Professor Guttmann is both historian and interpreter, setting forth with great clarity basic information about each important thinker and movement, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses, and assessing their contributions.It is Professor Guttmann's underlying thesis that there cannot be a single philosophy of Judaism, because Judaism has never given official sanction or preference to one philosophic tradition over others. Every doctrine of Judaism, whether biblical, rational, empirical, or mystic, yields a more or less accurate image of Judaism to the extent that it comes to grips with the basic realities of Jewish religious experience: the existence of God, the primacy of Torah, and the history of the Jewish people.

    Its sixteen editions attest to its continued popularity. This edition also features selections of Mapu's others novels, as well as an introduction to his life and work by David Patterson of Oxford University.