English Edition BUY

German Edition BUY

2nd French Edition BUY

1st French edition (one copy available at this link-hardest of them all to find) BUY

A nice Interview of Mark by Ivan Serra for Bob Marley Magazine.com HERE

Interview of Mark by the Wailers News. This is the interview that’s in the French editions HERE

____________________________________________________________________________________________

“Not I, but the Most High in I”

One of my favorite books is ‘Joseph A Rasta Reggae Fable’ by Barbara Makeda Blake Hannah. The third edition of the book has just been published and Barbara was kind enough to take some time and discuss it with the Midnight Raver Blog. Barbara is a Jamaican author, journalist and filmmaker.  She has written several books on topics that include  Rastafari, reggae and home schooling.  Barbara was an instrumental leader in Jamaican home schooling making history with her own son who was appointed Youth Technology Consultant to the Jamaican Government at age 13.  Following the interview is a profile of the book and plenty of links for Barabara.

First off Barbara, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us here at the Midnight Raver Blog and to share your story with our reggae loving readers.

It’s both a pleasure and an HONOUR to be in touch with Midnight Raver. I don’t know how come we are just meeting, given the mutual interest we share in our beloved brother, Bob Marley, but everything in its own time, so JAH say.

Well it’s nice to finally link up. Where were you born In Jamaica and where did you grow up?

I was born in Kingston to a well-off Black Jamaican father, a magazine editor, and grew up there. Went to a very posh high school in the country first, then back to Kingston to graduate around the time of Jamaican Independence. Worked with my Dad as a journalist, then as a PRO in an advertising agency.

I understand you moved to the UK in 1964 then back to Jamaica in 1972 and that’s when you found the way of Rastafari.  Before you left Jamaica, were you aware of The Wailers and their burgeoning career at Studio 1?

When I left Jamaica, I knew little about Jamaican music. It was the time of rock-n-roll and my musical heroes were Fats Domino, the Platters and the white pop stars like Elvis, Pat Boone, Bobby Darrin.  I was very ‘Uptown’ and the early music was considered ‘Downtown’ and not for ‘nice young ladies’ like I was supposed to be.

While in England I got to know my Jamaican music. I knew some of the people around Chris Blackwell in the early days of Island Records, people like Millie Small, the actress Esther Anderson and Sally Densham who married Perry Henzell. I once went to the airport with a friend to pick up Jimmy Cliff just arriving in England to work with Island.  While I was working in PR in London, I remember my English secretary asking me to translate the words of Desmond Dekker’s “Double O-Seven Shantytown” and I could hardly overstand the words! I was really removed from my culture, didn’t even know it existed.

While in the UK during the late 60′ and early 70′s do you recall hearing any of The Wailers music?

I didn’t hear any Wailers music till I got back to Jamaica in 1972. My first real exposure to reggae was in 1971 with the movie.THE HARDER THEY COME. I was working as an Assistant Producer on the BBC-TV show ‘Man Alive” and we had just come back from doing a documentary on the Cannes Film Festival, when Chris Blackwell called and asked me to be the PRO for the launch of Jamaica’s first feature film.  I sat and watched the film and heard the treasures of reggae pounding under the most incredible story about a side of my own country I didn’t know, and it blew my mind. Here was some beautiful, unique, original, spiritual music, and I could hardly dance to the beat! It wasn’t until I had seen the film several times and heard the music, that I finally found the ‘one drop’ beat in Toots song “Pressure Drop”. That was the first time I overstood myself as a JAMAICAN.  It made me want to leave England immediately and re-connect with my country, so I did just that. I packed up and left England for good.

Before you left, do you remember hearing about Bob Marley and Johnny Nash in 1971 or the Wailers in72′ when they would have been playing select shows in England?

Never went to a Marley show in England. These happened after I came home.

What made you check into Rastafari when you returned to Jamaica?

