Steve Gross

A fascinating recounting of how the Conservative movement came to be. Lots of important lessons on how institutions are born and grow.

The writing is a little florid and somewhat sermony at times, but there are a couple of very good essays.

Weirdly uneven - sometimes the author seems to be addressing children.

I learned more about glass eyes than I wanted to.

Boring... and how did he write such a stupid opening sentence?

Never thought I would say this, but bad Christie. Dated and paper-thin.

Ending is twisty

The first half is excellent, the second half is just a summary of the current day with fish names. The illustrations are creepy.

Lots of interesting thoughts about human behavior. The writing style is breezy and easy to understand but suffers from typical “soft” science writing - invent a concept and then name it; for example, let's call this “fixated framework theory”.

Most of this is up to the usual high standards of the Orphan X series; however, two deficiencies: way too much unnecessary profanity and too much emotional fumphing on X's part.

Be aware - you need advanced college mathematics to understand this

Excellent book that makes the case for a concept of “organic” Judaism of the 21st century. I think the author makes several assumptions of foundational principles without stating them as such, but at least he doesn't wrap things in philosophy gobbledygook. Much to think about.

Excellent writing about being in an actual battle (although what do I know?). Still a high quality series.

Another excellent addition to the series but the length is starting to wear on me

Writing is outstanding and like the others, the book is too long

Very well written and very London-centric. Could be a bit shorter.

The first half is a good, compact summary of Jewish history. But the second half devolves into an increasingly detailed and tedious history of American 20th-century Presidential contests and increasingly, Podhoretz's involvement in them. Finally, he gives his answer to the title question in the last chapter, which is worthwhile. Skip the second half and go straight to the end.

Still high quality, if a bit long.

Most disappointing. Dugard's other books have been great, but this one reads more like a sermon, and a boring one at that. Constant references to the “Lizard Brain” in a book about explorers. Also, did anyone edit this? Page 177 - “produced a current of 650 volts” - voltage is measured in volts, current in amperes. Three pages later he describes something as “an explorer's wet dream”. Indeed.

First one of the series that I have read. The writing is excellent. Somewhat long, though.

Some good stories, some not-so-good stories

A weaving together of Handel's biography, 18th century English royalty and detailed renditions of each performance. Probably best for musicologists.

Despite the author's constant affirmations - few people with high school math will be able to follow this

For Mystery Bibliophiles only

A kind of sequel to We Have Reason to Believe, 40 years later. While Jacobs was undoubtedly a pioneer in modern Jewish rationalism, he falls into his own trap of fundamentalism. At one point, he rages that the Documentary Hypothesis is science; no, it's not. While it might be clever and compelling and even right, it's literary theory and there is not a shred of proof that it is true. Those interested in a counter should read Joshua Berman's Ani Maamin.