Stite's book received the 1990 Vucinich Prize, awarded by the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies for the best book published in 1989 in the field of Russian and East European studies.

"The presentation is dynamic, fascinating, indeed brilliant, as well as fully expert....It is also a highly readable book....The book has already received much critical attention and great acclaim....In Revolutionary Dreams, we have a brilliantly presented historical work which is both pioneering and fundamental in its important field." -- Nicholas V Riasanovsky (speech made on presentation of the Vucinich Prize)