René van der Veer is Casimir Professor of the History of Education at Leiden University, Netherlands. He is the author of articles and books about the history of developmental psychology and education. His current fields of interest include attachment theory, parenting advice and cultural-historical theory. Among his major books are Understanding Vygotsky (1991, with J. Valsiner), The Vygotsky Reader (1994, with J. Valsiner), The Social Mind (2000, with J. Valsiner) and The Cambridge Handbook of Cultural-Historical Psychology (2014, with A. Yasnitsky and M. Ferrari).

In this concise intellectual biography of L. S. Vygotsky, eminent Vygotskian authority Rene van der Veer has written an accessible account of the major periods of Vygotsky's career, reviewing the development of Vygotsky's thinking in plain and often witty language, a service of immeasurable importance, given Vygotsky's notorious indifference to his readers' sensibilities... This volume is straightforward and edifying enough for undergraduates, and stimulating and informative enough for those who have been immersed in Vygotskian scholarship for many decades. -- Peter Smagorinsky, The University of Georgia, USA

• ForewordSeries Editor's PrefacePrefaceIntroductionPart I: Intellectual Biography 1. Lev VygotskyPart II: Critical Exposition of Vygotsky's Work 2. Early Writings3. Creating Cultural-historical Theory4. The Zone of Proximal Development 5. Cross-cultural EducationPart III: The Reception, Influence and Relevance of Vygotsky's Work Today 6. Contemporary Educational Research7. ConclusionsBibliographyName IndexSubject Index