Summer of Fire and Blood

Reviews

“This is a riveting account of a seismic event in German history which conveys a real sense of why so many ordinary people thought they could change the world. Lyndal Roper writes beautifully and displays a compassionate understanding for the protagonists on both sides of this complex and bloody struggle.”—Peter Wilson, author of The Thirty Years War “Lyndal Roper is a breathtaking storyteller. Her explosive reassessment of the Peasants’ War is a theological, ecological, and social epic. She shows why the chaotic violence, symbolic arsenal of brotherhood, and maze of dreams and visions should matter to us in the twenty-first century.”—Joanna Bourke, author of Fear “Summer of Fire and Blood is an extraordinary and brilliant book. In Lyndal Roper’s evocatively beautiful, crystal-clear prose, the complex landscapes of early sixteenth-century Germany - physical, psychological, spiritual, social and political - unfold before our eyes. She shows us the dreams and deeds that shaped the Peasants’ War, the greatest popular revolt in western Europe before the French Revolution, and the ways in which that war shaped the future that followed. This is a profound account of an attempt to change the world, a sensational narrative that is both human and humane, illuminating, resonant and unsettling.”—Helen Castor, author of She-Wolves “Summer of Fire and Blood brings the drama, violence, and contingency of the German Peasants’ War to vivid life, thanks to the unparalleled scholarly and writing skills of historian Lyndal Roper. There is simply no more compelling or insightful account of this tumultuous mass uprising.”—Joel F. Harrington, author of The Faithful Executioner Expand reviews