Jewish Literary Voices to Present Life of Louis Graveraet Kaufman on Oct. 16

PITTSFIELD — On Thursday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m., Jewish Literary Voices: A Federation Series, in collaboration with the Jewish Book Council, returns for a third season with a presentation by biographer Ann Berman, who will discuss her book, Louis Graveraet Kaufman: The Fabulous Michigan Gatsby Who Conquered Wall Street, Took Over General Motors, and Built the World’s Tallest Building.

This free Jewish Federation of the Berkshires program will be presented via Zoom. Click here to register.

Author and cultural journalist Berman’s fascinating biography recounts the life and legacy of a titan of American banking, Louis Graveraet Kaufman (1870-1942), also known in his time simply as ‘LG.’ This fast-moving narrative tells the story of a half-Jewish, part-Indigenous man from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula who lived a wild Jazz Age life, built one of the country’s largest banks, built a 26,000-square-foot log lodge in the woods and the luxe 625 Park Ave. building in NYC, led a takeover of General Motors, and helped conceive and finance the Empire State Building.