Order of Book Series
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Chaim Potok Books in Order

17 books are credited to Chaim Potok, published between 1966 and 2018; 1 of them appeared after Chaim Potok's death in 2002. The first book is The Chosen (1966) and the newest is The Collected Plays of Chaim Potok (2018). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
17
Published
1966–2018
Pages on record
4,912 in 15 of 17 books
Reading time
82–123 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,912 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 15 of 17 titles with a page count on record.

See all 17 books in order Printable Chaim Potok checklist
Photo of Chaim Potok, author

Chaim Potok (1929-2002) was an American novelist, playwright, editor and rabbi. The Chosen (1966) opens the catalogue, spent 39 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, sold more than 3.4 million copies by 2002 and reached the screen as a feature film in 1981. Potok wrote two linked sequences, the Reuven Malther books and the Asher Lev novels, which begin with My Name Is Asher Lev (1972). Jewish family life, rabbis, artists, fathers and sons, and New York carry the fiction. Seventeen titles are catalogued, ending at The Collected Plays of Chaim Potok (2018).

How many Chaim Potok books are there?

Chaim Potok has 17 books, released between 1966 and 2018. 1 of them were published after Chaim Potok's death in 2002. They include 2 series and 13 titles listed outside any series.

Chaim Potok Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 17 Chaim Potok books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of The Chosen by Chaim Potok, book 1 of the Reuven Malther series (1966)
  2. Cover of The Promise by Chaim Potok, book 2 of the Reuven Malther series (1969)
  3. Cover of My Name Is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok, book 1 of the Asher Lev series (1972)
  4. Cover of In the Beginning by Chaim Potok (1975)
  5. Cover of The Book of Lights by Chaim Potok (1981)
  6. Cover of Davita's Harp by Chaim Potok (1985)
  7. Cover of Tobiasse: Artist in Exile by Chaim Potok (1987)
  8. Cover of The Gift of Asher Lev by Chaim Potok, book 2 of the Asher Lev series (1990)
  9. Cover of I Am the Clay by Chaim Potok (1992)
  10. Cover of The Tree of Here by Chaim Potok (1993)
  11. Cover of The Sky of Now by Chaim Potok (1995)
  12. Cover of The Gates of November by Chaim Potok (1996)
  13. Cover of Zebra and Other Stories by Chaim Potok (1998)
  14. Cover of My First 79 Years: Isaac Stern by Chaim Potok (1999)
  15. Cover of Old Men at Midnight by Chaim Potok (2001)
  16. Cover of The Collected Plays of Chaim Potok by Chaim Potok (2018)
  1. 1
    The ChosenReuven Malther #11966 · 271 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1966271
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The PromiseReuven Malther #21969 · 384 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1969384
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    My Name Is Asher LevAsher Lev #11972 · 384 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1972384
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    In the Beginning1975 · 416 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1975416
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Wanderings1978 · 568 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1978568
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Book of Lights1981 · 369 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1981369
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Davita's Harp1985 · 371 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1985371
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Tobiasse: Artist in Exile1987 · 198 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1987198
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Gift of Asher LevAsher Lev #21990 · 384 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1990384
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    I Am the Clay1992 · 228 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1992228
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Tree of Here1993 · confirmed 1/4
    1993–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Sky of Now1995 · confirmed 1/4
    1995–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Gates of November1996 · 272 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1996272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 15
    My First 79 Years: Isaac Stern1999 · 317 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999317
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 16
    Old Men at Midnight2001 · 304 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2001304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 17
    The Collected Plays of Chaim Potok2018 · 300 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2018300
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Chaim Potok books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Reuven Malther in order

2 books
  1. 1. The Chosen
  2. 2. The Promise

Asher Lev in order

2 books
  1. 1. My Name Is Asher Lev
  2. 2. The Gift of Asher Lev

Standalone books

13 books

13 Chaim Potok titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Chaim Potok books in order?

You only need to read Chaim Potok books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Chaim Potok

Start with The Chosen (1966), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Chaim Potok book?

The Collected Plays of Chaim Potok (2018) is the newest Chaim Potok book released so far.

Is there a new Chaim Potok book coming?

No next Chaim Potok book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Chaim Potok has won

Wikidata records 2 awards for Chaim Potok. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Prix Janusz Korczak de Littérature Jeunesse2017Won
  • Athenaeum Literary Award1969Wonfor The Promise

Chaim Potok at a glance

Died
Chaim Potok died in 2002, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Chaim Potok are still being published after Chaim Potok's death in 2002; the newest appeared in 2018.
Release pace
Chaim Potok books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
Length
4,912 pages across the 15 of 17 books with a recorded length, a median of 317 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Chaim Potok books, 7 of 17, were published in the 1990s.

What the Chaim Potok books are about

All 17 Chaim Potok books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: jews is tagged on 9 of 17. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.