Rating: 
Summary: GOOD RECORD GUIDE, BUT BORING BOOK
Review: The Rough Guide to Reggae is a good resource for starting a reggae CD collection. But it's not a very good read. Interested reggae fans should probably buy it. But if you really want to know what Jamaican music is all about, Reggae Routes - The Story of Jamaican Music is the real deal.
Rating: 
Summary: More information than you can assimilate
Review: There is wealth of reggae-related information in this book. The discographies are fantastic. It is the best Rough Guide I have yet read.
Rating:
Summary: Essential for serious students of Jamaican music.
Review: Thorough, thoughtful, history of the progress of Jamaican music, with added bonus of discography. Interviews with many important participants in the music. Well presented, and giving credit to many who have been glossed over or ignored elsewhere. Only fault is slight over-emphasis on English scene and sound and corresponding under-play on the US.
Rating: 
Summary: adequate
Review: While Barrow is one of the most respected writers in terms of his knowledge of reggae music today, I found the overall approach of the book to be cumbersome and more than a little boring.It is hard to narrow down any genre of music to 100 or so "essential" titles to have, and Jamiacan music is certainly no exception. Indeed, to narrow down jazz, ska, rudeboy, rocksteady, reggae, dub, dancehall, and ragga (to name a few Jamaican sub-genres) to a few titles each is foolheardy at best. While this book may well help one add titles to their collection, the book is a mere microcosm of the music of Jamaica. For my money, search out the Virgin Guide to Reggae for a much more complete and information-ridden guide to the musics of Jamaica.
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