157 Book reviews Wacana Vol. 25 No. 1 (2024): 157-160 © 2024 Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia Abd Rahman Hamid | DOI: 10.17510/wacana.v25i1.1724. Book reviews Suryadi, Baginda Dahlan Abdoellah; Konteks sejarah dan kisah hidup hulpleraar bahasa Melayu pertama di Universiteit Leiden dan aktivis Perhimpunan Hindia. Yogyakarta / Medan: Gre Publishing / UMSU Press, 2023, xxii + 814 pp. ISBN 978 623 408 401 6. Price: IDR 265,000 (softcover). Abd Rahman Hamid Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Intan Lampung, Indonesia rahmanhamid@radenintan.ac.id The publication of Suryadi’s work marks a significant milestone in Indonesian historiography, addressing a notable gap in our understanding of the emergence of Indonesian nationalism in the Netherlands during the early twentieth century. While existing scholarship has predominantly focused on the third decade, particularly the Indonesische Vereeniging (1922-1925) later the Perhimpunan Indonesia (1925- 1930), Suryadi’s work sheds light on the seeds of Indonesian nationalism sown by Baginda Dahlan Abdoellah (1895-1950) a decade earlier through the Indische Vereeniging (1908-1922). Suryadi’s book not only presents a biography of Dahlan Abdoellah but also offers a comprehensive exploration of the evolution of Indonesian nationalism in the Netherlands, tracing its roots from the evolution of the nationalist movement period to the conclusion of the revolutionary era in 1950. It begins by stating the rationale underlying the writing of the book (Chapter 1), and this is followed by a description of the socio-cultural conditions of Dahlan’s birthplace in Pariaman up to his graduation from Kweekschool (Royal School) in Fort de Kock (now Bukittinggi) (Chapter 2). After graduating, Dahlan, Tan Malaka, and one other friend went to the Netherlands to continue his studies. He was only 18 when he arrived in the Netherlands, and was following in the steps of two family members from Pariaman, Djamaloedin Rasad and Zainoedin Rasad. He studied at Haagsch Genootschap Kweekschool Den Haag (1913-1915) (Chapter 3) and later at the Leiden University (1915-1924), majoring in Eastern languages. In Chapter 4, Suryadi’s study delves deeply into the issue of Indonesian nationalism, making it the focal point of the book. Dahlan Abdoellah’s