Based on extensive interviews with pupils and teachers, this book investigates the potential of educational alternatives. Between 1910 and 1960 anarchists across the US established more than twenty schools where children studied in an atmosphere of freedom and self-reliance - in contrast to the formality and discipline of the traditional classroom. They sought to abolish all forms of authority and to usher in a new society based on the voluntary cooperation of free individuals. Participants included Emma Goldman, Margaret Sanger, Alexander Berkman, and Man Ray.