The Third Horseman: A Story of Weather, War, and the Famine History Forgot

How a cycle of rain, cold, disease, and warfare created the worst famine in European history - years before the black death. In May 1315, it started to rain. For the seven disastrous years that followed, Europeans would be visited by a series of curses unseen since the third books of Exodus- floods, ice, failures of crops and cattle, and epidemics not just of disease, but of pike, sword, and spear, All told, six million lives - one-eighth of Europe's total population - would be lost. With a category-defying knowledge of science and history, William Rosen, the acclaimed author of Justinian's Flea, tells the stunning story of the oft-overlooked Great Famine with wit and drama and demonstrates what it all means for today's discussions of climate change. ' A rich interweaving of agronomy, meteorology, economics, and history.' Nature 'Rosen is a terrific storyteller and engaging stylist . . . While vividly re-creating a bygone civilization, he invites us to look beyond our . . . differences and recognize that we too live in fragile equilibrium with the natural world.' The Daily Beast 'A work that glows from the author's relish for his subject.' Kirkus Reviews