Bob Marley: The Untold Story Book

An important book if you have been touched by the music of Bob Marley, especially those songs that you could feel arose not only from a spiritual well-spring, but from the ghettos of Jamaica and experiences that were authentically in solidarity with the Third World and those in poverty. The book goes into much detail into his life and work, and, if one has listened to all of Bob's albums and felt that different things were going on historically and musically, this read will help you truly sort them out. I read the book hoping to understand more of the social justice aspect of his work, and I feel that it helped me to do that, though it also helped me to revisit so much that I love about the art of Bob Marley and the Wailers. Much about Peter Tosh in the book as well, an artist who helped to shape my political consciousness at a young age like no other back in the 1980's. I found the evidence that the CIA sponsored the assassination attempt on Marley very important, and some other material of this sort was included, but I wish that there was more.

"...Bob's true rebel spirit lies in his devastatingly accurate depictions of ghetto life and official oppression and corruption. The pain of 'Slave Driver; the anger of 'Rebel Music (3 O'Clock Roadblock)', 'The Belly Full (But We Hungry)', and 'Rat Race'; the inspired vision of recording Haile Selassie's speech to the United Nation as 'War'; in his raising aloft the arms of Prime Minister Michael Manley and opposition leader Edward Seaga in an effort at unity; in his forming relationships with Kingston's gang leaders in an effort to cool them out; in his dispensing thousands of dollars at a time to penniless mothers; in his efforts to bestride the racial and economic barriers inherent in Jamaica and throughout Babylon; in his establishing the concept of 'Babylon' in our culture and souls. And isn't it curious that Bob Marley is seen as a rebel because he had a genuine belief in peace and an end to oppression?" (411)