Louis Ginzberg: Keeper of the Law

First published in 1966, this book is an unusual biography. It is written by a son about his father, by an interpreter of economics about an interpreter of rabbinics. It is done with obvious charm, with deep affection for the subject, and yet with surprising objectivity. There could not have been many students of Jewish law and legend of the era who did not at one time or another seek guidance from Louis Ginzberg - the remarkable man whose knowledge was vast and whose memory was phenomenal. In a sense, this book is the biography of a man who helped lay the foundations for an American Jewish culture.