Guided by leaders such as Isaac Mayer Wise, David Einhorn, and Kaufmann Kohler, religious reform was arguably the most important evolutionary impact upon the American Jewish community in over 300 years of communal life on this continent. As Michael Meyer has written, religious reform of Judaism "arose in response to historical trends that gained momentum during preceding generations, their combined impetus eventually producing a concerted effort to create new modes of religious thought and practice." Karla Goldman has written a first-of-its-kind study documenting the role of women in this "Americanization" of Judaism. It is the nature of this study - the consideration of women's place in the project to adapt Judaism to (and thereby survive) the demands and challenges posed by modernity -- that makes Goldman's work that much more impressive. Dealing with a heretofore little studied topic and having few existing primary and secondary source materials with which to work, Goldman has written a cohesive and exhaustively researched narrative of women's role and advancement, looking at both the synagogue and the larger societies in which they lived. And, in so doing, Goldman has performed what Jacob Rader Marcus once called the important "spadework" of creating a historical framework upon which future research and studies can be based. Goldman has done more, however, than establish a chronology or compile a listing of facts. Using the synagogue as the focal point of her study, Goldman has constructed a beautifully written mosaic of fresh analysis and interpretation that examines Jewish women's role and place in 19th century American society. Weaving together quotes and information taken from disparate sources, Goldman has meticulously constructed a seamless narrative that chronicles not only the changing place and role of American Jewish women throughout the United States from the beginning of the 19th century to the its end, but adds significantly to the scholarly discussion and historiography of American Jewish life and thought during this time. Goldman even goes so far, in an excellent summary, as to connect her historical subjects with her own personal and family experience, drawing parallels to what Goldman calls the "process of reconciling the changing and sometimes divergent expectations for women's lives presented by Jewish and American cultures." Goldman avoids the trap of considering American Jewish women's advancements in a vacuum. She compares and contrasts Jewish religious reform and American Jewish women's experience within the context of their contemporary Christian counterparts. In doing this she provides analysis and context from the historiography of relevant religious and gender studies together with examples of 19th century Christian women's experience. In Beyond the Synagogue Gallery, Karla Goldman examines women's place in this "effort" and analyses how American Jewish women not only benefitted from and were challengers to the religious status quo, but simultaneously provided unique and irreplaceable means of preserving Jewish life and identity as well. This is a landmark study. The bibliography and footnotes are a tour-de-force. They reveal the depth and scope of Goldman's research and contain citations to hundreds of newly discovered sources on American Jewish women that will provide invaluable reference support for students, researchers and scholars. Recommended for advanced college students and above.