On Jews and Judaism: Selected Essays

The essential, never-before-collected writings on Jews and Judaism by one of America's most perceptive and provocative intellectuals, containing brilliant pieces on American Jews and religion, the Holocaust and anti-Semitism, and Israel and Zionism.



With an introduction by the noted historian Gertrude Himmelfarb, Kristol's wife.



Praise for ON JEWS AND JUDAISM:

“Irving Kristol is universally known as a brilliant social and political thinker. Less well known are his deep and subtle theological writings. Infused with a profound Jewish sensibility, this collection brilliantly illuminates the deepest layers of Kristol’s thinking about God and man. A revelation—and an education.”—Charles Krauthammer



“In his clear, elegant, and always amiable style, Irving Kristol approaches the mixed blessings of Judaism in America from the perspective of one experiencing changes as they occur and sharing with us his knowledge, his judgment, and his unfailing wisdom. This book is a blessing.”—Ruth R. Wisse



“These splendid essays, written over the course of six decades, display Irving Kristol’s penetrating wisdom and celebrated wit, here exercised on crucial and enduring issues of modern Jewish life—sociological, political, and religious; the challenge of anti-Semitism and the predicaments of Israel—issues that are today even more serious than when the essays calling attention to them were written. They also reveal the profoundly Jewish and theological roots of Kristol’s view of the world, illuminating his own self-description that he was ‘born theotropic.’ Gertrude Himmelfarb’s elegant introduction offers a coherent and enlightening guide to the entire collection.”—Leon R. Kass (Professor Emeritus, The University of Chicago)