Brand Luther

When Martin Luther posted his "theses" on the door of the Wittenberg church in 1517, protesting corrupt practices, he was virtually unknown. Within months, his ideas spread, ultimately catalyzing the violent wave of religious reform that would come to be known as the Protestant Reformation. For, as Andrew Pettegree illustrates, Luther was gifted not only as a theologian but also a communicator--indeed, as the world's first mass-media figure, its first brand. A contemporary of the printing press, Luther recognized the power of pamphlets, both in medium and colloquial language, to win the battle of ideas. Incredibly successful and widely imitated, the pamphlet raced through Germany like wildfire. Marking the Reformation's 500th anniversary, Brand Luther fuses the history of religion, printing, and capitalism into a revolutionary story of one of the pivotal figures and eras in human history.