Even before I came home, I was checking Rastafari.  I had lived in England during the conscious-raising Sixties, when the Beatles made Swinging London, Angela Davis ran the Black Power Movement, the Hippies led anti-Vietnam-war movement of “Make Love Not War”. They had all influenced my growth, so by the time I saw THE HARDER THEY COME  and the Rastafari culture in it, I could see Rasta as the logical progression of my socio-spiritual education and life.

In your first book ‘Rastafari: The New Creation’ you have a fantastic chapter on your relationship with Bob. You first met Bob and the band in 1972 and got better reacquainted in 74′. Do you remember noticing a change in Bob in those two years?

When I came home at the end of ’71, Blackwell asked me to take some US music journalists on a tour of Kingston and to meet a new group he had just signed. I went up to 56 Hope Road and was introduced to Bob Marley by my old friend Esther Anderson, who was his girlfriend at that time. The Wailers had had some local hits and were known locally, but this was the early years before Bob’s locks grew and he became world famous.  Bob never changed, ever. That’s why it’s sometimes amusing, and always shocking to see how famous this ordinary man, our friend, became.  He always was the same man, humble, funny, strong, warrior, thoughtful, spiritual, down-to-earth. Never changed.

You recall a time when a group of you were hanging outside of Hope Rd. and Bob started to sing and sing. Can you please tell us more about that moment? Was Bob laying down on his car or sitting? How long did this last? Was he singing songs you were familiar with mixed in with new songs or improvised lyrics?

I worked at the Office of the Prime Minister in the 70s, which was two steps away from 56 Hope Road, and I lived within walking distance, so I would stop at Bob’s on my way home some evenings. It was one such evening and Bob and his bredrin were around the back reasoning and smoking and enjoying life. Bob just picked up his guitar – Dermot Hussey was there – and said: “See some new songs I am working on…” and just started to play, song after song, music after music, some complete, some just snatches, like water flowing from a river.  When we all just marvelled, Bob just smiled and shrugged of the praise, saying: “Not I, but the Most High in I”.  It’s a phrase I’ve never forgotten and used often since then, because it says exactly where anything worth praising comes from. I don’t know which songs they were, or if any of them ever became songs we know. It was just a very special moment as the dusk shadows dropped on a beautiful Rasta evening.

It’s an amazing story and experience, thank you for sharing it with us. Were you ever present for any band rehearsals? If so do you recall any specifics or special moments?

Once I was in the Hope Road studio while he and Rita and the band were recording “I’m A Black Survivor” and he was finding the lyrics for the lines: ‘Some people got hopes and dreams, some people got ways and means.’  When he was satisfied, he decided to take a rest, so he lay down on the ground in front of the stool I was sitting on. He slept for a while, when Neville Garrick came up to me and started talking. Bob woke up, and I got a feeling like a little lion had jumped out of my lap and stood up. I remember it clearly, like he had put his spirit to rest in my lap as he slept.

When was the last time you saw Bob?”

I had a job as PR for the City of Kingston and had suggested, among other things, that the Keys to the City be given to Harry Belafonte, Ranny Williams (a beloved actor/comedian in his last days) and Bob.  The answer came back: “Yes to Bob Marley if he will cut his hair and stop smoking ganja.” I sadly had to give Bob their answer, because I had come to him before to ask if he would accept the Keys if I recommended him. He had agreed “Jus’ because is you ask me, Barbara.” It was the last time I saw Bob. He had some visitors (a famous musician who was in awe of meeting Bob — forget his name). Then he played some football, Bob as usual against the rest of the men on the field, and Bob as usual the BEST player on the field. Then he sat down to rest and read from the autobiography of Emperor Haile Selassie. “You read this yet, Barbara?” he asked. I had not. “What?” he was astonished, but smiling. “You fi read it, Sis.”  When I had to leave, he called someone and told him to drive me home. “Carry her whichever part she wan’ go!” were his instructions to the man and the last words I heard from Bob.

Did you also get to know Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer or any of the other band members?

I got to know Peter after he left the Wailers. I lived close to him up in Red Hills above the City, and sometimes he gave me a ride down hill. But Peter was a very closed person, especially after his beautiful girlfriend died in a car crash – driver going the wrong way down a one-way street. Peter was devastated for more than a year, then he just grew very sad, other than when he was performing. He wasn’t easy to be close to, like Bob was. I didn’t get to know Bunny till in these late years.

