Drawing on storytelling skills hone over his many years as a New York Times journalist, Steve Weisman has written one of the best books in years about the Jewish experience in the United States.The Chosen Wars essentially recounts how Judaism in America was transformed from Old World religious traditions into the modern-day Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox branches. This history was nothing if not fractious. But one of the strengths of the book is how Weisman connects the religious transformation of Judaism to the history of America, portraying the Jewish evolution here as a distinctly American phenomenon. What makes the book not only important but entertaining is the presence in it of many illuminating anecdotes and vivid profiles of key rabbis, activists, and other Jewish figures.
