Justinian's Flea

As a book about Justinian, awsome! I learned a lot about Justinian that I didn't know, and I have read about him. I learned some details about the Italian Wars that I didn't know, and especially about Justinian's activities in the East against the Persians. I liked reading where the plague came from, which was different from where we thought. I even enjoyed the parts explaining why the plague is so deadly, even though I didn't quite understand it.

What I didn't understand was why the book covered everything else, given the title. As several reviews have pointed out, the book is almost half-finished by the time the plague takes center stage. I read the book because I wanted to learn in-depth about it, and while I did get that, it seemed rambling. Much of it seemed irrelevant to the thesis. Especially the chapter at the end about Chinese silk. I think it would have been better to retitle the book with the plague being a part of many things discussed. I also didn't care for all the comparisons to modern times. I don't mind a few, but he made too many references to modern times for my taste.

Overall, a good book, even if it strays somewhat from what the title would suggest. If you want to know about the Plague of Justinian, this is the book to read, just be aware that it covers quite a bit more.