{"product_id":"the-dancing-plague-the-strange-true-story-of-an-extraordinary-illness-9781402219436","title":"The Dancing Plague: The Strange, True Story of an Extraordinary Illness","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA gripping tale of one of history's most bizarre events, and what it reveals about the strange possibilities of human nature\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJohn 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Sourcebooks\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/01\/2009\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781402219436\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 288\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.75lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.02h x 5.32w x 0.82d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/15\/2009 pg. 41\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/15\/2009\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/15\/2009 pg. 110\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"John Waller","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42917129355445,"sku":"9781402219436","price":15.29,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_5bbd7d8f-eb7b-4640-8ed0-6b8474dd081c.jpg?v=1687278242","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-dancing-plague-the-strange-true-story-of-an-extraordinary-illness-9781402219436","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}