"This is a serious and accomplished synthesis. . . . Biographical vignettes enliven the presentation of ideas, and references to studies of regional diversities . . . give the narrative an uncommonly rich texture. . . . Lucid and illuminating. . . . It is the best book on the subject to put into the hands of our students."—Helmut Gruber, International Labor and Working Class History
"A synthetic narrative by a young academic scholar . . . who has independent ideas on an important subject. . . . This book is worth reading if for no other reason than its modest, but nonpatronizing rehabilitation from generations of Marxist caricature of a host of deeply democratic European socialists."—James H. Billington, Washington Post Book World
"One asset of this book is its lack of the overbearing personal partisanship one finds in so many historical studies of socialism. . . . [Lindeman incorporates] some recent and inaccessible studies in social history written ‘from the bottom up.’"—David D’Arcy, World View
"As a whole, Lindemann offers a more balanced treatment of the ideas and the movement of socialism than found in many extant histories. . . . A must for all college and university libraries."—Choice
"A competent and fair-minded study of a controversial subject. It presents much factual material and judicious interpretation in lucid prose."—L. S. Stavrianos, Los Angeles Times Book Review