Elie Wiesel was Chairman of the President’s Commission on the Holocaust until 1986, the year he won the Nobel Peace Prize. Shortly thereafter, he established the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity. He has written more than 40 books, including his memoir Night, which has been translated into more than 30 languages. For his literary and human rights work, Wiesel has received numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal, the Medal of Liberty, and the rank of Grand-Croix in the French Legion of Honor. A Mad Desire to Dance is a novel that profiles a life shaped by the worst horrors of the 20th-century and one man’s attempt to reclaim happiness despite his overwhelming loss.

The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Endowed Lecture