The Cambridge Companion to American Judaism Review

If you wanted only one reference on Judaism in America, you could do worse than this book. This is one in a series of "companions" that Cambridge is producing on topics that include Christian doctrine, Jesus, Martin Luther and postmodern theology.

The book is a series of essays written by scholars from across a broad spectrum of Jewish thought. It starts with a three-part summary of the history of Jews in America that hits the high points, includes dozens of important names, and sets the context for the rest of the book.

Topics covered in the other essays include denominations, art, interfaith dialogue and the Holocaust.

The book has its weaknesses – each essay is only as good as the author, and some are stronger than others.

And what kind of reference work on Judaism would have a glossary that defines "matzah ball" but not Yiddish?

Jeffrey Weiss
Dallas Morning News
10:53 AM CST on Sunday, November 13, 2005
(Cambridge University Press, 462 pages, $28)

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