Art Williams was a personal driver in Chicago who kept telling his client, a Hollywood producer, that he had a perfect story for a movie. The producer blew him off, hearing such pitches on a daily basis. But at the end of the week, he finally relented, and over lunch learned that Williams had been one of the country’s most successful counterfeiters in history, having faked over $10 million of currency with exacting attention to detail. Rolling Stone writer Jason Kersten was put on the case, and his resulting book, The Art of Making Money: The Story of a Master Counterfeiter, chronicles Williams’ materials and methodology as well as his eventual undoing. Added poignancy lies in the fact that the crackdown came not from Williams’ love of money but of family, in a search for his long-lost father. Kersten discusses this fascinating story on Saturday, July 11, at Book Passage. 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. 7pm. Free. 415.927.0960.Gabe Meline
.July 11: Jason Kersten at Book Passage
