The Schwendingers have written an ambitious book in the genre (increasingly popular among academic sociologists) of self-inflicted penance. Perhaps it is the only course of action available to a particular brand of Marxist this side of crying "Professors of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your tenured positions!" The stated task of the authors is to provide a critique of the founders of American sociology, encompassing the years 1883-1922, by employing an historical materialist mode of analysis. Arguing that the historical development of capitalism has necessitated a shifting ideological underpinning, three versions of liberalism are distinguished: classical, laissez-faire, and corporate. The third version, predicated upon the socio-economic requisites of a situation of monopoly capitalism, began its rise to a position of intellectual dominance in the last quarter of the 19th century (1883 is distinguished by the publication of Ward's Dynamic Sociology). It should be noted, however, that much of the book is devoted to discussions of topics not strictly contained within this purview. Thus, extended treatments of natural law theory, laissez-faire, the French counter-revolution, German academic mandarins, a gratuitous criticism of Durkheim as a "bourgeois propagandist" (completely ignoring the recent plethora of commentary on Durkheim's political position, including the outstanding discussion of Steven Lukes), and an extended attack on Freud's understanding of authority and women are all contained within the two covers. Stated intentions notwithstanding, the thrust of the text is clearly one of moral indictment, not only of the individual theorists considered, but also of the American university as a tool of monopoly capital. The