BIBLIO is the largest independent book marketplace in the world, with over 100 million books.

Skip to content

War Primer
Stock photo: cover may vary

War Primer Paperback - 2017

by Bertolt Brecht; John Willett (Editor)

Add to wish list

Reader reviews for War Primer

From the publisher

A terrifying series of short poems by one of the world's leading playwrights, set to images of World War II

In this singular book written during World War Two, Bertolt Brecht presents a devastating visual and lyrical attack on war under modern capitalism.

He takes photographs from newspapers and popular magazines, and adds short lapidary verses to each in a unique attempt to understand the truth of war using mass media.

Pictures of catastrophic bombings, propaganda portraits of leading Nazis, scenes of unbearable tragedy on the battlefield -- all these images contribute to an anthology of horror, from which Brecht's perceptions are distilled in poems that are razor-sharp, angry and direct.

The result is an outstanding literary memorial to World War Two and one of the most spontaneous, revealing and moving of Brecht's works.

Details

  • Title War Primer
  • Author Bertolt Brecht; John Willett (Editor)
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Paperback
  • Pages 112
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Verso
  • Publication date 2017-05-02
  • Features Bibliography
  • ISBN 9781784782085 / 1784782084
  • Weight 0.4 lbs (0.18 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.4 in (23.37 x 15.49 x 1.02 cm)
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 1940's
    • Cultural Region: British
  • Category History - Military / War
  • Library of Congress subjects Poetry, World War, 1939-1945
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 2017288723
  • Dewey Decimal Code 940.530

About the author

Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) was a German poet, playwright and theatre director. One of his country's most famous writers, he was forced into exile in 1933, returning from the United States to Switzerland in 1947, and to East Berlin in 1949. Some of his most famous plays are The Threepenny Opera, Mother Courage, Life of Galileo and The Caucasian Chalk Circle.