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Catch a Fire: The Life of Bob Marley
The classic biography of reggae legend Bob Marley, updated and revised for the twenty-fifth anniversary of his death
Bob Marley left an indelible mark on modern music, both as a reggae pioneer and as an enduring cultural icon. Catch a Fire, now a classic of rock biography, delves into the life of the leader of a musical, spiritual, and political explosion that continue...more
Paperback, 576 pages
Published
May 2nd 2006
by Owl Books
(first published 1983)
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I was very disappointed with this book. After reading it, I have a pretty good idea of what Marley's childhood was like, a hazy picture of his adult life but no understanding at all of how a poor man from a third-world country was able to popularize a genre of music that was almost universally disdained in most of the world.
I would have expected more discussion of his music; specifically how he and Chris Blackwell changed the arrangement of Marley's reggae songs to appeal to a broad...more
I would have expected more discussion of his music; specifically how he and Chris Blackwell changed the arrangement of Marley's reggae songs to appeal to a broad...more
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Catch a Fire is as much about Jamaican politics, Jamaican music history, Rastafarianism, and Jamaican folk customs and belief in the supernatural as it is about Bob Marley. What you get about Marley covers his childhood at least as much as the time when he was a famous musician. At least a third of this covers the post death Marley situation with way too much for my interest about the legal wranglings over his estate after he died. You never really get inside of his head or get a true feel for t...more
I always felt like Bob Marley got a raw deal - the only time i ever heard him was when it was walking by stoned out frat boys at Miami University. And it never sat right that this man, who inspired so much loyalty to him and to his movement, should be reduced to party music by people who weren't really listening to it. This biography completely changed the way I thought about not only Bob Marley, and not only about Reggae music, but spirituality and oppression and what it meant to be an agent ...more
At times I found this book hard to read, the language was written with the Jamacia slang if you will and I was stoned half the time I read it, so I had to keep coming back and re-reading it. But despite all that it was an incrediable journey inside the life of a ledgend! A must read if you have any interest in Bob!
A much more comprehensive read than I was expecting, delving into Jamaican culture, the Rastafarian faith, and the roots and evolution of reggae music. All of this background sets the table for an intimate look at the life and artistry of Bob Marley. Most intriguing were passages about Bob's shooting on the eve of a music festival he agreed to sing at, well aware that there were those in power who did not want him there, the murder of fellow artist Peter Tosh, and Bob's death, which began with...more
Catch a Fire is an impressive history/biography about the life and times of Bob Marley. At points the book reads like an extremely detailed political history of Jamaica while at other times it reads like a gripping novel. It is really an excellent book and deserves a less truncated review than the one I'm giving it. My takeaways:
Rastafari is a really, really strange belief system.
Jamaica is a terrifically sad place.
The difference between Bob Marley's reality, (both his physical...more
Rastafari is a really, really strange belief system.
Jamaica is a terrifically sad place.
The difference between Bob Marley's reality, (both his physical...more
i will start with a disclaimer, since i do not enjoy biographies in general and the very aspect of history and time bores me to tears, especially when read for enjoyment. with this in mind i do not intend to insult anyone by saying that this book was not an exception to my rule of thumb. though this book caught my eye as i was browsing a school library, i was gradually let down more and more as i progressed through the pages. though i pictured this to be like a "go ask alice" type docu...more
SOOOOO much more than the biography of a man at the center of a music revolution, it is the story of a once-in-a-century human being. I was not a big Bob Marley fan before I read this book ... but I could not help becoming one once I did. A fantastic and riveting read and re-read about the life and influence of a reggae and music icon. Wait until you read about the time Bob and his rastafarian brethren played the World Cup champions in a friendly game of soccer ... but that's nothing, the story ...more
An extremely thorough and honest portrayal of an exceptional and inspiring figure. Also, the level of research and interviews compiled over more than a decade allow the reader some insight into the financial and political insanity that was the start of reggae in the late 1960s/early 1970s Jamaica.
If you have an interest in music, magic, Marley, Reaganomics, Jamaican culture, or even just like a crazy story, this is an excellent choice.
