Author Event! "The Etruscans and the Jews" by Peter Wolf

Author Peter Wolf will discuss his latest book, The Etruscans and the Jews, New Orleans Echoes, Sardinian Shadows, Roman Shame, at 7 p.m., Saturday, Monday, May 12, at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon, Metairie.

This event is free of charge and open to the public.

The Etruscans and the Jews proposes never before recognized links between the culturally vibrant Etruscan people and long forgotten Jewish communities. No one has previously suggested an enduring and intimate link between these two dynamic cultures. The Etruscans and the Jews is written as an adventure story that expands our understanding of both the lost Etruscan people and the Jewish diaspora.

The story travels forever west. It flows from ancient Israel to western Turkey then to Italy, Sardinia, and France. Nineteenth century immigrants from Europe carry their mixed heritage across the Atlantic to America. The discoveries woven into Wolf's investigation may be simultaneously unsettling and thrilling to readers who will begin to wonder: Could I be part Etruscan?

Wolf is a Yale, Tulane and New York University graduate. After earning his doctoral degree, Wolf was elected chair of the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in New York, and appointed Adjunct Professor in the School of Architecture at Cooper Union. Over the years he has earned a Fulbright Fellowship, received honors, awards and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ford Foundation, the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, and twice been selected a Visiting Artist/Scholar at the American Academy in Rome.

Wolf’s philanthropic activities began immediately after college when he served as a trustee of the New Orleans Public Library and the fledgling New Orleans educational television station. More recent commitments include Founder and first Chairman of the Thomas Moran Trust, and trustee in East Hampton of Guild Hall and the Village Preservation Society. He is a past Chairman of the Van Alen Institute and served as an advisory board member of the National Academy of Design.

For more information, contact Chris Smith, Manager of Adult Programming for the library, at 504-889-8143 or wcsmith@jplibrary.net.