Freedman spent two years and nine months researching and writing this book; the subject is obviously close to his heart but he has worked hard to be scrupulously fair. He skillfully weaves history, both ancient and modern, American and Israeli, into the twentieth-century American events he has chosen to illustrate conflicts between different Jewish factions.

A chapter is given to each of the following:
1963 (Camp Kinderwelt, New York) - the story of Sharon, from a Labor Zionist family, and what the camp meant to her; the camp's decline in popularity and eventual replacement by an Orthodox settlement, hostile to Zionism, whose mayor says of Kinderwelt, "Secular Judaism is failure."

1977-1983 (Denver, Colorado) - an unprecedented experiment in cooperation among Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform rabbis to educate converts, which fails when the Orthodox withdraw, declaring that such conversions should not be considered valid.

1987-89 (Los Angeles) - the Library Minyan conflict over whether prayer to the Matriarchs should be included in the Amidah - after much anguished discussion, a vote permits the prayer, but over a period of time, few choose to include it...

1993-97 (Jacksonville, Fla.) - the story of Harry Shapiro, an Orthodox Jew who plants a supposedly dud bomb in the Conservative Jewish Center, hoping to keep people from hearing Shimon Peres speak.

1995-99 (New Haven, Conn.) - a group of Orthodox young people sue Yale, desiring to be permitted to live off campus rather than in coed dormitories with roommates who do not share their moral standards.

1997-99 (Beachwood, Ohio) - the identity of a suburb which has been a comfortable home for assimilated Reform Jews is threatened by an Orthodox building project - the new neighbors judge the liberal Jews and fail to support the public schools which the liberal neighborhood has built.

"So what's the big deal?" might be your response, if you aren't Jewish, or you are Jewish but don't keep up with this stuff. Isn't it a lot of fuss over nothing? Well, no. When you read about the people involved, the history behind their points of view, the diversity of their backgrounds which often means that they "stand all over the issue" rather than just on one side...you begin to appreciate the incredible diversity of Judaism, and you sympathize with all who are caught in the conflict between liberal and conservative - by their caring.

I read this book because my best friend these days is a Jewish lady and I have begun to get to know her family and celebrate Passover with them. Before this, I lived in Miami and sang in a Conservative Temple choir in the 1980s - our music was piped in to the sanctuary. I did not appreciate until now how recent it was for a female cantorial soloist to be allowed. I was fascinated by what I learned about Judaism during that time, and wanted to know more. Although Friedman's book challenged this relatively uneducated shiksa, he was clear enough for me to understand his history and his points.

Now, as a Catholic, I see parallels between the Jewish factions and the Catholic factions...but we are blessed with a Pope who has the power to make decisions and cut the Gordian knots, even if there are many who fail to respect his authority. The same jokes work for us - how did the priest get rid of the mice in the church? He baptized them, and then they only showed up for Christmas and Easter! The cultural Catholic has a lot in common with the cultural Jew...

I have nothing but respect for those on all sides of these issues - Freedman has done an amazing job in making them real to me. The question of pluralism vs. unity is one which arises in many different contexts, where people care about truth and not just about "getting along," at the expense of betraying important values.

Freedman's final two sentences say it all, to me, and sum up why people should read this book: "It is tragic, yes, that American Jews have battled so bitterly, so viciously, over the very meaning of being Jewish. It is more tragic, perhaps, that the only ones fighting are the only ones left who care."

This book should be read if for no other reason than its fascinating subject. In portraying a series of Jewish communities, Samuel Freedman powerfully portrays both the diversity and the passionate divisions within modern American Jewry. It would be difficult to read this book and then attempt to answer a question like "What do Jews believe about _____" or "What's the Jewish perspective on _____." Typically, the most honest answer would be that while Jews disagree as to how they'd respond, each of us is quite confident that we can speak authoritatively for our people and those who disagree with us do not represent "true" Judaism. It's a sad state of affairs, but Freedman's study demonstrates that this is where we're at.

At times, such as when he chronicles the death of secular, Catskills-based Judaism, Freedman's storytelling is empathetic and powerful. But that's because, at times, the story is compelling enough that little interpretation is necessary. When interpretation is needed, Freedman often falls short. Indeed, he offers no satisfying vision as to how our Jewish values may be used to extricate ourselves from the morass of division and bigotry.

In the end, I found myself wishing that Freedman had a co-author, someone who could take Freedman's journalistic truths and writing talents and weave into them profound philosophical insights. Perhaps the next journalist like Freedman who takes on this task can do so with a rabbi at his side. If there is another Martin Buber or Abraham Joshua Heschel walking about, I can assure you that building on Freedom's topic would not be a waste of your talents.