100 Essential Books for Jewish [Hardcover]

RABBI D SYME (Author), Rabbi D. Syme (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2000

From Elie Wiesel's Night to Chaim Potok's The Chosen to Phillip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint to George Burns' How to Live to Be 101, the 100 titles profiled in this book comprise the basis for building a Jewish library to be used, enjoyed, and shared. Each entry includes a summary of the book's contents, its relevance at the time of publication, and its contemporary significance.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

No Bellow? Herzog? Scholem Aleichem? Maimonides? Every reader of Jewish literature will miss some of his or her own "essential" books and authors here: How can 3000 years of rich cultural history be reduced to 100 books? Syme, who is a rabbi, and writer Kanter have nobly managed a nearly impossible task in producing this discursively annotated guide, which includes sections on religion, Jewish observance and values, philosophy and theology, history, the Holocaust, Israel, and fiction and general works on Jewish themes. But no index? No bibliographies? No list of related works? Librarians?along with students, scholars, and other serious readers?will shudder at these omissions. Still, while the Schocken Guide to Jewish Books (Pantheon, 1992) remains an uncontested reference tool in this area, this new book has sufficient browsing interest to warrant some public library consideration.?Marcia Welsh, Guilford Free Lib., Ct.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Citadel; 1ST edition (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806519061
• ISBN-13: 978-0806519067
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,123,309 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Missing essential books. And including non-essential ones, February 17, 2005

By 

Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 100 Essential Books for Jewish (Hardcover)

This list might be called the Syme - Reform - Reconstructionist list of essential Jewish books. It misses many Jewish classics and includes works of marginal interest. Still it has many good books, and on that basis is of some value.