Jew Vs Jew: The Struggle For The Soul Of American Jewry - Softcover

author of "Mazel," winner of the National Jewish Book Award

Samuel Freedman brings the abundances of his intelligence, integrity, and empathy to bear on the contradictory soul of the American Jew. The result is a book that is compellingly absorbing, salutarily disturbing, an inspiring model of informed objectivity and honesty.

Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg

author of "Jews in America"

Samuel Freedman's "Jew vs. Jew" is an able and fascinating account of the religious ferment, and the conflicts, among American Jews today. He has listened especially to the young adults in their living rooms and in their synagogues, so that he can tell us about their quarrels and their hopes. This is the book that I have long wanted to read.

Jack Miles

author of "God: A Biography," winner of the Pulitzer Prize

In "Jew vs. Jew," Sam Freedman gives an informed and sympathetic account with an eye for the telling detail. "E pluribus unum," the noblest of American ideals, lands differently on every group included in the "pluribus." This account of how it has landed on the Jews will be of interest to every reader concerned about the future of the ideal itself.

Senator Joseph I. Lieberman

From Sam Freedman's eloquent and fair new book, there emerges a provocative picture of the Jewish community in America that has both flourished in the unprecedented freedom and acceptance this country has provided and been divided and diminished by that freedom. I read the book as a challenge to the religiously observant to remember two fundamental lessons Judaism teaches: love of, not just tolerance for, their fellow human beings and involvement in, not withdrawal from, the broader American community which has given them such an extraordinary opportunity to thrive.

Robert F. Drinan, S.J.

Professor of Law, Georgetown University

After centuries of persecutions and pogroms, about one half of the Jewish people in the world have finally found acceptance and prosperity in America. But their demons have not disappeared. This book dramatizes the agonies and the aspirations of those who were born into the faith of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This volume is filled with the moving personal stories of those who have to choose between faith and secularism. "Jew vs. Jew" is filled with insights and challenges for both believers and nonbelievers. It is meticulously researched, persuasively written, and amazingly readable.

Jonathan Rosen "The New York Times" A thought provoking and timely tour of Jewish-American religious ferment.

Stephen J. Whitfield "The New York Times Book Review" Freedman demonstrates novelistic gifts...he can make a zoning dispute in Beachwood, Ohio, as suspenseful as a thriller.

David Brooks "The Washington Post Book World" It is hard to imagine a more exciting introduction to the state of the contemporary Jewish soul than "Jew vs. Jew."

Melissa Fay Greene "Chicago Tribune" Fascinating, groundbreaking. Freedman, a natural storyteller...is even-handed, nonjudgmental, caring most of all about getting it right.