The Yiddish Policemen's Union

In this book, Chabon created a world where Israel had never been founded after World War II. Instead the state of displaced Jews is located in Sitka, Alaska. Chabon used real-life historical documents which suggested just such a plan to relocate the Jewish population. In the fictional world, the country of Israel was lost to the Arabs shortly after its inception and the plans moved these people to Alaska instead. Against this intriguing backdrop Chabon creates the familiar alcoholic detective who finds a dead man in his flophouse with an unfinished game of chess as the only dying clue in the case. The detective involves his partner as the case turns into a matter with ties to the mafia and possibly the detective's ex-wife.Why It Made the List The book was nominated in multiple genres, scoring a number of science-fiction award nominations because of the alternate universe presented in the novel, mystery award nominations for the mystery within. Chabon is a Pulitzer winner for his other non-genre works, and he's made forays into mystery fiction before (which his wife writes) with novels about Sherlock Holmes and others.'Read It If You Like'ethnic mysteries, alternative universes, alcoholic detectives