You second book (and the one we want to really spread the word about here) is ‘Joseph-A Rasta Reggae Fable’.  I won’t give the story away to our readers but in a nutshell it is a fantastic fable about Joseph,a Third World reggae star who gains worldwide fame and then fades off into the African sunset. Marley fans will easily recognize the parallels between the book’s character and the life of Bob Marley. Except for the end unfortunately.  What made you decide to write a book of this nature as opposed to a more intimate Marley biography based on your own experiences with Bob and reggae? 

A lot of people have written Marley biographies and assessments of his work, but I haven’t read any that show the Rasta side of Bob. They can show lots of red,gold and green icons, Bob’s photos, performances and interviews, but they can’t explain what it was that made this Rastaman so enormously successful. Dylan and Springstein have had hits and become famous, but none have overtaken the world as this dreadlocks Black Rastaman. Only a Rasta can explain it. As Bob says, “Who feels it, knows it.”

The Rasta side of Bob is the secret of Bob’s success.  When you are Rasta, you know how the knowledge gives you access to great powers, great spiritual awareness, and out of that, great success.  People outside Rasta can only look on and marvel, but it’s necessary to come within to fully OVERstand Rasta.  So I decided to write a book about Bob from inside a Rasta mind. Each Chapter begins with a Bible verse, not just to refer to what is coming and what inspired the chapter, but to bless it and to make sure I kept the fullness of Rastafari within it.

I also wrote it because I WISH Bob’s life had gone more like the story.  I wish Bob had made a pilgrimage to Lalibela, even to Ethiopia in his lifetime. He would still be alive, I think. And I wish Bob had been taken to warm, healthy, herbal Jamaica to recover, rather than to icy cold, dark Germany (not my favourite European country!) and to a former Nazi scientist a.k.a ‘doctor’. He would definitely still be alive.  It seems to me, looking on from the start in 1972 to today, that Bob’s life got taken over by the merchandising department, consisting of people who knew nothing whatever about Rastafari, only about money.  All the Rastafari power that could have protected his life, was removed from around him and in its place were the weirdest assortment of hangers-on persuading Bob to follow the Babylon road of sex, drugs and rock-n-reggae. I say in the livication to my book that it is ‘… what could have been, and what should have been…”

How long did the writing process take?

I started writing it just after my son was born, writing by pencil and lamplight, hoping it would become a best-seller and provide me income to be the stay-home Mom I intended to be.  It took me about 4 years to complete, from handwritten, to typed on paper, to finally text on a computer.  And It hasn’t yet become a best seller, but it has fed us a few meals

How did you decide to publish it through your own company as opposed to shopping it around?

I tried to get a publisher in Jamaica, but no one was interested. This was in the days before the internet where you can look for international publishers, or even make a digital copy. So I got the money to pay the printer, and lo! JOSEPH came to life!!

The second printing was published in 1992 and had a completely new cover.  Why was the choice made to create a new cover?

I found that potential buyers didn’t overstand the lettering or artwork of the first cover although I loved it. Then I got Tekla Ab (Thorold DeMercado) to do illustrations for the second edition, and decided to use one of them as the cover.

How did the idea come about to include those illustrations by Tekla Ab?

By the time I published JOSEPH, I had published “RASTAFARI – THE NEW CREATION and found that people loved it because it had so many illustrations.  I remember when books of old used to have illustrations that gave you pictures from the story, so I decided to do that. I still think that’s the best edition of the book.

Do you recall how many copies of the first edition and second printing were made?

I printed 500 copies of each edition. I personally went around the island trying to get it into shops.  Then Novelty Trading Company, the island’s only book distributor, took some copies as they were starting up a section for books by Jamaicans to go with their Jamaica postcard section, so they took copies and put them in their outlets in tourist resorts and the airport. Most people bought copies at the airport or their hotel, but copies were sold at the leading local pharmacies and bookstores.

