Fortress Press

"For three decades James Kittleson’s Luther biography has been the best for a general readership. Hans Wiersma’s revision extends the book’s usefulness for a new generation with its additions and changes. It provides the right balance of theology, politics, and social history, ever inviting us into the story of Luther, all without getting lost in minutiae aimed at experts. This is the right book at the right time for those seeking a faithful compass to Luther’s life and times. It will be the go-to biography for anyone made curious by the 500th anniversary of the Reformation."

"Hans Wiersma's update of Kittelson's important book has provided an important service to Reformation scholars, but even more so to the average reader interested in one of the most important figures in world history. Wiersma’s Luther is at once full of passion and intellect, and at the same time fully human. Wiersma has placed his subject firmly in the context of the medieval period, and at the same time argued for Luther’s influence into the modern era, without succumbing to the dangers of teleology or flimsy arguments of causality."

"This thorough updating of a Luther classic is truly welcome. Hans Wiersma has maintained Kittelson's spirit, while taking advantage of new studies in a variety of early modern areas of research, and so reinvigorating a classic.