'Sefton Temkin has provided us with a much-needed critical and balanced portrayal of Wise . . . The best scholarly work on Wise to date. It presents an admiring yet critical picture of Wise's achievements and personality . . . a welcome contribution to our understanding of the man and his times.' George L. Berlin, AJS Review'Thorough and extremely competent . . . Temkin contributes a great deal through his careful use of materials . . . The book will be of interest to general readers . . . who wish not only to understand Isaac Mayer Wise but, moreover, to comprehend the attitudes and events that led to the formation of a truly American form of Judaism.' A. J. Avery-Peck, Choice'An important book which illumines a formative era of American Jewry and of the United States itself . . . scholarly and readable.' William Frankel, Jewish ChronicleAmerican Reform Judaism's major institutions-Hebrew Union College, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and the Reform prayer book Minhag America-were all due to the singular efforts of Isaac Mayer Wise (1819-1900). Sefton Temkin's biography captures the vigour of Wise's personality and the politics and concerns of Jewish life and leadership in America at that time. It is a lively portrait of a rabbi who was a pivotal figure in the naturalization of Jews and Judaism in the New World.