At the time did it catch the attention of any media in Jamaica or abroad?

I got a review in the GLEANER, which was then the only newspaper, and a photo of one of my book signings at a local hotel. Other than Rasta message boards, the book went virtually unnoticed outside Jamaica.

Fast forward 14 or 15 years and MacMillan Education approaches you I assume, to publish a new edition of the book.  How did that come about?

Novelty was impressed with the sales of both my RASTAFARI book, and now JOSEPH. It was they who recommended the book to MacMillan, who publishes most of the Caribbean’s school textbooks, as well as some literature.

What was is like to be contracted with a large publishing company like that?

It wasn’t a good experience. First of all, it took them 3 years from signing the contract to publication. I regretted the time wasted just as interest in the book had been building up. Then, worst of all, they published the book with a cover I had not approved.  Approval of the cover was in my contract and they sent me artwork which I approved. Then they sent the finished book to me with a cover I had not even seen! They had removed the pictures of the Emperor and the flag from the artwork, splashed white paint in the center and – worst of all – changed the dreadlocks man’s hair into the hair of an Asian man. It made the book look like a cheap, amateurish rip off book by someone trying to capitalize on Rasta and I knew the book would not sell well with that cover.

I protested, but MacMillan said IF the 2000 copies they had printed sold off, they would change the cover for the next printing. Needless to say, by the time my contract with them was over, more than half of their print run had not been sold. I think they pulped the rest, I know they got Jamaica to send them back any remaining copies. Needless to say, I could not afford to sue them, so I have just had to suck it up and wish them a reward of their evil.

The cover I originally approved is the cover I am using on this new edition.  Since they never used it, there’s nothing stopping me. I rather hope they sue me, so I can bring out the whole story in court and get compensated.

So here we are in 2013 and you just published the third edition of this great book back again on your own imprint, Jamaica Media Productions. What made you decide to publish it again through JaMedia Productions?

I have been a writer all my life, made my living all my life from the things I have written. My books are the only remnants of that life, and the only pension I have in my old age, so I will continue to re-publish and market them as my main source of income – however small it is.  They are also the legacy I leave to my son and his children, so now that books can be published digitally so easily, it’s time to upgrade all my publications and make sure they are available for people to read.

How do you feel right now about the state of Bob Marley’s legacy and the publishing of your book at this particular moment?

I hope my book reminds some people of what the Red, Gold and Green culture used to be like in the early days, in the glorious Rasta Reggae Seventies. I am sad that Bob is not remembered today as a Rasta pioneer for Black repatriation to Africa (EXODUS) and  as a teacher of the Rastafari faith (HAILE SELASSIE IS THE CHAPEL).  Instead he is remembered as the man who asked Blacks and Whites to love one another because he was both Black and White – a good message, but not as complete as the strength of the Rasta message he brought to the world – JAH LIVE.  Bob is now little more than a merchandising symbol to sell Babylon products and albums of his more uncontroversial songs. You hardly ever hear “Johnny Was a Good Boy” or “Three O’Clock Road Block” or “Small Axe” played these days. Only “One Love” and “No Woman No Cry”. “Small Axe” is one of the most revolutionary songs to ever come out of reggae. Peter Tosh now seems to be rememered for more Rasta Psalms than Bob (IN THE BEGINNING, CREATING SOLDIERS FOR JAH ARMY, VAMPIRES, etc) because of the songs now being played. Peter’s revlutionary spirit is not being hidden by his management.

Bob was a revolutionary to us while he was here, he was a Steve Biko, a Malcolm X and a Huey Newton, so it’s sad to see a life-size picture of Bob in a Niagara Falls convenience story selling energy drinks beside the condom rack.  I would have expected the Million$$$ he left behind to be funding an international Rasta bank, Rasta businesses, Rasta resorts, Rasta books, Rasta schools, Rasta travel agencies….  But instead, Bob is just another brand name now, a business, and it diminishes his status as a Black Hero and Rasta teacher. Yes money is good, but Rastafari already showed I&I to avoid Babylon’s money trap that Bob is sunk in now.  Bob’s money was his blessing from JAH for the world, not just for his children’s children, or for the music business moguls to become billionaires.

