The Black Death of the 14th century was the most terrible and notorious killer of its time. This book explain why the Black Death couldn't possibly have been bubonic plague.

If the twenty--first century seems an unlikely stage for the return of a 14th--century killer, the authors of Return of the Black Death argue that the plague, which vanquished half of Europe, has only lain dormant, waiting to emerge again--perhaps, in another form. At the heart of their chilling scenario is their contention that the plague was spread by direct human contact (not from rat fleas) and was, in fact, a virus perhaps similar to AIDS and Ebola. Noting the periodic occurrence of plagues throughout history, the authors predict its inevitable re--emergence sometime in the future, transformed by mass mobility and bioterrorism into an even more devastating killer.

Preface.Introduction.Chapter 1: Birth of a serial killer.Chapter 2: The Black Death crosses the Channel.Chapter 3: After the Black Death: the French connection.Chapter 4: Tentacles of the plague.Chapter 5: England under siege.Chapter 6: Portrait of an epidemic.Chapter 7: The Great Plague of London.Chapter 8: How bugs and germs operate.Chapter 9: Building an identikit of the killer.Chapter 10: Debunking history.Chapter 11: Bubonic plague - a myth revisited.Chapter 12: DNA analysis - a red herring.Chapter 13: The true story of an historic village.Chapter 14: The surprising link between AIDS and the Black Death.Chapter 15: Assembling the jigsaw puzzle.Chapter 16: The Black Death in hiding.Chapter 17: Why did haemorrhagic plague suddenly disappear?Chapter 18: The dangers of emergent diseases.Chapter 19: The return of the Black Death?Chapter 20: Is there something more terrible than the Black Death?Further reading.Index.