Brand Luther

How an Unheralded Young Minister Turned His Small German Town into a Center of Publishing, Made Himself the Most Famous Man in Europe - and Started the Protestant Reformation

By: Andrew Pettegree

Narrated by: Paul Hecht

Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

A revolutionary look at Martin Luther, the Reformation, and the birth of publishing on the eve of the Reformation's 500th anniversary.

When an obscure monk named Martin Luther tacked his theses on the door of the Wittenberg church in 1517, protesting corrupt practices, he was virtually unknown. Within months his ideas spread across Germany then all of Europe; within years their author was not just famous but infamous, responsible for catalyzing the violent wave of religious reform that would come to be known as the Protestant Reformation and engulfing Europe in decades of bloody war. Luther came of age with the printing press, and the path to glory of neither one was obvious to the casual observer of the time.

Andrew Pettegree is perhaps our most distinguished living historian of the print revolution, but he launched his career as a historian of the Reformation. That double vision positions him to comprehend this epic event not simply as a religious story but also as a story about how ideas were carried and spread in new ways by new things - things called mass-produced books. Printing was and is a risky business - the questions were how to know how much to print and how to get there before the competition. Pettegree illustrates Luther's great gift not simply as a theologian but as a communicator - indeed, as the world's first mass-media figure, its first brand. He recognized in printing the power of pamphlets, written in the colloquial German of everyday people, to win the battle of ideas. But that wasn't enough - not just words but the medium itself was the message.

Fatefully, Luther had a partner in Wittenberg in the form of artist and businessman Lucas Cranach, who, together with Wittenberg's printers, created the look of Luther's pamphlets, which included the distinct highlighting of the words "Martin Luther of Wittenberg" on the title page. Cranach also created the iconic portraits of Luther that made the reformer such a familiar figure to his fellow Germans. Together Luther and Cranach created a product that spread like wildfire - it was both incredibly successful and widely imitated. Soon Germany was overwhelmed by a blizzard of pamphlets, with Wittenberg at its heart; the Reformation itself would blaze on for more than a hundred years.

Publishing in advance of the Reformation's 500th anniversary, Brand Luther fuses the history of religion, of printing, and of capitalism - the literal marketplace of ideas - into one enthralling story, revolutionizing our understanding of one of the pivotal figures and eras in all of human history.

©2015 Andrew Pettegree (P)2015 Recorded Books

A must read for those who love history

This is a carefully written and quite insightful look into the magnificent use of the print media by Luther during the Reformation. I loved almost all of it. As a confessional Lutheran pastor I of course disagree with a few of the author's comments about Luther's motives and some of his characterizations of theological debates (especially with Zwingli and Erasmus). But overall a wonderful and engaging volume that is worth the read!

Great book!

Great book concerning Martin Luther and the importance of the rise of printing in Germany. Reminiscent of today’s rise of the Internet! But as others have said why leave out the last chapter?

Very Good . . . But Where's the Last Chapter?

Any additional comments?

This book is excellent. It's well written and makes a unique and helpful contribution to the literature currently being published for the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation. Given the information explosion of our day and the still new and ever-changing media of the internet, Pettegree's approach in this study—looking to the new and changing medium of movable print and woodcuts at the time of the Reformation—helps provide insight into similarities and differences between our time and Luther's.

Moreover, the recording of this audiobook is good. Paul Hecht has an excellent voice for narration and tends to handle pronunciation of names and places very well. There are a few times where it seems that he (or the recording) pauses in the middle of a word or sentence in an odd way that has the possibility of obscuring meaning. But these instances are rare.

However, I could not give this audiobook as many "stars" as it deserves because it cut off the whole last chapter of Pettegree's book!

Let em be clear—I'm not referring to the Acknowledgments at the end of the book, or an Appendix, or even an Afterward or Epilogue. This audiobook, which is labeled as "Unabridged," is missing the entire 12th Chapter—"Legacy"—found in the Fourth Part of the book. That's about 30 pages of primary text, summing up and concluding the thesis of the book, that are simply not a part of the "unabridged" audiobook.