There is a trailer for a movie of JOSEPH on youtube (the link is below after the book profile). Can you tell a little more about it?

People have said JOSEPH should be made into a movie, and as a film maker, I would love that to happen. I got some funding to make a trailer in the hope of interesting investors, and the script is ready for such a blessing.  I have Lennox Lewis, Earl Chinna Smith, Tarrus Riley among other, ready to star in it, so I hope there is an interested producer reading this.

I can say is that JOSEPH is one of Roger Steffens favorite books, it’s one of mine and I know many others who absolutely love it. So on behalf of all our readers here at the Midnight Raver Blog and Marley book lovers worldwide we thank you for your time. We also thank you for writing and publishing this great story. Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers or a place where they can find out more information about you and your works?

I have a personal Facebook page, and also a page each for my books RASTAFARI – THE NEW CREATION’, ‘GROWING OUT – Black Hair & Black Pride’ – my autobiography about early life and years in England, and ‘HOME – THE FIRST SCHOOL’ advice and information gained from homeschooling my son Makonnen.

I am totally humbled to know that my book is so highly regarded by you all at Midnight Raver.  I can’t thank you enough for the exposure here and now, and the encouragement that the work was well done. Giving nuff Thanks and Praise, as Bob would say, “Not I, but the Most High in I.”

JAH BLESS

#21   Joseph A Rasta Reggae Fable

Title: Joesph- A Rasta Reggae Fable

Author: Barbara Makeda Blake Hannah

First Edition: 1991, Jamaica Media Production, ISBN: 9768091118

Second Printing: 1992, Jamaica Media Production, ISBN: 9768091118

Second Edition: 2006, Macmillion Education, ISBN 140506143x

Third Edition: 2013, Jamaica Media Productions, ISBN 1482678896

Most Bob Marley books fit into one of the standard categories such as biographies, photography or songbooks. But fortunately one in particular that creates its own category is ‘Joseph- A Rasta Reggae Fable.’  As the title suggest it is a fable about Joseph, a “fictional” reggae musician from the Third World who rises up to worldwide fame only to ride off into the African sunset.  Sound somewhat familiar? Written by the wonderful Barbara Makeda Blake Hannah and first published by Jamaica Media Productions Ltd. In 1991 this book has had three editions published to date.  The first edition and second printing were both published by Jamaica Media Productions and each has its own beautiful artistic cover.   Macmillian Education out of Oxford, England published a second edition in 2006.  Jamaica Media Productions has just published the third edition. It is now an easy book to find and one I highly suggest to all Marley lovers.  After my first read, it instantly became one of my favorites. For those that know the Bob Marley story the fable will flow right along but Barbara will always throw in a few surprises for you.  It’s a happy ending and one I wish could have been a reality.

Barbara Makeda Blake Hannah is a Jamaican author, journalist and filmmaker.  She has written several books on topics that include  Rastafari, reggae and home schooling.  Barbara was an instrumental leader in Jamaican home schooling making history with her own son who was appointed Youth Technology Consultant to the Jamaican Government at age 13 years.

 

Buy book and learn more about Barbara

Movie Trailer

Rastafari The New Creation facebook page

Growing Out FB page

Home-the first school fb page

Photo Gallery

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Here’s a great opportunity to purchase some great Bob Marley posters.  These are collector’s items not posters you find at the mall or on ebay. These are the real deal designed by Colleen Cannon. Read about how she designed the original for a Bob Marley concert and how you can now own a copy. I have 2!

___________________________________________________________________________________________

#20 Bob Marley: Reggae King of the World by Malika Lee Whitney and Dermot Hussey
Title:Bob Marley Reggae King of the World

Publishers: Kingston Publishers Limited, , E.P. Dutton, Pomegranate, Plexus, LMH Publishers, Daiei, Minotaurus Projekt
Years:1984-2013
Pages:200; 2013 edition has 208 pages. 

