"The Babylonian Talmud" is the most important text of Rabbinic Judaism. This book probes the fault lines between Palestinian and Babylonian sources, and demonstrates how the differences between them reflect the divergent social attitudes of these two societies. The book nicely employs the comparative lens not only on rabbanic materials, but also on second temple materials such as 2 Maccabees, Megillat Ta'anit, and the writings of Josephus. Perhaps most significantly, the book demonstrates the possibility of solid Talmudic historiography.