Stephen S. Wise emerged as one of twentieth-century American Jewry's most influential yet controversial leaders, wielding unprecedented individual power in an era before institutional Jewish leadership took hold. Melvin I. Urofsky's groundbreaking biography, "A Voice That Spoke for Justice," chronicles Wise's remarkable fifty-year career from the 1890s through Israel's establishment, illuminating his pioneering contributions to American Zionism and religious reform. Through analytical assessment of Urofsky's work, this review examines how Wise shaped modern Jewish leadership through founding the Free Synagogue based on pulpit freedom and establishing the Jewish Institute of Religion to train Zionist-oriented Reform rabbis. While his leadership of the American and World Jewish Congresses proved transformative, Wise's complex relationship with Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Holocaust period remains contentious, with critics arguing his personal loyalty to FDR compromised his effectiveness as a Jewish advocate. Though Wise demonstrated occasional lapses in judgment, particularly in his trust of Roosevelt, contemporary criticisms often overlook the limited Jewish political influence and complex realities of the era. Urofsky's meticulous research illuminates a pivotal period when individual religious leaders could exercise direct political authority - a sharp contrast to today's institutional leadership model.