Journal of a Plague Year

I enjoyed this book largely because at the time I was getting sick with the cold/flu that all my friends and co-workers had. I kept thinking that I "had the distemper" and that "the pestilence was sweeping over us." Not so bad that anyone thought it was God's way of cleansing Southern California, but everyone was coughing and sneezing and generally sounding awful.

Journal of a Plague Year by Daniel Defoe (better known as the author of Robinson Crusoe) recounts the events that took place during the outbreak of plague in the mid-1660's - the year before the Great Fire wiped out a good portion of the city.

Highly recommended for all plague buffs. Also highly recommended for readers with an interest in medical history and/or municipal response to a biological disaster, this will prove very illuminating. Other readers may find the lack of chapters and most other breaks in the text distressing in addition to phrasing differences between contemporary English and Defoe's English.