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David Klinghoffer fluffs the most overrated Jewish scholar -- Jacob Neusner. Neusner is a nasty man who harvests the work of his grad students to list himself as an author on 909 books. Elite students in his areas who decide to go to other academic graduate programs than Neusner's have often found Neusner trying to destroy their careers.
I've tackled a dozen of Neusner's books. The reward divided by effort ratio was low.
Shmarya writes: "Neusner taught at Minnesota as a visiting scholar for a quarter or two. He was so hated by many of his students that they started a petition drive to have him removed early. He's done some important work, but he's a very difficult person."
Reb Yudel writes:
Note that Klinghoffer essentially omits the last 30 years -- and 950 books -- of Neusner's career.
The nastiness is such that at a recent academic conference on Talmud at NYU, Daniel Boyarin had to apologize for acknowledging Neusner's work.
If you want a good, solid translation of Neusner into English, check out the latter third of "Surpassing Wonder: The Invention of the Bibles and the Talmuds."
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Pinkas: US Jewry must focus on local Jewish education
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My latest book reviews:
The Cambridge Companion to Jewish American Literature: B
Autum of the Moguls by Michael Wolff: B
ESPN Sports Century: B
The Franchise: A History of Sports Illustrated Magazine: A
Lonesome Dove: A
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