Samurai of the West: A Handbook for Dissidents

by Dominique Venner, Alain de Benoist (Foreword)

“Nature as foundation, excellence as goal, beauty as horizon.”

Samurai of the West is the monumental last testament of Dominique Venner, whose adventurous life and many-faceted works championed the cause of a European renaissance with a style and breadth like no other.

Presented in the unique form of a meditative handbook and breviary, Samurai of the West brings together deep readings of ancient and medieval literature, excursions into forgotten history, and practical advice for upholding one’s bearings in the throes of the modern West. Against the tides of mass immigration, consumerist pseudo-culture, and geopolitical captivity that have debased Europe over the past century, Venner summons today’s Europeans to reignite their spirit by returning to our civilization’s foundational sources and rediscovering the enduring wisdom and ethos of our ancestors.

From the epics of Homer to today’s pressing issues, Venner shows how the existential heights and depths of European thought, art, and action can become a part of our everyday life anew.

367 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 1, 2025

About the author

Award-winning French historian, journalist and writer.

Venner was a member of the Organisation de l'armée secrète and later became a European nationalist before withdrawing from politics to focus on a career as a historian. He specialized in military and political history. At the time of his death, he was the editor of the La Nouvelle Revue d'Histoire, a bimonthly history magazine. On 21 May 2013, Venner committed suicide inside the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris.

Reviews

[Bobby Daugherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that begins with an account of a woman who has witnessed her homeland become unrecognizable as well as seeing her own children reject their heritage in favor of modern corruption. He goes on to remind us of the works of Homer and the strength and beauty of Japanese culture that has similarities with European cultures and yet it has not suffered as much recently. He shifts from this reminder of what we inherited to Cato's suicide in response to the change of Rome. That it was better to die by one's own choice than to witness the defilement of the homeland that you cannot prevent. So it ends as though we had just read a rather long suicide note. My most base regret is that if Venner felt this way he should have made his death as costly for the enemy as possible.