Michael Chabon is so good he can seemingly do whatever he wants, and with The Yiddish Policemen's Union he has once again. Chabon concocts a vivid alternative reality (based on FDR's forgotten suggestion of a Jewish safe haven in Alaska) and wraps it around a Chandleresque who-done-it packed with Hasidic Godfathers, forelocked Fagins, and the obligatory sad-but-noble gumshoe.