Sometimes no matter how many books an author writes, one of them stands out above the rest. This is the book that is read by more people and can define an entire career. Henry Roth's first novel, "Call It Sleep" heralded and sustained his literary reputation although he wouldn't publish another book for decades. Elie Wiesel has written many books, but is mostly known for his first, the memoir, "Night." Then there is Chaim Potok, who died July 23 at the age of 73, and his first book "The Chosen." Potok clearly participated in that great renaissance of Jewish-American writing that flowered in the second half of the 20th century, but his fiction wasn't overly respected among critics, even though "The Chosen" was read by almost everyone. Writers such as Saul Bellow, Philip Roth, Bernard Malamud and Cynthia Ozick were taken much more seriously, but among Jews and gentiles alike, "The Chosen" wound up on many more bookshelves and inside more classrooms and was arguably as influential as J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye." "The Chosen" has remained a perennial seller since its publication in 1967.