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Rating: Summary: Biased review Review: As I am one of the contributing authors to the work, I will refrain from commenting on it, any further then to make a slight correction to the kind review of Leonard Fox. Mr. Fox, in his review, has stated: "The reader, however, should be aware that the authors are Karaites from the Egyptian community and tradition, and therefore they do not have the background or linguistic ability to provide information on the customs of the Eastern European Karaites" This is incorrect. Avraham Qanaï (misspelled Qanao above), one of the major contributors to the volume, is a Crimean Karaite, and one of the few native speakers in the world of Karaija/Karaim, the language of the Crimean Karaites. Furthermore the Qirqisani Center, who produced this volume, counts among its members and advisors some of the foremost authorities on the Crimean Karaites alive today: Dr. Phillip Miller, Dr. Dan Shapira, and Mikhail Kizilov (who has a new book "Karaites Through the Travelers' Eyes", which is on the Karaites of the Crimea, forthcoming from the Qirqisani Center) to name some, but not all of the scholars the Center works with. The Qirqisani Center is no way affiliated with any official Karaite movement (i.e., the 'Egyptian' Karaites), but is, rather, a cooperative of scholars who are actively involved in the study of Karaism. [note: so as not to affect the rating of the book, as much as possible, I have given it 4 stars to compliment Mr. Fox's generous rating]
Rating: Summary: A great introduction Review: I thought this was a very good introduction to Karaite Judaism for the beginner. It covers most of the topics that someone who knowns nothing about Karaism would want to know. I especially liked the fact that the book focused on what Karaite Judaism is, rather than what it isn't, and how it differs from mainstream Judaism. A lot of books out there on Karaism seem to want to spend a lot of time telling you how Karaism and "Rabbanism" differ. Not this book. It is focused, to the point, and thorough, for an introduction.
Rating: Summary: A good place to start Review: If you want to know more about Karaism, what Karaites believe, and have believed, etc., this is a good place to start. The book is systematic. It starts with Karaite history (starting with ancient Jewish history), then proceeds to cover Karaite thought, belief, and practice. It seems a little sparse on some of the details for the holidays (mostly for Yom Teruah - aka Rosh HaShannah, and Yom Kippur), but other than that it is pretty thorough.
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