New Releases by Chaim Potok

From the celebrated author of The Chosen comes a masterly collection of stories about the lives of young adults. Zebra and Other Stories charts moments of grief, crisis, and change for its teenage protagonists. Through these events -- some sudden, some lingering in memory -- come growth and understanding, as the layers of the adult world are peeled back. Rich in drama, told with wisdom and a sharp understanding of the clarity with which young people see the world in front of them, here are six memorable stories from a beloved storyteller.

In een joods-Amerikaans milieu leidt de Korea-oorlog tot discussies over de schuldvraag inzake oorlogen.

For sixty-four years, Isaac Stern has been a great--and greatly loved--performing artist, famous for his profound music-making, his gusto for life, his passionate dedication to sharing his knowledge and wisdom with younger musicians, and his determination in a good cause (Stern is, after all, The Man Who Saved Carnegie Hall). Indeed, there is no more revered musician in the world than Isaac Stern, revered not only as a great violinist but as a warm and generous personality and as a crucial figure and spokesperson in the world of the arts. Brought to America from Russia when he was ten months old, Stern grew up in San Francisco and was quickly recognized as an extraordinary talent. He began performing publicly while still very young, and was soon touring across the country and around the world. His fame escalated when he led the fight to save Carnegie Hall, and again when he was the subject of the Academy Award-winning documentary film "From Mao to Mozart. In this book he shares with us both his personal and his artistic experiences: the story of his rise to eminence; his feelings about music and the violin; his rich emotional life; his great friendships and collaborations with colleagues such as Leonard Bernstein and Pablo Casals; his background as an ardent supporter of Israel; his ideas and beliefs about art, life, love, and the world we live in. At seventy-nine, Stern''s mind, his wit, and his spirit are as strong as ever, and they are conveyed to us in the most sympathetic and articulate way by Chaim Potok. The two men spent a year talking and sharing their perceptions, and the result is a book in which Stern''s voice comes through with complete conviction andpersuasiveness. The man on the page is the musician and humanitarian we have loved and admired for so long. Here is the most readable and revealing musical autobiography of the decade.

Reuven Malter lives in Brooklyn, he'' s in love, and he'' s studying to be a rabbi. He also keeps challenging the strict interpretations of his teachers, and if he keeps it up, his dream of becoming a rabbi may die. One day, worried about a disturbed, unhappy boy named Michael, Reuven takes him sailing and cloud-watching. Reuven also introduces him to an old friend, Danny Saunders- now a psychologist with a growing reputation. Reconnected by their shared concern for Michael, Reuven and Danny each learns what it is to take on life- whether sacred truths or a troubled child- according to his own lights, not just established authority. In a passionate, energetic narrative, The Promise brilliantly dramatizes what it is to master and use knowledge to make one'' s own way in the world

Een jonge joodse jongen in New York komt in de jaren ''20 voor de keuze te staan jodenhaat al of niet met geweld te beantwoorden.

Verhalen over joodse jongeren.

“Powerful . . . It successfully recreates a time and place and the journey of a soul.”—The New York Times All beginnings are hard—that is the lesson David Lurie learns early and painfully in his life. As a boy in the depression-shadowed Bronx, he must begin to hold his own against neighborhood bullies and the treacherous frailties of his own health. As a young man in a world menaced by a distant, horrifying war, he must begin once more—this time to define a resolute path of personal belief that departs boldly from the tradition of his teachers and his own father, a courageous defender of their people. Learning how to remember his past as he nourishes the future, David struggles to complete his first long journey into ancient beginnings. “A major work in every sense.”—Pittsburgh Press

