The Thirty Years' War "up close," told through documents. Historical accounts of the Thirty Years' War have predominantly consisted of grand narratives of political and military history. However, what has been significantly overlooked are the concrete experiences of violence, coping mechanisms, and memories of the people, as well as their representation in contemporary media. Hans Medick's book offers new insights in this regard. In the form of a documentary micro-history, it brings to light life with violence during the Thirty Years' War. Numerous, some unpublished, personal testimonies and the emerging mass media of the time reveal astonishing, even shocking findings. It is the experience of violence from the perspective of individuals from all social classes, such as mercenaries and soldiers, peasants, citizens, and nobles, that sheds new light on the subject.