Jewish Federation of the Berkshires, in collaboration with the Jewish Book Council, hosts bestselling author and acclaimed critic David Denby, who will discuss his new book, Eminent Jews: Bernstein, Brooks, Friedan, and Mailer. He will be joined in conversation by Albert Stern, editor of the Berkshire Jewish Voice. Leonard Bernstein, Mel Brooks, Betty Friedan, and Norman Mailer were more than just famous names – they were brilliant, brash, and soulful individuals who were 100 percent Jewish and 100 percent American. Though they worked in different fields — from the concert hall to the comedy stage, from feminist manifesto to the Great American Novel — they shared a common temperament and a historical moment. This celebratory yet candid discussion promises to be a fearless look at four turbulent intellectuals who wielded their heritage and ambition to forever charge up American culture.