The War of the Poor

“A stirring account of the German Peasants’ War.” —New York Times Book Review

“Artful…cinematic…[Vuillard] knit[s] things together with a muscular, angry commentary on ‘the great sophisms of power.’ He never forces analogies with the present, but the uprisings he describes feel like part of a war destined to rage in any era beset by gross inequalities.” —The New Yorker

“A slender, vivid history of a 16th-century populist revolt that holds relevance for current times…[A] powerful, moving book…in which every word is important, one that deserves to be read multiple times.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“This unique and provocative account brings the chaos of the Reformation to vibrant life.” —Publishers Weekly

“In times of punishing social and economic inequality, not unlike the one we are enduring, messianic prophets such as the German preacher and radical Thomas Müntzer rise to mobilize the wretched of the earth to defy the ruling elites. Éric Vuillard draws on this epic moment in sixteenth-century history, known as the Peasants’ War, to remind us that there are serious consequences to unfettered greed and a callous disregard for the plight of the working class by a rapacious oligarchic elite.” —Chris Hedges, author of America: The Farewell Tour

“The War of the Poor is a brilliant parable of the burning rage that extreme inequality calls forth in the poor, and the terrified cruelty that the rich mete out in reply. This is historical narrative as existentialist politics. Its account of ecstatic populist insurrection in sixteenth-century Germany is written in the universal language of lived desire, and speaks directly, here and now, to me and you.” —Daniel Markovits, Guido Calabresi Professor of Law, Yale Law School, and author of The Meritocracy Trap

“A small masterpiece, concise and sharp as a knife…with a relevance at once searing, chilling, and astounding.” —L’Obs

“A short, incandescent text…superb.” —Le Monde des livres

“An entire world in so few pages. [The War of the Poor has a] historical and literary density that commands admiration.” —La République des livres