"This scholarly biography of Lev Shternberg, a leading Russian anthropologist, will be of interest to his fellow social scientists as well as to followers of Russian history and especially to those concerned about the experiences of Jews in Russia during the late tsarist and early Communist years."—Jeffrey Johnson, Buffalo Jewish Review
"Sergei Kan has produced a superb intellectual biography of Lev Shternberg. . . . This biography succeeds—where many do not—in bringing the complexity of the subject's identity to life within a historical context."—Jeffrey W. Jones, Ethnohistory
"Kan, a professor of anthropology at Dartmouth, has produced a thorough study of Shternberg's life and influence."—Morton I. Teicher, National Jewish Post and Opinion
"This long-awaited intellectual biography of the founder of the Leningrad School of Ethnography, Lev Shternberg, by Sergei Kan is a landmark study both as a biography of an influential scholar and as a foundational work in the history of Russian anthropology."—David G. Anderson, Anthropos
"This is the biography of an exceptional Russian Jew. . . . It is also an exceptional introduction to the history and development of anthropology and ethnography in Russia which focuses on both the institutions and the relevant currents of thought. . . . [Kan's] intelligence and his mastery of the sources make this a model piece of research and a very valuable contribution to a number of disciplines."—Shaul Stampfer, East European Jewish Affairs
"This is an important book that informs the Western audience of Lev Shternberg (1861–1927), one of the leading figures in Russian and Soviet anthropology."—Tanya Argounova-Low, Sibirica