Rocking Toward a Free World: When the Stratocaster Beat the Kalashnikov - Hardcover

9781538762219: Rocking Toward a Free World: When the Stratocaster Beat the Kalashnikov
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From renowned diplomat and musician András Simonyi -- whom Stephen Colbert calls "the only ambassador I know who can shred a mean guitar!" -- comes a timely and revealing memoir about growing up behind the Iron Curtain and longing for freedom while chasing the great power of rock and roll.
In ROCKING TOWARD A FREE WORLD, Simonyi charts the struggle of growing up in 1960s Hungary, a world in which listening to his favorite music was a powerful but furtive endeavor: records were black-market bootlegs; concerts were held under strict control, even banned; protests were folded into song lyrics. Get caught listening to Western radio could mean punishment, maybe prison. That didn't matter to Simonyi, who from an early age felt the tremendous pull of rock and roll, the lure of American popular culture, and a burning desire to buck the system. Inspired by the protest music coming out of the West, he formed a band and became part of Hungary's burgeoning rock scene. Then came the setbacks: tightening of control by the state, the seemingly inescapable weight of an authoritarian system, and the collapse of Simonyi's own dreams of stardom.

A story of youth, rebellion, and hope, ROCKING TOWARD A FREE WORLD sheds new light on two of the most powerful forces of the modern age: global democracy and rock and roll. Deeply vital and compelling, Simonyi's memoir chronicles how one man's tremendous connection to American and British popular music inspired him to make a difference in his country and, eventually, the world. It tells the story of a generation, as played out in song lyrics and guitar riffs.

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About the Author:
András Simonyi is a former diplomat, who has served as Hungary's first Ambassador to NATO and as Ambassador to the United States. An economist by training, he has a PhD in international affairs and is a specialist in multilateral diplomacy, transatlantic security, and the use of "soft-power" in diplomacy and the Nordic countries. He has a lifelong love for rock and roll music and has been playing the electric guitar since age thirteen. Today he plays in his band, The Coalition of the Willing. András Simonyi has two children and four grandchildren, and lives with his wife in Washington, D.C.
Review:
"Around 2004, it came as a great surprise to me that my band, Traffic, was one of the first western rock bands to play in Hungary after the uprising, which took place there in 1956. András was at the show I did in 1968, and although we were kept separated by the audience, András made brief contact with us. Since that time, he has become a friend, a champion, and an ardent believer in music as the universal world language of peace."―Steve Winwood

"A fascinating and very personal account of how rock and roll conquered communism. I felt like I was right there as music took the stage, witnessing a man and country change before us."―Stephen Colbert

"András Simonyi was a great ambassador from Hungary to the United States. Now, he's a great ambassador for rock n' roll, showing readers how American music penetrated through the Iron Curtain and inspired a generation."―Former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright

"Whether through the skillful practice of diplomacy or guitar, András Simonyi understands better than most how the power of music can unite cultures and countries the world over. This stunningly detailed and inspiring personal account will entertain revolutionaries and rockers alike."― Nancy Brinker, founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure and New York Times bestselling author of Promise Me

"Simonyi's memoir serves as an urgent reminder that we should not take freedom for granted."―Financial Times

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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Hardcover. Stephen Colbert calls Andras Simonyi "the only ambassador I know who can shred a mean guitar!" In fact, Simonyi, the former Hungarian ambassador to the U.S., may be the only diplomat to also front a rock band. And as both, he has witnessed two of the most powerful forces in modern life: democracy and rock and roll. In ROCKING TOWARD A FREE WORLD, Simonyi reflects on the profound effect of those two forces in his life. He details the struggle of growing up behind the Iron Curtain in 1960s Hungary, and how under a communist regime music was powerful but furtive: records were black-market bootlegs; concerts were held in secret; protests were hidden in lyrics. To get caught meant punishment, even prison. But Simonyi was determined and knew how music could feed the culturally impoverished. Inspired by the protest music coming out of the US and the UK, he formed a band, befriended musicians, and became part of the burgeoning rock scene. There were setbacks, the oppression of the regime, and the collapse of his own dreams of stardom. But Simonyi came of age in step with his struggling homeland. By 1989, when a watershed Amnesty International concert in Budapest helped signal lasting change in Hungary, it was Simonyi, now a bureaucrat, who helped make the concert a reality. That same year, the Berlin Wall fell, and communism began its collapse. Inspiring and moving, ROCKING TOWARD A FREE WORLD shows the soft power of rock and roll as a driver of change, and how it inspired one boy to make a difference in his country and the world. From the former Hungarian ambassador to the U.S., a timely and deeply personal memoir of the quest for rock and roll, and the deep desire for freedom from behind the Iron Curtain. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781538762219

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