The Bloomsbury Companion to Jewish Studies

[The Bloomsbury Companion to Jewish Studies] boldly seeks to introduce all the major areas of the discipline and give the reader a concise, informative and up-to-date account of the wide-ranging developments in each ... [It] proves to be a wealth of information and a very useful starting point for lay-person or specialist alike ... [and] can be recommended as a first, non-overwhelming, port of call for all interested parties. * Journal of Semitic Studies *
Dean Phillip Bell and the contributors deserve much credit for producing this excellent reader about the state and future of Jewish Studies. The Bloomsbury Companion to Jewish Studies serves as a useful introduction for students and scholars alike. The essays are well written, concise, and informative. In addition to tracing Jewish Studies from the biblical and rabbinical period to the present several topical essays cover more recent fields of study such as gender, demography, and Israel Studies. -- Tobias Brinkmann, Penn State University, USA
The Bloomsbury Companion to Jewish Studies brings together some of the world's leading authorities on Jewish history, society, and culture to provide a rigorous, yet readable, resource for any student, whether in a traditional academic setting or in informal education. Particularly refreshing is the project's focus on the rise of Jewish Studies as a global phenomenon. The Companion's emphasis on the global reminds students that Jews in the past maintained a creative tension between the local culture of the places they lived and global Jewish connection through texts and language, and that Jewish Studies in the present appears around the world, but in each place manifests itself differently. The book is also particularly useful for its helpful maps, timelines, glossary, and bibliography. -- David Shneer, University of Colorado Boulder, USA