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Rating: 
Summary: very infomative!
Review: Fascinating history and organized nicely. It was written before it could include a discussion of common claims elsewhere about "yarek oaths" or "yarek prayers" (inner thigh oaths) and whether they are related to circumcision and Abraham's covenant with God, and the origin of kneeling in prayer with the hands folded. Perhaps the author can add a volume or chapter in a future edition and include the new theory, discussed elsewhere on the internet about a yarek oath or yarek prayer in regard to the book of Genesis (Ch. 24, verse 2-4) and other citations.
Rating:
Summary: The only book of its kind, in such depth and scholarship.
Review: This is not a book for beginners. If you want an introduction to Jewish prayer, see "Entering Jewish Prayer" (Reuven Hammer) or "To Pray As a Jew" (Hayim Halevy Donin). This book is, in contrast, is the most thorough academic study of the Jewish liturgy ever written. Originally published in German in 1913, and subsequently updated in a number of Hebrew editions, the latest edition now has been translated into English by Prof. Raymond P. Scheindlin. This study covers the entire range of Jewish liturgical development, beginning with the early cornerstones of the siddur; through the evolution of the medieval piyyut tradition; to modern prayerbook reform in Germany and the United States.The only problem is that it doesn't deal with the liturgy of Conservative Judaism. To learn more about that one should consult the introduction to "Siddur Sim Shalom", edited by Jules Harlow, and the introduction to "Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and festivals", edited by Leonard Cahan, and the section on liturgy in the CD-ROM version of the "Encyclopedia Judaica".
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