If you have an interest in music, magic, Marley, Reaganomics, Jamaican culture, or even just like a crazy story, this is an excellent choice.
Graet account of the life and times of one of the greatest that ever lived. I love that the author included a lot about Rastafarianism, Jamaican politics, and Marley's family. The only complaint is that it can, at times get confusing. Given that there is so much information, and so many names thrown into it, I found myself backtracking to try and figure out who was who, which I hate doing! All in all though, it's a great read.
I'm not a huge Bob Marley fan, but I checked this book out as a means to get a feel for the overall history of a lot of the Jamaican music I'm into, e.g. Gregory Isaacs, Delroy Wilson, Justin Hinds, etc. I didn't get as much of that as I wanted, but I thought it was still a great read. For the record, I certainly have been listening to a lot more Bob Marley lately.
I am a fan of biographies, especially musicians, so I had a certain expectation of content coming into this book. I would say the contents is only 1/3 about Marley, the rest is a murky history of Rastafarianism and Jamaican politics, which I found to be poorly organized, confusing, and boring. Definitely choose a different book if you want a Bob Marley biography.
Thomas Mckinzie
added it
This is by far a amazing book . It so descriptive and detailed . It takes you deep into the life of bob marley and the history of Raggae . The first 100 pages are about raggae and they are kind of slow but if you are interested in learning every little aspect about Bob marely and raggae i would recommend this book for you .
bob was, and continues to be, a very influential person. however, a lot of people don't know much about him. even after reading this book he is still something of an enigma. interesting to read about his influence on reggae and his role in popularizing it around the world.
Okay...So I might be a little biased because I'm obsessed with Robert Nesta Marley though I have to say that I would have liked to hear more about him as a father and a family man in general. This was an excellent depiction of this revolutionary!
I checked out on this book. Ostensibly a biography of Bob Marley, it functions as an introduction to Kingston in the 1970s and the most interesting parts of the book are when the author is going on about politics and the reggae scene. It's a loving tribute and all that, but if I had to hazard a guess, I would say the book this guy really wanted to write in the end would have been about Jamaica. The Marley stuff is pretty on point until he gets famous and then you kind of stop caring about what's...more
One of the most informative and inclusive books on Bob Marley, his life and his music. Bob was so much more than his music, he was a prophet, a philosopher and a hero to millions. A must read for any Bob Marley fan.
For poor white boys, this is as essential a read as his Greatest Hits is a listen. The sound of American music being pushed aside by the rest of the world. Classical music for our grandchildren.
A must read for any Bob Marley fan! This biography does a great job of exploring the man and the legend around him. He is a flawed man, but his messages of peace and love radiate from every page.
I've always been interested in him, especially the whole Rastafarian thing. I hope this one details his EARLY musical career rather than just focusing on his later, more popular music.
this wasn't meant to be a shocking expose, but it was to me. after reading this i knew I would have to give up trying to reconcile rastafarianism with mormonism.
As far as biographies go, I like this one. The author has this interesting habit of incorporating patois into his writing, first giving you definitions, later hoping you remember. It was fun. I could read it and hear the lilting voices I remembered from my time on coastal Belize. The primary value of this book for me was that it gave me a greater context with which to understand Marley's music. Despite all the years of listening to his records, I still learned a great deal about the meaning behi...more
Searching for something deeper then my southern-baptist upbringings. Catch a Fire taught I what I needed to know to becoming Dread :-)
As a long term fan, I loved this book. Lots of details and I felt a good capture of the culture and politics of the times.
He was a great soul. It was a pleasure reading this, as it allowed me to know the person behind the epic tunes.
Read this for a book report in 6th grade after I found it in my brother's bedroom. All you need to know about Bob plus some :).
pretty good. lots of unnecessary mystic stuff and the extra politics sections are so-so
awesome combination of Bob Marley's life, Jamaican culture & history and Rastafarianism
Intriguingly in depth and smoothly written biography of Reggae's king.
better than the book on joe strummer, not as good as jess mynes
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viskanta Readers: history | 2 | 5 | Oct 08, 2011 07:16pm | |
| Viskanta Readers: The Music | 1 | 4 | Sep 30, 2011 10:39am |
