Early Judaism

Rating:
Summary: Concise, up-to-date and very well-written intro text
Review: This book is extremely well-written and covers ancient Judaism from the earliest times up through the beginnings of merkavah mysticism in the Talmudic period. It's not a huge book, and one might think it too slender to effectively cover the topic. But the writing is economical and very readable, and the opinions presented are contemporary and take advantage of the latest scholarship.

It's unfortunate that this title is so expensive -- especially considering the binding is of the cheapest kind. For this money we deserve signature binding, or at least better glue. Still recommended, most highly!