From Abraham to America

A remarkable, stimulating and wide-ranging study of Jewish circumcision...This book is a must-read for professionals practicing in the Jewish community as well as scholars of Judaism and religious studies. * Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal Of Jewish Studies *
Putting modern objections to circumcision in the context of previously non-Jewish attacks provides a useful comparison. * Jewish History, December 2008 *
Eric Silverman's From Abraham to America: A History of Jewish Circumcision finally supplies a comprehensive overview of the Western debates about circumcision from its ritual form as practice by the Jews to its present day "American" appearance as a ubiquitous medical practice. How do we get from "Abraham" to "America"? With great finesse and some polemic, Silverman enables us to follow the circuitous path that encompasses Jewish-Christian relationships from the early Church to the present. An important and engaging book on a topic of ongoing fascination. -- Sander L. Gilman, Distinguished Professor of the Liberal Arts and Sciences, Emory University
Silverman's book demystifies much of the meaning and context of circumcision by delivering a comprehensive and intricate analysis of this Jewish practice....A vast bibliography, insightful references, additional layers of anthropological, theological and political analyses, spiced with mythological stories as well as a good portion of humor, make this book not only comprehensive, but also satisfying. * Men and Masculinities *