Todd Richardson Draws Persuasive Connection Between Little Ice Age, Wool Trade and Black Plague
LOUISVILLE, Ky., Oct. 9, 2009 — The mystery of the Black Plague — its origin, its carrier, the speed of its dissemination — continues to puzzle historians and epidemiologists today, summoning fearsome images of a disease that devastated Europe, killing off one-third of the population, and the possibility of its reoccurrence. In his new nonfiction book, "Plague, Weather, and Wool" (published by AuthorHouse), Todd Richardson draws upon his background in medicine and history, as well as his fascination with oriental rugs, to uncover an astonishing relationship between the wool trade, weather change and the advent of the bubonic plague in Europe.
Engrossing, thought-provoking and comprehensive, "Plague, Weather, and Wool" argues that the connection between the plague, the Little Ice Age and increasing wool trade with the East are not just coincidental, but vital to our understanding of this worldwide endemic plague. Richardson brings together myriad primary and secondary sources to form the foundation of his research, from firsthand accounts from the 14th century, statistical information and specialized knowledge about wool fibers, germs and bacteria.
Most importantly, Richardson illuminates for the first time the inherent link between the plague, wool fibers as an insulate against the cold and the icy spell of cold that struck Europe and sent the population clamoring for sheep's wool from the Great Steppe of Asia. He writes:
Moving disease around had suddenly become an easy process in 1300, expressing itself in the delivery of primary plague pneumonia from Kaffa to Europe. Once it contaminated textiles, it could escape into the air and become aerosolized from dead animal tissue and textiles, including wool or silk. It did not need an enormous crowd once it became involved in cold weather. Freezing temperatures with high relative humidity favor transmission, since pulverized and frozen sputum and cough droplets retain infective and virulent bacilli for long periods of time. This is almost an exact description of the conditions present in Europe awaiting primary pneumonic plague.
Addressing current manifestations of the bubonic plague, as recently as 2002 in New York, Richardson accounts for the sporadic events through the presence or absence of the three key factors of plague, weather and wool. In a world where rapid, global climate change has become a frightening inevitability, "Plague, Weather, and Wool" serves as an ideal reference for historians, epidemiologists and climatologists.
Todd Richardson was born in Muscatine, Iowa, and currently lives in Louisville, Ky., after retiring from over 40 years of practicing medicine as a physician. He is married with two daughters and three stepsons.
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