Conference on(pp. 1337-1341). IEEE. Weaver, S. J., Dy, S. M., Rosen, M. A. (2014). Team-training in healthcare: a narrative synthesis of the literature.BMJ quality safety, bmjqs-2013.

Pearl Harbor Attack

Pearl Harbor is located at Hawaii in the United States of America. This was a military base of the US military forces during the Second World War. Japan was very keen on conquering the larger Asian region, having successfully suppressed China. It had entered into an alliance with Germany and Italy.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Pearl Harbor Attack specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This alliance formed the central power that would fight the allied forces led by Britain. This country was one of the strongest nations during the Second World War and its leaders were keen on asserting their control in Asian region. The United States of America had taken a low profile in the war at the beginning. It preferred supplying both weapons and food to both sides. This stabilized it economically, which would later help it in strengthening its military. Japan was weary of the US and wanted to suppress it as it was the only thre at to Japan’s conquest. The German soldiers convinced Japan that Britain and France were under control. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republicans was still recovering from the German attack. The only threat was the United States of America (Rottman 45). Tension between the two countries started building up in early 1940s. Both countries were suspicious of each other. The US was keenly monitoring the rate at which Japan was arming itself. Japan was also aware that the US was heavily armed. Japan therefore decided to attack the US for one main reason, which was to offer the US a devastating blow that would completely discourage it from going to war. They expected that after the attack, the US either would be too weak to join the war or would be scared. This would enable their advancement to other Asian countries since there could not be any threat from major powers. In 25 November 1941, Japan decided to launch its offensive. It attacked the US military base at Pearl Harbor. Thi s was one of the US main military bases located in Hawaii. This resulted to death of over 2400 Americans and wounded about 1300 people. Several ships were also destroyed and the harbor was damaged, though not to a large extent.Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The US had expected such an occurrence but had not predicted this kind of damage. The damage would have been worse but it was poorly planned. Furthermore, the military strength of the US forces was under-estimated by the Japanese senior commanders. It did not take much to repair the ships and get them back to the sea. The United States of American responded to this attack very swiftly. It was convinced that Japan was an enemy that could no longer be assumed. They could no longer watch this war from the fence but had to join it actively. They declared war on Japan. This immediate cause forced America to join the Second World War off icially. This reaction was expected by German and Italy, which responded immediately by declaring war on the US. However, Japan did not expect this eventuality. They expected the US to be scared meaning that it could not be in a position to join the war. The United States of America entered the war for two major reasons. One of it was to save its friendly nations such as Britain and France, which were under siege. In addition, it had to react to the attack on its military base. Although the US helped in suppressing the all-powerful Germany, its main target was Japan. Works Cited Rottman, Gordon. World War 2 Pacific Island Guide. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002. Print. This essay on Pearl Harbor Attack was written and submitted by user Zaniyah Campbell to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.