Grossman (Jewish history, Hebrew U. of Jerusalem) contributes to the Zalman Shazer Center's series "Great Minds in Jewish Thought and Creativity" with a volume devoted to the life and work of the 11th-century French scholar Rabbi Shelomoh Yitshaki, known as Rashi. He characterizes Rashi's commentary on the Bible and the Talmud as the most influential in Jewish history since the completion of the Talmud itself. He addresses the often-asked but enduring questions whether Rashi had a fully developed conceptual intellectual doctrine, and whether he was a revolutionary or a conservative. First published as Emunot ve-de'ot be-ólamo shel Rashi by the Zalman Shazar Center in 2000. Distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)