András Török (b. 1954) is an author, lecturer, a long-time observer of the Budapest urban scene. He studied English, History and Modern Greek in his native Budapest during the 70s, then he sharpened his wit and sense of quality in the dissident intellectual salons. Since Budapest: A Critical Guide was first published in 1989, it was re-written a dozen times.
A critic called this book “the Bildungsroman of the author”, one which has become more and more personal over the years, without losing its matter of factness and plethora of practical data. The author says it is “a wonderful feeling, to be a traveller in one’s home town: with one more day at any time…” He thinks he perches at the crossroads of local history, journalism and fiction writing — if there is such a place. He is a great networker and a well known personality in Budapest.
As an Author
András Török is an author of nine books, and many smaller publications. This is a comprehensive list of his non-Hungarian-speaking publications:
- Rétro et ringard. In: Budapest, Danube Blues, Autrément, Octobre, 1988, pp. 80-85
- A boire et a manger. In: Budapest, Danube Blues, Autrément, 1988, pp. 150-157.
- Budapest: A Critical Guide. Park/Officina Nova, 1989, Park, 19912, 19923, Corvina, 19974, 19985, 19996, 20017, 248 p.
- Waandeling door Budapest. In: Transfer, Amsterdam, Juni 1990, pp. 16-25. (Dutch.)
- Budapest: Ein kritischer Reiseführer. Park, Bp. 1989, 19902, 19913, 19974, 19995, 20016, 248 p.
- The Spirit of the City. In: Matrix, Montréal, Number 34, pp. 64-70.
- L’histoire de mon Pot-au-feu. In: Belvédere, Paris, 1991, pp. 96-100.
- Budapest: Una Guida Diversa. Officina Nova, 1991, pp. 236.
- The Confessions of a Guidebook Writer. (The Hungarian Quarterly, 1992 Spring)
- A Booklover’s Guide to Budapest. Budapest Book Festival, 1994, 48 pp.
- Hungary: Arts And Culture Directory. (Visiting Arts, London, 1999, pp. 418. Co-editor with Tim Doling, Sándor Striker, Mária S. Arapovics.)
- Wo sind all die Eggheads hin? Über die Budapester Intellektuellen (In: “Perspektiven Metropolitaner Kultur”, herausgegeben von Ursula Keller, edition suhrkamp, 2000.
- Before and After. (Scenes of Budapest – with the photographs of Imre Benkő.) Harvard Design Magazine, Winter/Spring 2001. pp. 31-43.
- Le regard hongrois. Photographes hongrois au jardin du Palais Royal, Paris. Éditions Mai Manó, Budapest, 2001. pp. 280. (Editior-in-chief, author of the introduction and the comtemporary biographical notes.)
- Resurrecting Budapest Photographer Manó Mai and his Studio/Home. In: Photography and Research in Austria, Vienna, the Door to the European East. Dietmar Klinger Verlag, Passau, 2002. pp. 57-67.
- The Hungarian Parliament, 2016.
- 500 Hidden Secrets of Budapest, Luster, Anwerp, 2018, 2019
- Thinking – in Three Ways – about the Fortepan Online Community
Photo Archive, in: Every Past is My Past, Hungarian National Gallery, 2019., pp. 14-27.
As a Lecturer
András Török is a very experienced lecturer in English, who has given a lecture in a UNESCO world conference (Stockholm), was plenary speaker at the “Artists and Mobility” conference (Rotterdam), and one of the lecturers in a Tate Modern EUCLID conference on cultural industries. He was a keynote speaker at the 2017 Culture Action Europe General Assembly, in Budapest. He is especially good in talking to small to medium size audiences on subjects of Budapest, such as:
— The City No Tourist Can See
— Anything But Blue: The Danube
— The Good, The Bad, and the Naff: Budapest, City of Statues
— How Can Budapest Become “The Hottest Cool Spot in Europe?”
— The History of Hungary Since I’ve Been Around
— A City that never Misses an Opportunity to Miss an Opportunity