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Summary: Great Look at Marley and Reggae
Review: A fascinating study of the legendary Bob Marley. My other favorite world music book is "The Brazilian Sound" (Temple University Press, 1998), which I also purchased through amazon.com.
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Summary: Iron Lion Zion
Review: After being a fan of Bob Marley's music for years, I decided that I wanted to learn more about the legend. I chose to read Catch a Fire and found it to be an amazing book about an even more amazing person. Not only does it tell everything about the life and times of Bob Marley, but it tells of the origins of reggae and Rastafari. It is a book that I found myself glued to time after time, I just couldn't put it down. The book describes life in Jamaica in an awesome way that makes you feel like your there. I recommend this book to anyone who is even remotely interested in learning more about the Natural Mystic that is Bob Marley.
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Summary: Records and Book Go Well
Review: After buying some Marley records, the book was a later buy. Instead I should have bought both at once because the match is very good, in fact. They travel well with each other.
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Summary: CONDESCENDING AND UNCONVINCING
Review: Are you looking for a well-written, factual and insightful book about Bob Marley and reggae? Well don't buy this book, which no intelligent reader could take seriously. It attributes magical supernatural obeah powers to Marley, recounts chilhood occurances in his life as if the author had been there, and tries to imply that the CIA might somehow have been involved in an attempt on his life. Would White have written such nonsense about Bob Dylan or John Lennon? I doubt it. This book is simply an insult to the man's memory and to his music.
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Summary: Sound investment
Review: Bought this in college, read it again the early 90s, and it had hlf again as mch info. Last week I got the the John Adams book, and and I saw this ook again, I realized the author had put in 100 pages more of great stories and info. No other music book takes its subject so seriously.
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Summary: Great book for music fans
Review: Catch a Fire by Timothy White was extremely interesting and informative even though many parts were a bit too detailed and there were occasional digressions. I learned much about Bob Marley ranging from his background and early childhood in Kingston's poverty stricken Trench Town to his life as a Rastafarian and a musician. The book explains in detail the beliefs of Rastafarians as well as the history of the religion. It tells of how Haile Selassie became the king of Ethiopia and how Bob Marley and his wife became Rastafarians. To me, the most interesting aspect of the book is the history of music in Jamaica and Bob as a musician. The book explains the influence island music and American R & B had on Ska and Reggae music. It talks of Bob's little known first singles as well as his early albums with the Wailers and how, through music, he met his wife. The book offers insight into the mysticism and superstitions that are part of Jamaican culture. Also shown is the lasting impact of Reggae music on society. Though slow at times this book was fascinating and informative. I would recommend it not only for fans of Bob Marley but for any music lover who wants to read a story of a struggling artist who against incredible odds overcame oppression and poverty.
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Summary: "The definitive book on Marley" Lisa Robinson, NEW YORK POST
Review: CATCH A FIRE chronicles Bob Marley's life and career, as well as the milieu that shaped Marley's spiritual and political beliefs. And every one of the more than 2 dozen printings of the book has continually been revised and updated with more information, additional in-depth text, and a thoroughly expanded discography. An international bestseller, it is also an ongoing journalistic labor of love."Catch A Fire should stand as the best available document on his life and work." -- USA TODAY "A great book. It is an effort which must be cited for its extremely valuable contribution to our history." -- THE DAILY GLEANER (Jamaica) "As close as rock journalism comes to transcendant literature." -- PLAYBOY "Superb. As fine and moving a biography as Marley could have wanted." -- NEW MUSICAL EXPRESS "Excellent. White has made CATCH A FIRE a journey into Jamaica, the land that created Bob Marley, and the sound of its people.&q! ! uot; -- Thulani Davis, ESSENCE "A gripping biography. I enjoyed it immensely." -- James A. Michener, author of CARIBBEAN
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Summary: Incredibly Frustrating
Review: Catch a Fire promises so much, yet delivers so little. White is clearly a knowledgeable and passionate scholar of Bob Marley. He's done a huge amount of original and relevant research, including many interviews with Marley. His cultural/political approach to Marley's life and work offers fascinating glimpses into Jamaican music, culture, politics and religion. Unfortunately, despite these advantages, he is unable to bring them together into a satisfying or coherent whole. Ultimately, I came away with little sense of Bob Marley as a person or artist, and no small amount of of confusion over the various events in his life. One of the book's biggest failures its emphasis on such background issues as Jamaican politics and Rastafarianism at the expense of biographical detail and musical insight. All too often, this contextual material becomes its focus. A particularly annoying example is White's account of the legal battles over the Marley estate. It rambles on in mind-numbing detail for dozens of pages, way out of proportion to its relevance. There is also the odd and frustrating omission of Marely the artist. We get almost no insight into his approach to songwriting, performing or recording. Marley was clearly a huge talent and a musical innovator, but White does almost nothing to explain what made him unique. For example, White tells us next to nothing about the stories behind his fascinating lyrics, which can be inscrutable to non-Jamaicans. Marley's career arc comes across as similarly muddled, though the early portions are fairly well told. In 231 tantalizing pages White takes us from Marley's birth in 1946 to his signing with Island Records in 1972. At this point, Marley is poised at the brink of worldwide superstardom and you're ready to dig in to what should be the most delicious part of the book. Unfortunately, White doesn't see it that way. He spends a paltry 80 pages on the rest Marley's life. But wait, its not over yet! Inexplicably, he gives us another 150 pages on the lawsuits, Marley's CIA files, assorted family squabbles and the Marley family members' recording careers. Some of this is actually interesting, but why waste so many pages on what amounts to a postscript - all at the expense of the main narrative? As if all of this weren't enough, Catch a Fire is shoddily written and edited. Characters seem to appear and disappear out of nowhere, events are referred to but never explained. For example, White tells us in the preface that someone named "Coxsone" claimed authorship of some early Wailers sides, but he never pauses to tell us who Coxsone is, or if he has a first name. Later in the same paragraph, he refers to someone named "Dodd," seemingly the same person. It's not until a few chapters later that we learn that they are, in fact, the same person; Sir Downbeat Coxsone was the stage name of pioneering Jamaican DJ, Clement Dodd. Errors and omissions like these left me scratching my head throughout the book. I wanted to like Catch a Fire. I really did. Parts of it are actually great and I give Timothy White a A for Enthusiasm. Despite all that, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone but the most die-hard Bob Marley fan.
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Summary: This book is a must read for all Marley fans!
Review: Catch A Fire really helps you understand the life of Bob Marley. It deals with the true emotional life and loss, of one this centurys true folk heros. I took my family to Jamaica shortly after reading the book and I felt as if I really understood the man and the country a lot more than I ever thought I could have. Please read this book.
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Summary: Catch A Fire
Review: Catch a Fire was a great book. It helped me to better understand the culture of Rastafarians and the type of life which a Rastafarian lives. The book Catch a Fire gave tons of background and information that you do not read in the everyday biography of Bob Marley. The book also helped you to understand the politics of Jamaica which in return helps you to understand the lyrics and songs of Bob Marley on a completely different level. Reading this book made me understand why such a vast age range of people enjoy Bob Marley's music. I gave this book five stars because I feel that it is not only a great book on Bob Marley but also a great book about the Rastafarian culture and Jamaican politics. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is at all interested in Bob Marley, Reggae music, Jamaica, politics, and or the history and culture of the Rastafarians. I feel that this book would appeal to a great number of people.
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