1. Why does the Black Death still fascinate us after all these centuries?

2. As human populations continue to expand, and the number of poverty-stricken people also grows, is a calamity like the Black Death inevitably part of our future?

3. It is a temptation to view the people during the period of 1347-1349 with some condescension, "those poor ignorant souls." Why is this attitude unjustified?

4. What prevented the recognition of the role of microbes in human history from being acknowledged earlier?

5. Giblin placed a question mark at the end of the title for Chapter Ten, "The End of Smallpox?" Why?

6. The role of the Reverend Cotton Mather as an advocate of inoculation contrasts with his position during the Salem Witch Trials. Why?

7. The "will of God" has been used to justify some of humankind's most devastating events, including plagues. Is this religious attitude at all justified...