8 h 21 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 8 h 21 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What good is a revolution if the people who win the streets still have nothing to eat?
In The Conquest of Bread, Peter Kropotkin puts food, shelter and clothing at the heart of political change. He argues that a revolution must meet ordinary needs immediately or risk losing the people it promises to help. His starting claim is bold: humanity already produces enough wealth to give everyone a comfortable life.
From that claim, Kropotkin builds a passionate case for a society without rulers. He asks how people might share resources, organise work and feed cities through free agreement. He challenges wages, including wages set by workers, and tackles a stubborn question: if everyone has enough to live on, why would anyone work?
What you’ll discover
- Bread before promises Explore why Kropotkin makes feeding people the first test of any revolution.
- Wealth built by everyone See houses, fields and machines as the shared work of generations.
- Cooperation without rulers Consider his argument that free agreement can keep everyday life running without government.
- Work worth doing Follow his response to fears of idleness and his case for pleasant work.
- Fields beside factories Explore how farms, greenhouses and a different division of labour shape his vision.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who love big arguments about how society could be arranged, who enjoy history from the barricades of Paris to Russian villages, and who want concrete figures and plans.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Wealth belongs to a shared inheritance
- Well-being matters more than employment
- Poverty makes private fortunes possible
- Bread must come before political speeches
- Cities must offer useful goods
- Shared work can leave room for pleasure
- Freedom reaches the workshop and kitchen
- Agreement can create order without rulers
- Needs should come before measured contributions
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 13 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
The Conquest of Bread in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Conquest of Bread
by Peter Kropotkin · 1892
Kropotkin asks how a city in revolt feeds itself, and finds answers in the market gardens near Paris.
Challenging2–5 hours to read2 languages
Learn a language with challenging classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
What would you do on the morning after a revolution, when the old rulers have fled and the people are hungry? Peter Kropotkin, a Russian geographer turned anarchist thinker, says most revolutionaries never ask.
The Conquest of Bread at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 40 min3 h 40 min fast, 5 h 35 min slow
- Length
- 66,700 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1892by Peter Kropotkin
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Humanity already owns enough for everyone
Kropotkin begins with a simple claim. Every child born in a modern society inherits an immense capital that earlier generations built. Fields, roads, machines and scientific knowledge are the work of thousands of years of toil.
On the American prairies, a hundred people with powerful machinery can grow wheat to feed ten thousand people for a year. So why are so many people poor? Because a few owners have seized the land, mines, railways and machines, and production serves profit instead of need.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 13 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1892
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 5 h 25 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Kropotkin, Peter. The Conquest of Bread. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-conquest-of-bread.
Kropotkin, P. (2026). The conquest of bread. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-conquest-of-bread (Original work published 1892)
Kropotkin, Peter. The Conquest of Bread. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-conquest-of-bread.
@book{kropotkin2026conquest,
author = {Kropotkin, Peter},
title = {The Conquest of Bread},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-conquest-of-bread},
note = {First published 1892}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Conquest of Bread
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Conquest of Bread about?
It is a plan for the first days of a social revolution. Kropotkin argues that society can feed, house and clothe everyone by taking common ownership of land, factories and machines and organising work through voluntary groups, without a government.
What does anarchist communism mean in this book?
It means communism without a state or wages. Goods are shared according to need, work is chosen and unpaid, and people cooperate through free agreements and federations of groups, much as railway companies or lifeboat crews already do.
Why does Kropotkin put bread first?
He notes that the revolutions of 1793, 1848 and 1871 neglected food while leaders argued about politics, and the hungry people lost heart. So he insists that securing bread for all must come before every other task.
The author
Peter Kropotkin
1842–1921 · Russian anarchist philosopher
Peter Kropotkin (1842–1921) was a Russian anarchist, writer, and geographer. He was born in Moscow and lived in Russia, Switzerland, France, and Britain. He wrote The Conquest of Bread, published in 1892, and Mutual Aid, published in 1902. He returned to Russia in 1917 and died in Dmitrov.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
