The 'YIPPIE!' book is out!

After much back and forth games and delays the ’YIPPIE!’ book is finally out. I’ve got my copies today. Now comes the next phase: promoting the book. I have to do it myself, because my publisher will not put any effort and money to it, but surely he'll blame me if the product wouldn't sell. I will not get any financial rewards for selling more copies, but I want people to read the book, because I think it is an important source of information in this time and age. The book is about the youth culture of the 1960s-70s America, it is about a hopeful age, when most people of my generation have thought that a better world is in the making. It is about idealism and real community, rock music and sexual liberation, about masses of people who believed that war is a crime, racial and sexual discrimination must be stopped and that the power of the government must be controlled and curtailed. While writing the book I relived my youth. It is a very personal piece of writing. As I was turning my memories to words I was trying to be as direct, sincere and personal as I could. It is not a scholarly work by any means, but - similarly to my earlier 'Downtown Blues' book - rather a rock and roll diary.

I have organized an introductory party for the new book, at the Merlin International Theatre (Budapest). It is going to be on Friday, June 6, 2008, starting at 7 PM. My publisher, Golyós Toll has provided me with some wine and the writers’ association (Szépírók Társasága), which I am a member of is supporting the event with a small grant (about US $ 100). Unfortunatelly they won't support my other scheduled book presentations (one at the University of Theatre Arts, Kaposvár, the other at the Líra bookstore, in Szombathely), so I had to cancel them. With audio and video material I collected on the Net I created an hour long video documentary, titled 'Yippie Trilogy', which will open the Merlin evening. With my co-writer Gabriella Schuller we'll autograph the book during the Book Week (Könyvhét) book fare, at Vörösmarty square (Budapest), in Pavillion 7, on June 6, 4 PM - 5 PM, on June 7-8, 5PM - 6 PM.