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Rating: 
Summary: Worthless reading
Review: A collection of poorly written, half coherent travels.
Rating: 
Summary: This is wonderful!
Review: I am amazed by the glow this book spreads over me. While reading this book, I feel like I have spent an afternoon with my favorite Bubbe.
My concern going into this is that the author would write this story from a secular point of view - harsh and judgemental. But this story is told with such gentleness and love that I feel drawn deeper and deeper into it.
I really appreciate that Mr. Eisenberg wants to understand his subject rather than tear their values down or dismiss them all together. Living in Manhattan and living in such close proximity to the Hasidim and yet not understanding their ways, I am excited to finally get a glimpse into a world I have only been able to witness from the most superficial level.
Rating:
Summary: It has its own odd fascination
Review: I came across this book while trying to find information on the Hasidic way of life. Where as I went into it to read for the information, it turned into a very entertaining view of a very different lifestyle than my own. I have observed and photographed the Williamsburg Brooklyn Community (www.eyemaze.net) for the past 3 years. I try not to offend anyone, but the camera is often a reason to cross the street and look away. I want to understand and know as much as possible so not to offend. I gained some valuable information into the Hasidic Community and I thank Mr. Eisenberg!
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Summary: Travel into the World of Chassidus
Review: I came upon this in a local bookstore, at first mistaking it as bizarre because of the title and cover. Never judge a book by its cover, as the old saying goes. After reading the first chapter I was hooked. This is a moving and insightful book into the world of Chassidic Judaism. Eisenberg's encounters with Chassidim around the world both give the reader a unique insight into a community which is difficult for the non-Jew and Jews who are not Chassidic to understand. His understanding of Yiddish is very helpful in his travels; the reader feels like he is encountering the communities alongside the author. A must read for anyone interested in discovering the Chassidic world. David ben Ami
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Summary: What's a Jew to do?
Review: Robert Eisenberg provides an excellent addition to the woefully slim literature on Haredi Jews with this terrific work. Aside from its factual merits, perhaps the most memorable feature of this book is the author's pathos. He is simultaneously drawn to and repulsed by ultra-Orthodox Jews. He is quick to point out their quirks and idiosyncracies, but is also awed by their strength and staying power. Though his Haredi interviewees are often described in insulting terms (e.g., a Minnesota baal t'shuva's tallis is said to look like rip cords on either side of his fat stomach), they receive equal or better treatment than the touchy-feely Jewish Renewal advocates, the secular Likudnik Zionists and the self-hating assimilationists who also find their way into these pages. In sum, Eisenberg conveys the dilemma of many secular Jews in the modern era: he envies the dynamism of Haredi Jews (who will not only comprise many or most of the world's Jews outside of Israel at the end of the century, but will probably explode to 8M or 10M in size), but he is too skeptical and worldly to join their ranks.
Rating:
Summary: A delightful introduction to a hidden world
Review: The Hasidic world has always seemed somewhat impenatrable, even to other Jews; Eisenberg does a wonderful job at introducing the secular and the non-Jew to this world and the people in it. He is always sympathetic, and never critical. Most importantly, he presents the Hasidm as individuals, not a faceless monolith. I was raised conservatiove- sort of on the edge of Orthodoxy- and have lived for the last 14 years in close proximity to a large Hasidic community. And yet, until reading this book, I never really had a good understanding of that community or the people in it. Others note that this is by no means an encyclopedic or authoritative work on the Hasidic world and the people in it. But it is an exceptionally affectionate and humorus one, and well worth reading, and rereading.
Rating: 
Summary: Loads of fun, though not 100% accurate
Review: This book captures the atmosphere of the ultra-orthodox Jewish world in a way few books have. It doesn't present this world in a detached, suspicious and hypercritical manner as many secular authors have, but it also avoids overpatronizing or concentrating too much on any specific group. The author's ability to converse with people in Yiddish allowed him to get a glimpse of the ultra-orthodox culture not often experienced by outsiders, especially the humor. The author however does make some factual mistakes, like for instance calling Breslover Hasidim "Bratslovers" or naming Onkelos as a commentary to the Talmud, which is why I give the book four instead of five stars.
Rating:
Summary: Allows the Goy into the Unknown
Review: This book seems to be written FOR the secular world, yet written TO other non-religious Jews. This is a wonderful approach because it allows one to enter the underground as "a Jew." The writer seems to want to express his findings with his other lost brothers, thereby giving the reader an indepth and close look inside the Jewish culture, un-edited for the world. (Hope that makes sense.) In addition, the writer is extremely honest and non-judgemental, providing the reader only with "facts" about his experiences which allows the reader to draw their own conclusions... I have read SEVERAL books about Judaism, as I am converting soon, and although this was not on my "reading list," I believe this book has been the most insightful and helpful in painting a vivid picture of my new family and that without bias. This is NOT a theological book... it is a book of heritage in today's modern world. PS
Captivating and an easy read... I finished this book over two days... Worth this short amount of time!
Rating:
Summary: Allows the Goy into the Unknown
Review: This book seems to be written FOR the secular world, yet written TO other non-religious Jews. This is a wonderful approach because it allows one to enter the underground as "a Jew." The writer seems to want to express his findings with his other lost brothers, thereby giving the reader an indepth and close look inside the Jewish culture, un-edited for the world. (Hope that makes sense.) In addition, the writer is extremely honest and non-judgemental, providing the reader only with "facts" about his experiences which allows the reader to draw their own conclusions... I have read SEVERAL books about Judaism, as I am converting soon, and although this was not on my "reading list," I believe this book has been the most insightful and helpful in painting a vivid picture of my new family and that without bias. This is NOT a theological book... it is a book of heritage in today's modern world. PS
Captivating and an easy read... I finished this book over two days... Worth this short amount of time!
Rating:
Summary: Gives a layman a positive view of the "men in black".
Review: This book, although some might say was somewhat innacurate, gave ME an easy to understand feeling about various Hasidic communities. As the author writes in the introduction, there is barely any litterature about Hasidism, even though they truly are a fascinating minority within a minority. The book guides you through about 9 or 10 Hasidic areas, mainly in the U.S., but also some in Europe and Israel too. I really liked how the author was able to show us the personalities behind the "mask", if you will, that most people seem to have of Hasidism: They all look the same, act the same, feel the same, etc... It is also helpful in distinguishing between the 200-odd Hasidic groups out there (most people only know about Lubavitch, and maybe Satmar, depending on their environment.) I recommend reading this in conjunction with the Chosen, or some other such serious work on Hasidism. This book, being light-hearted and filled with funny descriptions, is a very good balance for some of the more academic works out there. For those religious Jews who say Eisenberg may have taken several "poetic liscenses", I say: You, more than me, probably know what they would say. But in terms of who is going to read this (mainly secular Jews and non-jews), it's a good read. Hasidic Jews have no need to read about what an outsider thinks about them, do they?
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