Cities of Strangers: Making Lives in Medieval Europe - Book Review

https://www.amazon.in/Cities-Strangers-Making-Medieval-Lectures/dp/1108740537

Cities of Strangers illuminates life in European towns and cities as it was for the settled, and the 'strangers' or newcomers who joined them between 1000 and 1500. Some city-states enjoyed considerable autonomy which enabled them to legislate how newcomers could settle down and become citizens in support of a common good. Such communities invited bankers, merchants, doctors, notaries, and judges to settle down and help bring about good urban living. Immigration was also shaped by dynastic rulers, who often invited groups from afar to settle down and help their cities flourish.
There was a great deal of difference between cities-language, religion, occupation-in shared spaces, regulated by law. But when the plague began to occur regularly in European cities around 1350, this benign cycle began to break down. High mortality rates eventually led to demographic crises and, as a result, less tolerant and more authoritarian attitudes emerged, resulting in violent expulsions of even long-established groups.
Tracing the development of urban institutions and using a wide range of sources from across Europe, Miri Rubin recreates a complex picture of urban life for settled and migrant communities over the course of five centuries and provides an innovative viewpoint with insights into Europe's past.
Examining how 'foreigners'-settling newcomers as well as settled ethnic and religious minorities-were treated in urban communities between 1000 and 1500, Cities of Strangers is exploring pathways to citizenship and arrangements for those who are unlikely to become citizens during a period of urban growth and its aftermath in medieval Europe.
'Miri Rubin takes us deeply into the practices of inclusion and exclusion in medieval cities across Europe, in Cities of Strangers. Introducing us into the variety of newcomers who have sustained urban life, she also shows us how the taint of strangeness has marked long-domiciled groups of Jews and even native-born women. Her compelling narrative reminds us how needy the migrants are at our gates and how universal our quest to belong is.

The Rules of Contagion: Why Things Spread - and Why They Stop

Suddenly, a deadly virus explodes in the population. A political movement is gathering momentum, and then disappears quickly. The vision is like a wildfire, transforming our planet forever. We live in a world that is more interconnected than ever before. Our lives are formed by outbreaks of disease, misinformation, and even aggression, which emerge, spread and fade away with a bewildering pace.

We need to learn the hidden laws that govern them to understand them. From the 'super-spreaders' that might trigger a pandemic or bring the financial system down to the social dynamics that make loneliness catch on, The Rules of Contagion provides compelling insights into human behavior and explains how we can better predict what happens next.

Along the way, Adam Kucharski explores how innovations spread across friendship networks, what links computer viruses to folk stories-and why the most useful predictions are not necessarily the ones that come true.

The must read book and good collections for your library to expand your knowledge. The book is available on Amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/Rules-Contagion-Outbreaks-Infectious-Diseases-ebook/dp/B07JLSHT7M

https://www.amazon.com/Rules-Contagion-Things-Spread-They/dp/1541674316/

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It is a very interesting book for people who want to know a little about "contamination" mathematics. The book covers not only epidemiology but also a much broader context of stock markets and social media, as well as the mechanism behind something that goes "viral" while others are not. This is not a biology book, as it was written by a mathematician, but not a mathematics book either. If you're like me-somewhat nerdy-you'll become familiar with key epidemiological terms and concepts, but you'll have to look elsewhere for the detailed math behind them. If you don't get into math, don't worry. The book is also perfectly suited to non-technical audience.

In his best popular science the Rules of Contagion are. The writing is flawless and clear. The subject is extremely important and fascinating. Adam Kucharski, a fascinating and definite guide to the secret laws of the way things spread, theories and memories, aggression and deadly viruses, was touched on psychology, medicine, network theory and mathematics. The book is also a very infectious example of its subject: you will want to make sure others will read it once you read it.