Aaron W. Hughes holds the Philip S. Bernstein Chair of Jewish Studies at the University of Rochester.
"In this respectfully balanced biography, Hughes explores the life
of Jacob Neusner, a renowned scholar of Judaism and a controversial
figure in the American academy...The author presents an interesting
and widely accessible life story that should appeal to readers
interested in American Judaism, Jewish studies, or the academy
itself."
*Kirkus Reviews*
"InJacob Neusner: An American Jewish Iconoclast, religious studies
scholar Aaron Hughes has written an insightful biography of a
different kind of academic."
*H-Net Reviews*
"A lively and readable account of the life of a fascinating figure
who more than deserves a biography."
*Religious Studies Review*
"Even those who disagree with Hughes's conclusions, however, will
learn from Jacob Neusner. Well written and well researched, the
volume serves as a valuable first step in understanding one of the
most significant religion scholars of the past generation."
*Journal of Religion*
"Aaron Hughes has written a comprehensive, compelling, and candid
intellectual portrait of Jacob Neusner and his unparalleled
lifetime of achievements. By detailing the original and vital
contributions Neusner has made to Judaic and Religious Studies as
well as to modern religious and political thought, Hughes has
succeeded brilliantly in highlighting the singular significance
Neusner holds as an academic, as a religious thinker, and as a
public intellectual. Hughes has given his readers a captivating
intellectual biography to savor!"
*David Ellenson,Chancellor Emeritus and former President of Hebrew
Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion*
"Aaron Hughess chronicle deftly displays the development and impact
of Jacob Neusners intellectual achievements and the academic,
political, and cultural contexts from which they emerged. With
clarity and concision, this book limns the key issuessome of which
are complex and reconditethat shaped the study of Judaism when
Neusners career began and shows how his innovative, independent,
and transformative scholarship created a contemporary academic
field."
*William Scott Green,University of Miami*
"Not only is Jacob Neusner a much needed, long awaited biography of
perhaps the most important American Jewish thinker of the mid to
late twentieth century, but it offers a window into the creation of
Jewish studies in the American academy. Aaron Hughes illuminates
Neusners pathbreaking role in the construction of Judaic studies
scholarship as we now know it. More than this, he presents a
balanced account of Neusner the radical, innovative, compelling and
rambunctious scholar and Neusner the conservative political
activist and public intellectual. Drawing connections between
Neusners demanding and volatile personality and his extraordinary
brilliance and productivity, Hughes sheds much needed light on this
luminary. This is a concise book about excess that covers so much
of what made Jacob Neusner, 'Neusner'!"
*Laura S. Levitt,Temple University*
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