A searing, insightful portrait of a one of the most enigmatic figures of the German Reformation

How did the son of a coin-maker from central Germany, Thomas Müntzer, rise in just a few short years to become one of the most feared revolutionaries in early modern Europe? Andrew Drummond charts the life and times of the man Martin Luther denounced as a 'Ravening Wolf' and 'False Prophet'. Far from the bloodthirsty devil of legend, he was a man of considerable learning and principle, deeply sympathetic to the misery of the peasantry and the poor.

"A blisteringly good book about personal enmity, and the difference between revolution and reform." - Daily Telegraph

"Drummond's marvellous romp of a biography - part jolly Simon Winder-like deep dive into 16th-century Germania, part sagacious reflection on the Reformation in the manner of Diarmaid MacCulloch - aims to free Müntzer from his detractors." - Spectator

"Drummond's biography of this volatile and subversive thinker is both highly readable and carefully researched." - Literary Review

"Andrew Drummond's skeptical and compassionate biography documents a life that is as much a warning as an inspiration to the modern left. Its evocative, exquisitely detailed panorama of Reformation Germany leads us to reflect on the tangled links between religious zeal and the successful exercise of political power." - Jacobin

"Full of clear, crisp insights that helps us understand the obvious yet surprising impact technology has had on art.
Perceptive and highly readable ... in Drummond's deft hands, Müntzer's story testifies to the extraordinary dynamism and fervour of the early years of the German Reformation." - Church Times

"An engaging book that gives a tidy primer on Thomas Müntzer." - National Catholic Reporter

"Drummond's skeptical and compassionate biography documents a life that is as much a warning as an inspiration to the modern left. Its evocative, exquisitely detailed panorama of Reformation Germany leads us to reflect on the tangled links between religious zeal and the successful exercise of political power." - Jacobin

"Drummond makes a virtue of the scant information available...Those interested in the political and religious struggles that shaped the modern world will delight in this well-researched case study in zeal." - Publishers Weekly