"REMARKABLE . . . A WONDERFUL STORY." --The Boston Globe The father is a high-ranking Communist officer, a Jew who survived Stalin''s purges. The son is a "refusenik," who risked his life and happiness to protest everything his father held dear. Now, Chaim Potok, beloved author of the award-winning novels The Chosen and My Name is Asher Lev, unfolds the gripping true story of a father, a son, and a conflict that spans Soviet history. Drawing on taped interviews and his harrowing visits to Russia, Potok traces the public and privates lives of the Slepak family: Their passions and ideologies, their struggles to reconcile their identities as Russians and as Jews, their willingness to fight--and die--for diametrically opposed political beliefs. "[A] vivid account . . . [Potok] brings a novelist''s passion and eye for detail to a gripping story that possesses many of the elements of fiction--except that it''s all too true." --San Francisco Chronicle

For Davita Chandal, growing up in New York in the 1930s and ''40s is an experience of indescribable joy—and unfathomable sadness. Her loving parents, both fervent radicals, fill her with the fiercely bright hope for a new, better world. But the deprivations of war and the Depression take their ruthless toll. And Davita, unexpectedly, finds in the Jewish faith that her mother had long ago abandoned both a solace to her questioning inner pain and a test of her budding spirit of independence. To her, life''s elusive possibilities for happiness, for fulfillment, for decency, become as real and resonant as the music of the small harp that hangs on her door, welcoming all guests with its sweet, gentle tones. Praise for Davita''s Harp “Rich . . . enchanting . . . [Chaim] Potok''s bravest book.”—The New York Times Book Review “It is an enormous pleasure to sink into such a rich . . . solidly written novel. The reader knows from the first few pages that he is in the hands of a sure professional who won''t let him down.”—People “Engrossing . . . Filled with a host of richly drawn characters. Potok is a master storyteller.”—Chicago Tribune “Gripping and intriguing . . . A well-told tale that needed telling.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer

A flight lesson aboard Uncle Conor''s plane helps ten-year-old Brian overcome his fear of heights.

“[Chaim] Potok writes powerfully about the suffering of innocent people caught in the cross-fire of a war they cannot begin to understand. . . . Humanity and compassion for his characters leap from every page.”—San Francisco Chronicle As the Chinese and the army of the North sweep south during the Korean War, an old peasant farmer and his wife flee their village across the bleak, bombed-out landscape. They soon come upon a boy in a ditch who is wounded and unconscious. Stirred by possessiveness and caring the woman refuses to leave the boy behind. The man thinks she is crazy to nurse this boy, to risk their lives for some dying stranger. Angry and bewildered, he waits for the boy to die. And when the boy does not die, the old man begins to believe that the boy possesss a magic upon which all their lives depend. . . .

Een jonge joodse jongen in New York komt in de jaren ''20 voor de keuze te staan jodenhaat al of niet met geweld te beantwoorden.

Ruben vindt het afschuwelijk dat hij moet verhuizen, want hij zal de grote kornoeljeboom in de tuin, waaraan hij al zijn angsten en verdrietjes kan vertellen, erg missen. Prentvertelling met eenvoudige illustraties in kleur. Vanaf ca. 5 jaar, zelf lezen vanaf ca. 9 jaar.

De groei naar de volwassenheid van een joodse jongen in New York met een uitzonderlijk tekentalent brengt zowel voor hemzelf als voor zijn ouders grote moeilijkheden met zich mee.

In een joods-Amerikaans milieu leidt de Korea-oorlog tot discussies over de schuldvraag inzake oorlogen.

Een Koreaans echtpaar, in 1955 op de vlucht voor het Chinese en Noordkoreaanse leger, ontfermt zich over een zwaargewonde jongen.

Een orthodox-joodse Amerikaanse jongen en zijn niet-gelovige vriend krijgen, ondanks bezwaren van de respectievelijke vaders, allengs respect voor de levenswijze en opvattingen van de ander.

De vriendschap tussen een orthodoxe en een vrijzinnige joodse jongeman in Brooklyn wordt op de proef gesteld als beiden op hetzelfde meisje verliefd worden. Vervolg op "The chosen" ("De rechtvaardiging").