Although intended as a scholarly primer on Soviet economic reform, this book has more to say about the Soviet economy itself. Spulber, who has studied the Soviet economy for many years, understands both the mechanisms of command and production within the old Soviet mold, and he brings his great knowledge to bear in laying out the problem. The discussion of reform, however, is more fleeting and circumscribed by a focus on what Gorbachev and his colleagues were earlier offering as reform.