Let us introduce you to a great project: ‘The Reggae Nation’ Book
The Dutch author Martijn Huisman – a long-time reggae fan, researcher, and author of various publications about Bob Marley & the Wailers – is about to release his new book The Reggae Nation and generously chose HELP Jamaica! e.V. to benefit from all proceeds of the book!
What is The Reggae Nation book all about
From the early 1970s, Bob Marley and the Wailers toured the world to bring a prophetic musical message of rebellion, redemption, and Rastafari. With their reggae anthems, the Wailers painted the planet red, gold, and green, achieving fame and recognition unparalleled by any other reggae group. Since his untimely passing in 1981, Bob Marley has become larger than life as a cultural icon and reggae’s brightest star; his music, message, and image continue to resonate and inspire.
However, except for isolated and scattered accounts in reggae literature and academic works, the phenomenal success of Bob Marley after his death as well as his global legacy have remained largely unexplored. The Reggae Nation is the first attempt to comprehensively explore and understand the global achievements and presence of Bob Marley and the Wailers and their contributions to the ‘Reggae Nation’: the worldwide reggae community.
As a global history of reggae and a reggae travelogue rolled into one, The Reggae Nation takes readers on an extraordinary and unique journey through time and space. From the bottom of the Grand Canyon to the frozen heights of the Himalayas in Nepal, and numerous places in between on all continents; the book takes readers to the roots and along the routes of reggae and Rastafari to make sense of the pioneering work of Bob Marley and the Wailers. In doing so, The Reggae Nation bears witness to and celebrates the enduring vibrancy of reggae music and its global spread.
The Reggae Nation is a striking and one-of-a-kind 420-page publication in large format, which allows the nearly 300 photos and illustrations to really stand out. The book is beautifully, colourfully, and richly designed and illustrated by graphic artist Maria Papaefstathiou, co-founder of the International Reggae Poster Contest. Many of the photos are by renowned reggae and pop music photographers from around the world, including Lee Abel, Adrian Boot, Murray Cammick, Kim Gottlieb-Walker, Gijsbert Hanekroot, Marcello Mencarini, Ebet Roberts, Mitsuhiro Sugawara, and Rob Verhorst. With a foreword by none other than Roger Steffens, acclaimed reggae archivist and author of So Much Things to Say: The Oral History of Bob Marley.
The Reggae Nation is the fruit of ten years of research, writing, editing, and polishing; all in the pursuit of creating a beautiful book of the highest quality.
Ok, so far so good, but lets get back to the generous and great part for HELP Jamaica!. Once the costs to produce and ship the 500 books are covered by the Kickstarter Campaign – ALL proceeds from selling the book will be donated to HELP Jamaica!. That’s huge!
This is what Martijn Huisman, the author states:
Bob Marley once said: “Money is numbers and numbers never end. If it takes money to be happy, your search for happiness will never end.” I started and undertook this massive project not to make money, but to satisfy my curiosity about the achievements and legacy of Bob Marley and to share my passion and knowledge with others. The Reggae Nation highlights my commitment to reggae and is my way of giving something back to the music which has given me so much. That is why this book project has a non-profit character; the proceeds of book sales (after covering the costs of making the book) go to charity, namely the non-profit organisation HELP Jamaica!. HELP Jamaica! supports educational projects in Jamaica to bring positive change and create opportunities for children, youths, and adults to learn and empower themselves.
To be clear: all funds raised through the Kickstarter will 100% go to printing the book and covering shipment costs.
It needs the Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to be succesfull to get this all going for HELP Jamaica!, so please share the news and link with your friends or even support the campaign, by pre-ordering your own limited and signed copy of the book. There are various offers and rewards for any kind of support for the campaign.
