Eltzbacher gives straightforward descriptions of seven major figures in anarchism: Godwin, Proudhon, Stirner, Bakunin, Kropotkin, Tucker, and Tolstoy.

[1] Originally published in 1900, Eltzbacher's book was quickly translated into Spanish (1901), French (1902), Russian (1903), and Dutch (1903).

The reprint's editor preface provides a history of the book's publication and details on the author, translator, and publisher.

[2] Eltzbacher's Anarchism was among the most accessible compilations of anarchist writings in the early twentieth century.

[3] Kropotkin himself, in his 1910 Encyclopædia Britannica article on "Anarchism", commended the book as the best and most fair work on the topic, written with a full knowledge of anarchist literature.