Taking Woodstock is the funny, touching, and true story of Elliot Tiber, the man who was instrumental in arranging the site for the original Woodstock Concert. Elliot, whose parents owned an upstate New York motel, was working in Greenwich Village in the summer of 1969. He socialized with the likes of Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, and yet somehow managed to keep his gay life a secret from his family. Then on Friday, June 28, Elliot walked into the Stonewall Inn—and witnessed the riot that would galvanize the American gay movement and enable him to take stock of his own lifestyle. And on July 15, when Elliot learned that the Woodstock Concert promoters were unable to stage the show in Wallkill, he offered to find them a new venue. Soon he was swept up in a vortex that would change his life forever.

Elliot Tiber (April 15, 1935–August 3, 2016) was a gay rights pioneer who wrote and produced numerous award-winning plays and musical comedies. As a professor of comedy writing and performance, he taught at the New School and Hunter College in Manhattan. His first novel, Rue Haute, was a bestseller in Europe, and was published in the United States as High Street. The novel was made into a 1976 French-language feature film adapted and directed by coauthor and partner André Ernotte. As a humorist, Mr. Tiber appeared on CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, BBC, and CNBC, as well as on television shows in Franch, England, Tokyo, Moscow, Berlin, Belgium, and elsewhere throughout the world.

Mr. Tiber's memoir Taking Woodstock, which he wrote with Tom Monte, was first published in 2007 and was soon after turned into a feature film by director Ang Lee. He is also the author of another memoir that explored his life before Woodstock called Palm Trees on the Hudson: A True Story of the Mob, Judy Garland, and Interior Decorating. In addition to his work as a writer, Tiber was a highly sought-after lecturer who appeared in many international venues. In his final years, Mr. Tiber lived in the Miami Beach section of Florida, where he continued his work as a writer; a painter; and a humorist.

A national best-selling writer, counselor, and teacher of natural healing methods,Tom Monte is a leading voice in the natural health movement. He has written and co-authored more than thirty books and many hundreds of articles on virtually every area of health. Among his bestsellers are Recalled by Life, Living Well Naturally, and Natural Prozac. Tom has lectured and conducted transformational programs throughout the United States and around the world. His eight-month Healer’s Program, based in New York City and Orval, Belgium, trains practitioners in the useof highly effective natural methods for healing body, mind, and spirit. The Healer’s Program is also an experience in personal transformation. Tom also conducts workshops that focus on healing the heart and personal relationships.He lives with his wife, Toby, in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Acknowledgments

1. Lost in White Lake
2. The Teichberg Curse
3. My “Other” Life
4. Digging a Deeper Grave While Laughing Hysterically
5. Stonewall and the Seeds of Liberation
6. The Golden Goose Lands at the El Monaco
7. The World Is Made Anew
8. The First Wave
9. White Lake Rebels
10. Everyone Wants a Piece of the Pie
11. The Day Is Saved
12. Taking Woodstock

Epilogue

"Tiber, who helped organize the iconic music festival, recounts the events that led up to Woodstock in this entertaining true story. He recreates the events in dramatic detail, offering readers a new take on a legendary event as well as sharing his own coming-of-age story, his grapples with his homosexuality and run-ins with some of the most celebrated musicians and visual artists of the day. [Narrator] Jim Frangione is the perfect choice for the material: his dramatic flair brings a subtle theatricality to the story. He is able to transcend time and space and transport both himself and his audience back to the 1960s."

"(Taking Woodstock) is absolutely amazing! This reviewer couldn't put it down - in fact, read it twice before writing this review. If you've ever dreamed of being at Woodstock or even if you were there, the author Elliot Tiber will take you back." 

"Momentous . . . [a] thoroughly entertaining tale [and] very human story." 

"Comic and creative . . . [from] the man who serendipitously brought the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival to Bethel, NY, in the summer of 1969 . . . recommended." 

"The true story of Elliot Tiber, hero of the original Woodstock Festival . . . [a] snapshot of America Yesterday." 

"Gleefully candid and often hilarious . . . the story of a middle-aged gay man challenging bigotry, intolerance and the rural peace of Upstate New York's residents for the legal rights to sing, dance, and make love not war."