Elton John to write book about the AIDS crisis

(CBS/AP) LONDON - Elton John is penning his first book, a personal account of the AIDS crisis.

"Love is the Cure: Ending the Global AIDS Epidemic" will include memories of friends who died of AIDS-related illnesses, including Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, the musician said Monday.

British publisher Hodder & Stoughton says the book will be published in July along with an audio book read by the British pop star. The U.S. publisher is Little, Brown.

Proceeds will go to Elton John's AIDS Foundation.

John said the book would ask why more is not being done to cure the disease.

"This is a disease that must be cured not by a miraculous vaccine, but by changing hearts and minds, and through collective effort to break down social barriers and to build bridges of compassion," John said in a statement, obtained by Reuters. "Why are we not doing more? This is a question I have thought deeply about, and wish to answer - and to help change - by writing this book."