Are you in search of a essential Bob Marley book from Jamaica loaded with tons of Jamaican flavor?  I thought so. Well, you probably already have a copy but if not, the book for you to get is ‘Bob Marley Reggae King of the World’ by Malika Lee Whitney and Dermot Hussey.  First published in 1984 by Kingston Publishing, it has been licensed to publishers in the U.S. (E.P. Dutton, Pomegranite), UK (Plexus), Japan (Daiei ) and Germany (Minotaurus Projekt).  The publishers have published several different editions and printings over the years but all (besides Japan) have kept the original look. The cover, spine and contents have been identical.  Until now!  LMH Publishing (formerly Kingston Publishers) has put a new look to this classic book in addition to new content. The book with the new look just hit the shelves on Feb 18th and may only be “easily”  available in person in Jamaica for the time being. Hey, great excuse for a trip to Yard. You can also order the book online through LMH’s website (see link below).

Now about the book for those of you who have never seen a copy.   It’s a great book that has always been heralded as a classic.  It contains tons of photos of Bob, Jamaica and roots in general. The book includes several photos from Bob’s state funeral as well as live and candid photos. The bulk of the book centers around original interviews of Bob, Rita, Mother B, Family Man, Neville Garrick, Cindy Breakspeare, Skill Cole and Judy Mowatt The interviews are all informative and interesting. The other tidbits included in this book also help to ensure it’s classic status such as a map of BMW tour routes, a Island/Tuff Gong album recap, short bios of the major figures of The Wailers band, sample of album and single output and a nice 10 page newspaper and magazine article section. One of the highlights of the new addition is an exchange of Halie Selassie I photos. On page 106 of the old edition a grainy photo of the Emperor on a coach is used, the new edition puts in a crisp clean incredible photo by the Jamaican Gleaner of H.I.M. walking in front the Jamaican Army……Army? a photo of Skill Cole is also added. In addition to the photos, a page on Bob’s children who are working in music or the world of Marley is added.  A cool addition is a nice shout out to another great book. Noted at the bottom of the Discography page in the book is; *Refer to Bob Marley and the Wailers: The Definitive Discography for the complete works of Bob Marley and the Wailers.

The publishing goes like this……First published in 1984 in Jamaica and the U.S. by Kingston Publishers Ltd. (ISBN: None listed) and E.P. Dutton (ISBN: 0525480889) respectively. Then Plexus in the UK published the first UK edition in 1989 (ISBN: 0859650685). A second edition was published in 1994 in the U.S. by Pomegranate Artbooks (ISBN: 156640987x). Pomegranate published a second edition, and third total U.S. printing, in 1998 (ISBN: 156640987x). LMH Publishing Ltd. supposedly published an edition in 2001 (ISBN: 976625060x) but I’ve been unable to locate a copy. Their new 2013 edition does not cite a 2001 edition only the 1st 1984, 2nd 1994, 1998 reprint and it list 2013 as the third edition.While waiting to obtain a copy of the new edition, I encourage you to grab a copy of any of the other editions.  Most editions are easy to find and more than affordable clocking in at $10 or below. The 1995 Japanese edition (ISBN: 4886825885) will be harder and much more costly to find as well as the 1984 German edition (ISBN: 3921982200) but nice to obtain if you can. I’ve never been able to locate a German edition. All editions (besides an interesting library copy I own) are paperback books. The Japanese edition does have a dust jacket on top of the paperback book.

Note, I’m spelling Demott with two ‘T’s’ as it’s printed in the book (even the new edition with the new cover design has two T’s) but he spells it with one ‘T’ on his facebook page and Sirius Satellite channel.

LMH website
Buy older editions
Dermot Hussey info
Malika Lee Whitney info

Happy New Year!

