The History of the Earliest Printed Editions of the Talmud, is a singular work addressing the history of the talmud and the hazards involved in its publication. It is a Hebrew Bibliographic study of the first editions of the Talmud, the often turbulent history surrrounding their publication(it was burned in the Middle Ages and again in the sixteenth century,) the individual printers involved, and the resulting variations between Talmud editions. The Talmud's printing is discussed against the prevailing social conditions and contemporary events, as well in the context of Hebrew bibliography. The period covered is from the first Spanish and Italian Editions in the Fifteenth century to the last Polish editions of the mid-seventeeth century.

The Talmud is one of the most basic works of Judiaism. Printing the Talmud, is a required source for anyone doing research in Jewish Bibliography, history, and, to a lesser extent, literature. It addresses subjects rarely discussed in general Jewish history books, and frequently only notes in passing in more scholary works, It is a necessary work for anyone interested in Jewish history as well as for the bibliophile.

Printing the Talmud is the first new book on the subject since R. N. N. Rabbinovics's Ma'amar al Hadpasat ha-talmud,  which was writtin in the nineteeth century. It is the result of several years of extensive primary and secondary research. The primary research has resulted in a number of new findings. To cite but one example,  almost all listings of Hebrew Incunabula include an entry for a 1493 printing of the treatise Bezah. although no copies are known to be extant. It is conclusively proven that no such imprint ever exsisted, the source of the error is indentified, and how it came to be accepted in standard bibliographical works is explained.

The book included 97 plates, many being reproduced for the first time. There are ninety four productions or title-pages or sample pages from treatises discussed in the book, including a codex of a tractate written in Ubeda, Spain in 1290. These pages are significant because older Editions of the Talmud frequently vary from current editions. Two plates from non-hebrew works are included  because their beautiful ornamental borders were reused by Hebrew printers in their books, including tractates, and are instructive as to the re-use of typographical equipment by early printers. The remaining plate is the announcement to confiscate the Talmud prior to its burning.