WHITE PLAGUE, BLACK DEATH: The Hidden History of Pandemics: How Epidemics, Public Health Policy, and Inequality Shaped Modern Medicine and the Politics of Survival
About this audiobook
Every epidemic in recorded history produces two sets of numbers: the deaths that are counted, and the ones that are ignored.
From tuberculosis and plague to influenza, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and COVID-19, pandemics have done far more than spread disease—they have transformed societies, shaped governments, influenced economies, and redefined the limits of medicine itself.
White Plague, Black Death is a sweeping narrative history that explores the world's most devastating epidemics through the lives of the people who lived them, fought them, survived them, and sometimes profited from them. Combining medical history, public health, scientific discovery, colonialism, politics, and human resilience, this compelling account reveals how pandemics became turning points that reshaped modern civilization.
Travel from crowded medieval cities battling the Black Death to tuberculosis sanatoriums, colonial disease campaigns in Africa and Asia, the HIV/AIDS crisis, vaccine controversies, and the global response to COVID-19. Along the way, discover the scientists, physicians, activists, patients, and ordinary citizens whose decisions altered the course of history.
More than a history of disease, this book examines the enduring questions every pandemic exposes:
Who receives care—and who is left behind?
How do fear and politics shape public health?
Why do societies repeat the same mistakes?
What can past pandemics teach us about future outbreaks?
Meticulously researched and vividly told, White Plague, Black Death offers an eye-opening exploration of epidemiology, medical innovation, social inequality, global health, and the human stories hidden behind the statistics.
A compelling and urgent read for anyone interested in epidemiology, medical history, and public health policy, White Plague, Black Death proves that the true story of a pandemic is never just the disease—it is the story of who decides which lives are worth saving.
Discover more
About the author
Mark Green is an author and researcher dedicated to exploring the intersection of economics, public policy, and global health. With a focus on systemic inequity and the hidden political structures shaping medical access across the globe, Green’s work challenges conventional narratives around infectious diseases and the administrative ledgers that govern human lives. When not researching international health policy or historical disease tracking, Green is advocating for the unrecorded voices in global health data.
