"Hammer performs a delicate balancing act—not only between deciding between fact and legend, but in showing the struggles within the rabbinic community. Readers looking to learn more about Akiva and the growth of rabbinic Judaism will find his work has much to offer."—Rabbi Rachel Esserman, Reporter Group
"Hammer is to be heartily congratulated for producing yet another book to be added to his list of prodigious publications."—Shalom M. Paul, Jerusalem Report
"With this new work, readers will be able to move past the coarse legends and refine their understanding of Akiva's true characteristics, which turned this seemingly simple man into a rabbinical giant, and make his achievements still relevant to this day."—Benjamin Glatt, Jerusalem Post Magazine
“Reuven Hammer’s Akiva is a bold and sophisticated engagement with one of the best documented but nevertheless elusive figures in early Rabbinic Judaism. By judiciously weighing Akiva’s complex literary legacy, Rabbi Reuven Hammer encourages readers to explore how we know the past and what it can teach us in the present.”—Ivan G. Marcus, Frederick P. Rose Professor of Jewish History at Yale University
