Book Festival: Untold Stories: Debby Applegate and Christopher Gorham

Powerful women have always had a place in history. Join us for an intimate evening with two authors, Debby Applegate and Christopher Gorham, to learn how feminine trailblazers, subjects of their biographical books, made an imprint.

Madam: The Biography of Polly Adler, Icon of the Jazz Age (Debby Applegate)
How did a “nice Jewish girl” from a Russian shtetl become one of the most notorious Jewish-American women of the 20th Century?  Queen of the underworld in Jazz-Age New York, Madam Polly Adler, ran brothels catering to a wide variety of clientele – including the rich and famous.  This unorthodox history follows this iconic woman who made her mark in one of the oldest professions, ascending the ranks to be coined as the “female Al Capone.”

The Confidante: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Helped Win WWII and Shaped Modern America (Christopher Gorham)
Anna Marie Rosenberg, a Hungarian Jewish immigrant who, despite only a high school education, became one of the most influential women in national policies.  As an advisor to four presidents, businesswoman and US public official, the untold story of her life spans the New Deal to the Cold War. Rosenberg fought tirelessly for causes from racial integration to women’s equality to national health care as her life ran parallel to the front lines of history she helped to shape.

Inspiring and entertaining, the Ann and Stephen Kaufman Jewish Book & Arts Festival annually delivers a variety of opportunities for the community to learn and experience Jewish literary, culture and performing arts. The Festival is one of the city’s leading cultural and literary events, attracting a large and varied audience of all ages and is recognized as one of the largest Jewish Book & Arts Festivals in the nation.