This volume constitutes a breathtaking achievement, in terms of the wide range of sources drawn upon and the remarkable grasp Pepper has of the whole sweep of modern Chinese educational history. The China Quarterly
...boldly conceptualized, copiously researched, and enormously detailed in its understanding. A major highlight is the author's heavy reliance on interview data to reconstruct the Cultural Revolution period...A masterly synthesis of years of scholarly research, it is destined to become the standard reference work on the subject for years to come. The Journal of Asian Studies
An excellent book, rich in data and sophisticated analysis. It proves again that Hong Kong interviews in the 1970s and early 1980s were a more abundant source of information on Chinese society than any of the available alternatives. It also establishes a paradigm for the study of 20th-century Chinese education which all future work in the field will have to relate to and which has implications also for the more general issues of development and modernization in China. The China Journal
...what Pepper has given us is a book that should be required reading not just for sinologists but for anyone doing serious work on comparative or international education. Stanley Rosen, Comparative Education Review
The relevant political context for each educational reform explored is presented with scholarly care making Pepper's book valuable to researchers in several periods of twentieth-century history. American Historical Review
The most important book of its genre that has been writen in the past twenty-five years...This work speaks eloquently of the importance of the historical perspective in understanding the origins and resonances that mark contemporary policy...In this case, an appreciation for historical context reminds us that ideas involving the nature of social justice as related to the promotion or restriction of equality of opportunity in educational terms, have been of crucial importance to the Chinese people throughout this century. East/West Education
With this volume, Suzanne Pepper establishes herself as the pre-eminent historian of China's efforts to adapt Western educational models to Chinese realities. Pacific Affairs
A masterly synthesis of years of scholarly research, it is destined to become the standard reference work on the subject for years to come. Journal of Asian Studies
