ABOUT THE AUTHORMenyhért Lakatos (1926-2007) was the prizewinning author of many books. His magnum opus, The Color of Smoke¿inspired by his own youth in a Romani settlement, and first published in Hungarian in 1975¿has been translated into more than half a dozen languages.

"After appearing in various European languages, The Color of Smoke has at last been made available in English. Based loosely on Lakatos Menyhért's own life, it skillfully and imaginatively portrays the challenges facing the journey from boyhood to manhood of its central figure. As a Romani (Gypsy) adolescent he has to deal with the cultural barriers that separate his own world from the non-Gypsy world as all Roma must do--but he does so surrounded by the terrors of the Second World War, when the Romani people in Hungary were being herded into labor camps, some destined for Auschwitz. Written by an insider, this long-overdue and realistically harsh book opens a window into Romani life at that time and adds to our growing awareness of the Romani experience in Nazi-occupied Europe."


¿Ian Hancock, Director of the Romani Archives and Documentation Center, University of Texas, and author of We Are the Romani People ¿¿