Thursday 18 June 2009

The Outsider's Guide To Orthodox Judaism

The Outsider's guide To Orthodox Judaism

"The Outsider's Guide gave me the information and insight I needed to better understand my Orthodox Jewish colleagues."

"This book is the perfect gift for any non-Orthodox friend or coworker. It'll help clear up many misconceptions about Orthodox practice and beliefs."

"Clear, concise, informative, and easy to read."

"After reading The Outsider's Guide, I don't feel like such an outsider any more!"



What we have here is a book which is just right for self-publication: it occupies a nice little niche in the market which its author, Rabbi Arnie Singer, is perfectly placed to exploit.

It is not without its problems: the punctuation is somewhat erratic; there are several inconsistencies in formatting and style which are typical of self-published books; and I frequently found myself frustrated by the brevity of the text because despite this book's rather dry title, it's a good read. It provides a lot of information in a very small space and while the depth and detail that I'd have preferred is lacking, I can understand why the author chose this route—he was writing a handbook, not a history. I read twenty-five pages out of one hundred and fifteen to find my fifteen problems but I will be reading more and would suggest that you do too: this is a very informative, useful little book for anyone to have on their shelves.

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