Schama

Schama, an acclaimed historian and documentarian, shows how science, politics, religion and prejudice have shaped the fight against plagues and pandemics over the centuries, highlighting the stories of scientists and activists who fought for inoculation against disease in the face of opposition from government leaders, religious reactionaries and self-interested physicians.

Analysis: “The country is in a waiting room,” said Simon Schama, a British historian.

“The country is in a waiting room,” said Simon Schama, the British historian and author of “A History of Britain.”

Schama promptly posted a stirring plea to YouTube to keep the picture in Britain and available to the public.

Simon Schama, the great British historian of European cultural history, had not laid eyes on it either, until a few weeks ago, when London’s National Portrait Gallery gave him a look.