It's strange because the end of the 11th Chapter clearly sets up the discussion of the 12th chapter. The word "legacy," which is the name of the 12th chapter, is mentioned multiple times in the last paragraph of the 11th chapter. That paragraph prepares the reader for the coming reflection on "the struggle for Luther's legacy" and the "debate over Luther [that] would follow" which "would embroil former friends in furious disagreement as his movement split into contesting branches," etc. Clearly, these are not the concluding lines of a book that has for over 300 pages, not left any of its themes hanging as loose-ends.

Where is the last chapter? And why doesn't Audible warn us that the book is not complete and "unabridged?"

Exquisitely written and read!

One of the engaging audiobook I have listened to. Not your traditional book on Luther but an excellent addition to any collection

Missing chapter

I think one of the chapters included is the prologue, so the prologue is named chapter 1 so there is a missing chapter. The last chapter in the actual book is entitled legacy, which is the real chapter 12, but instead the audiobook ends on chapter 11 (which says chapter 12) and is entitled Endings.

Fascinating

A really interesting look at the process and use of media in the Lutheran Reformation mixed with a biography of Luther that puts everything in context.

Last chapter not included.

This was a great book, read and performed well. However, the last chapter is missing.

Academic, entrepreneur, craftsman and prop

Luther’s journey is fantastically described with illuminating context to what made the man unique, as well as a product of an era where powerful interests splintered across Northern Europe.

Informed, Impacting

(From my Goodreads review - Audible note below)

This was a great read as a companion to Roland Bainton's classic Luther biography. The author is a British historian and specialist in the history of printing. In "Brand Luther," his particular lens on the subject is that of an informed observer of the phenomenon of the printing revolution launched by the Reformation, singularly Luther. His stance is dispassionate and his scope limited. . .almost. The narrative "Brand Luther" ranges widely over the Reformation's causes and effects, theological struggles and personalities, focusing on Luther as hero (though not in a partisan way). This is a boon for readers! Luther is so big the author can't help but betray admiration, which makes for good storytelling. Still, Pettegree is a pro, so the reader will see Luther critiqued as well as admired, the Catholic church not painted as villain, and Luther's friends and foes portrayed in dramatic relief against the background of 16th century Germany. Looming in that background--that which the book seeks to lift into the spotlight--is the nascent printing industry.

As a graduate of a Reformed seminary, I had little awareness of several facets of Luther's business-savvy personality and relationships with local (Wittenberg) printers, especially Rhau-Grunenberg. Luther had high standards of professionalism and an innate sense of timing his publications for greatest impact on either his academic interlocutors or his popular audience. For many of Luther's writings, Rhau-Grunenberg was Luther's only option. To see how he handled this situation, its impact on his management of the Reformation and the way he responded to persons--variously, with Christlike humility and/or business coolness--is to view a stunning portrait of Luther the human, a picture that reveals previously hidden virtues and flaws. There are galleries of such Luther portraits here.

Reasonably informed readers will find "Brand Luther" to be of value beyond its claim of a narrow scope and specialized historical investigation. I rated the book 5 stars for both its informative impact and its narrative interest. Luther scholars may have more to say. As for me, I highly recommend this book to any student of Luther or the Reformation.

NOTE FOR AUDIBLE READERS: I could have rated the narration higher. Paul Hecht has great pipes, and he handles all the German names and places with accuracy and skill. The one thing lacking, for me, is getting away from a "narrated" read to simply telling the story with emotive awareness and sensitivity to line and narrative arc. Still VERY listenable!

What happened to Chapter 12, "Legacies"?

My download and the online version was missing the last chapter, "Legacies".

Otherwise an intriguing book, though I would have preferred it to follow a timeline more faithfully