Rabbi Ira Eisenstein  z"l

"Startling new insights into the mind of the 20th century's most brilliant American Jewish thinker flow often from the pages of this provocative volume...  Not to be missed by anyone interested in American Jewish history or thought."
Rabbi David A. Teutsch
President of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

"A legend come to life, full of fascination and immediacy. Long a treasure trove for historians, now expertly edited, Mordecai Kaplan's diaries provide a ringside seat to a tumultuous era by a crisp commentator of rare candor and keen insight."
Chancellor Ismar Schorsch
Jewish Theological Seminary

Kaplan confided to his diary the frustrations, spiritual struggles, and intellectual challenges that he encountered as a rabbi, teacher, and communal activist. The diary is a gold mine of information and insight. Impossible to put it down, it conveys with power and immediacy the central issues of Jewish life. Mel Scult's introduction, notes, and titles deftly illuminate the text."
Deborah Dash Moore
Vassar College

"A word of warning is in order to students of the American Jewish experience in the 20th century before they begin reading these excerpts from Mordecai Kaplan's twenty seven volume long diaries. They are addictive. Once started they cannot be put down"
Henry L. Feingold
Baruch College, The City University of New York

"As time passes, Mordecai Kaplan's voluminous and frank diaries will be hailed as one of the great primary sources for the saga of 20th-century American Judaism. What a towering figure! Kaplan's impact, not only on his immediate circle but on liberal and Reform Judaism was immense and permanent. Mel Scult does a masterful job of extracting one nugget after another that bring Kaplan's associates, his spirituality, and his personality to life again. No one who wants to understand our Jewish modernity can afford not to study this work."
Robert M. Seltzer
Hunter College [of The City University of New York]

"There are few, if any, documents that illuminate 20th Century American Jewish religious life more fully than Kaplan's journals. ... Everyone who studies Judaism seriously in this country will applaud its appearance."
Jeffrey S. Gurock, Ph.D.
Libby M. Klaperman Professor of Jewish History Yeshiva University