What can I say about the book Catch a Fire by Timothy White that has not already been printed numerous time?  Really not too much. In my opinion it’s a fun biography.  I read it the first time my Freshman year of college in 1993 and again in 1996 on my way to Barbados. I have browsed through it numerous times since then and recently re-read it for this overview.  There are things I like and don’t like about it.  I like some of the details and the way the story moves fast.  Sometimes too fast though.  I don’t like the way White writes in a style that makes you think he was actually there or received facts about how things went down.  Much of the book is simply him conjuring up scenarios of what Bob might have said or what his grandfather might have said or done at a certain time. It’s simply make-believe to help fill in the story. There are errors throughout the book. Not only grammatical but more importantly factual. You would think by the 5th revised and updated copy they would correct things that have come to light since the first publication but all of it has stayed the same. More or less the only revisions that each edition would get were updates on the current Marley Estate shituations.

It is indeed a must read Bob Marley book. I encourage everybody who would take the time to read it to also take the time to read the bios by Stephen Davis, John Masouri, Chris Salewicz, Viv Goldman’s recounting of the Exodus era and several others. They all compliment each other nicely.  I assume the reason so many people have read it is because it is by far the biggest selling Bob Marley biography and it has been published more times in more countries than any other Marley book. In light of that we will then focus on all of the different publications.

For many readers of the blog, one of the 5 U.S. editions published by  Owl/Henry Holt will be the copy you’ll read. Although The last edition published in 2006 after White’s death states it is the fourth edition, it is in fact the fifth edition. And within those five edition there are numerous printings, well over 20 for some editions. The main UK publisher has been Omnibus. They have published three editions but took over from Elm Tree Books who published the first edition in 1983. In edition to those, Corgi published two editions in 1984 and 1989. Besides the Corgi editions and the 2006 Owl edition all printings look the same using the Bob drawing by Daniel Maffia for the cover. The spines and slight cover changes are the only real differences.

The great thing about Catch a Fire is that it’s been published all around the world. Italy has published the most with 7 editions/printings/covers. Really that makes no sense but basically there are seven different copies of the Italian Catch a Fire’s that you can find. Germany has published three, Poland two, Brazil one, Spain one, Czech Republic one and Japan one. Oddly enough there has never been a French edition. Similarly there has never been an Italian edition of Stephen Davis’ bio but there has been numerous French editions. Odd. To me at least.

The Japanese edition and the first U.S and UK editions have been the only three hardcover editions of the book. All others have been paperback, although the ones from Brazil, Spain and Poland are high quality paperback. Copies can be found for literally pennies and every Marley library should contain a copy. It does contain a discography in the back of the book that I’m sure more Marley lovers have referenced more than once.  Timothy White was a writer and editor for Crawdaddy, Rolling Stone and Billboard Magazine. It was through these positions that he landed the job of interviewing Bob.  He contributed to The Beat magazine early on for their annual Marley issues.  White died in 2002 from a heart attack. His widow Judy Garlan added additional text to the 2006 editions.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

The book collects nine essays by a variety of speakers, teachers and scholars. The topics range from politics, the range of Bob’s songwriting to Bob’s output and capitalism.

There are opening greetings  by the Hon. Burchell Whitman, Prof. Rex Nettleford and Maureen Rose. Followed by an overview of the book and introduction by Wint and Cooper respectively.

The included presentations are “Roots in the Airways: Popular Culture in a Global Context” by Dick Hebdigs, “Positive Vibration? Capitalist Textural Hegemony and Bob Marley” by MIke Alleyne, Jamming Down Under: Bob Marley’s Legacy and Reggae Culture in Australia and New Zealand” by Brent Clough, Romance, Rebellion, Religion: Marley’s Musical Mix” by Garth White, Bob Marley: Religious Prophet?” by Janet DeCosmo, “Bob Marley and the Politicks of Subversion” by Keisha Lindsay & Louise Lindsay, “Political and Cultural Context of Rasta and Rudeboy in the 1960s” by Rupert Lewis and “The Marley Legacy Betrayed?” by Habte Selassie. Although all essays are on different topics and touch many themes, several, to me, are just too foreign to the simple natural heartbeat of the roots reggae vibe. The essays do remind us all of the amazing gift Bob had and the works he left us with.

 The book is available on amazon.com and is a nice addition to any Marley book collection.  Click below to see the book and to buy a copy.

Photo Gallery

Buy the Book

___________________________________________________________________________________________