“There is no other book that that systematically works through the inherent institutional challenges (externalities, information failures, asymmetric risk) of epidemic disease with this kind of historical richness. This is an important and stimulating contribution.”—Kyle Harper, University of Oklahoma“Scholars will come to consider this book an essential reference, due to the specific angle from which it looks at epidemics and pandemics—there simply isn’t anything similar on the market. The author makes full use of her own expertise, which is truly impressive in many areas, including the general history of preindustrial Europe and the history of institutions.”—Guido Alfani, Bocconi University“This superb book investigates some of the greatest crises that human societies have faced, in the form of major epidemics from the Black Death to Covid-19. What emerges vividly is the dismaying mixture of selfishness and ignorance repeatedly displayed by the elites, notably by rulers at every level, clerics, and doctors. This is history that could hardly be more relevant, a powerful cautionary tale explored with great analytical skill.”—Robin Briggs, University of Oxford“Combining wide-ranging in-depth analysis with rigour and lucidity, this book transforms our understanding of how epidemics have been dealt with in history. Everyone interested in how societies deal with disease and in their resilience, in the past and in the present, will have to read this book.”—Chris Wickham, author of The Inheritance of Rome: A History of Europe from 400 to 1000“In this impressive work, Ogilvie draws on a wealth of historical evidence and judicious reasoning to explore the ways institutions have interacted and continued to interact with pandemics. Some cherished institutions tend to make disease transmission easier, while others could control the spread of disease long before modern science attacked the microorganisms that caused pandemics. Controlling Contagion succeeds admirably as a compact history of pandemics as well as a thoughtful discussion of the implications of the way we respond to these events.”—Timothy Guinnane, Yale University“Sheilagh Ogilvie deploys concepts derived from economic theory to enrich our understanding of historical epidemiology. Her analysis will be of great value to the specialist and general reader alike.”—John Landers, author of The Field and the Forge:Population, Production, and Power in the Pre-Industrial West“This remarkable and wide-ranging book is essential reading for anybody interested in the history of epidemic disease from plague to COVID.”—John Henderson, author of Florence under Siege: Surviving Plague in an Early Modern City“A stunning book in scope and method. To examine how human societies have dealt with epidemics over seven centuries, Ogilvie blends a rigorous social scientific approach with unusual sensitivity to local specificities and power structures. Her nondeterministic institutional analysis has broad implications for how we think about both the past and the present.”—Francesca Trivellato, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University"With this exciting new study of epidemic disease, Sheilagh Ogilvie makes another persuasive case for institutions as significant determinants of economic, social and demographic outcomes. This wide-ranging research offers new perspectives on the past and valuable lessons for future epidemiological challenges."—Tracy Dennison, California Institute of Technology