Written in the middle of the 14th century as the Bubonic Plague decimated the population of Europe, "The Decameron" is a satirical and allegorical collection of stories by Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio. Constructed as a series of "frame stories," or stories within a story, the narrative follows seven young women and three young men who take refuge in a secluded villa outside Florence in order to escape the Black Death. During ten evenings of their...

"According to the accepted narrative of progress, humans have thrived thanks to their brains and brawn, collectively bending the arc of history. But in this revelatory book, Professor Jonathan Kennedy argues that the myth of human exceptionalism overstates the role that we play in social and political change. Instead, it is the humble microbe that wins wars and topples empires. Drawing on the latest research in fields ranging from genetics and anthropology...

In the year 2073, the world as we once knew it has vanished. A devastating plague, known as the Scarlet Plague, has wiped out civilization, leaving only a handful of survivors who now wander through a desolate and primitive landscape. James Howard Smith, an elderly man who lived through the days before the catastrophe, recounts his story to his grandchildren, offering them a window into the past and the rise and fall of humanity. In a setting where...

“Plague stories remind us that we cannot manage without community . . . Year of Wonders is a testament to that very notion.” – The Washington Post

An unforgettable tale, set in 17th century England, of a village that quarantines itself to arrest the spread of the plague, from the author The Secret Chord and of March, winner of the Pulitzer Prize 

...

Unmake History. 12 Monkeys follows the journey of a time traveler from the post-apocalyptic future who appears in present day on a mission to locate and eradicate the source of a deadly plague that will nearly destroy the human race. Continue the journey of James Cole (Aaron Stanford), a man sent back in time to eradicate the source of a deadly plague, and his partner, brilliant virologist Dr. Cassandra Railly (Amanda Schull). While attempting to...

They call it Wanderer's Folly: a disease of delusions, of daydreams and nightmares. A plague threatening to wipe out the human race. After two years of creeping decay, David Arlen wakes up one morning thinking that the worst is over. By midnight, he's bleeding and terrified, his wife is dead and he's on the run in a stolen car with his eight-year-old daughter, who may be the key to a cure. Ellie is a special girl. Deep. Insightful. And she knows David...

"With the world consumed by a devastating plague, what was once a band of desperate survivors bobbing on the Atlantic ocean has now become Wolf Squadron, the only hope for the salvation of the human race. Banding together the remains of the US Navy, Wolf Squadron, and its leader Steve Smith, plans to retake the mainland from the infected, starting with North America. The next step: produce a vaccine. But to do that, forces led by Smith's terrifyingly...

"With two prophecies fulfilled, Gregor is now focused on the Prophecy of Blood, which calls for Gregor and 'the princess,' Boots, to return to the Underland to help ward off a plague. His mom agrees to let them go--on the condition that she travels with them. When they arrive in the subterranean city, the plague is spreading--and one of Gregor's family is stricken. Only then does he understand his role in the prophecy. He must summon all his power...

"Plagues upon the Earth is a history of human civilization and the germs that have shaped its course. At every stage in our species' past, micro-organisms have had macro-effects on the development of human societies. Kyle Harper proposes the first history of human disease to make full use of a radical new source of evidence: pathogen genomes as a biological archive and window into prehistoric times. We can now begin to reconstruct the natural history...

"June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic--and each other--and now their country is on the brink of a new existence. Just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic's border cities"--Provided by publisher.