Book excerpt: " . . . an exciting, first-rate contribution to our understanding of Soviet history on several levels . . . and the relationship between tsarist and Soviet educational policies and practices." —Ben Eklof "Larry E. Holmes' book is a fine, expert study of a difficult topic." —The Historian " . . . this first-rate work definitely points the way toward a new understanding of the Soviet Union in the 1920s." —Journal of Modern History " . . . a succinct and original study of early Soviet education and an engaging disaggregation of the convoluted relations among ideology, politics, and social reality in a revolutionary society . . . This well-researched, innovative, and insightful study is required reading for any serious student of early Soviet history." —The Russian Review ". . . elegantly written, a pithy fast paced, and intersting book . . ." —East West Education Larry Holmes examines Soviet school policy from 1917 to 1931 in its ideological, political, institutional, and social dimensions.