Roger Steffens ADD

The Reggae Nation - The Global Legacy of Bob Marley @ Kickstarter Campaign

02/25/2021

The Reggae Nation - The Global Legacy of Bob Marley @ Kickstarter Campaign

The Reggae Nation: The Global Legacy of Bob Marley & The Wailers
"A colourful, one-of-its-kind book about the global legacy, meaning, and impact of legendary reggae group Bob Marley and the Wailers."

A new book is in the making and author Martijn Huisman has launched a Kickstarter campaign to get the support to finish the project.

Author Martijn Huisman about the book:
"In the summer of 2011, I stumbled upon the YouTube music video ‘Redemp­tion Song, Song Around The World’ [Watch it at the end of this news], which showed in a direct and pure way Bob Marley’s music being played around the globe. The video inspired me to start on a journey of discovery to explore the global legacy and impact of legendary reggae group Bob Marley & The Wailers. After 10 years and countless hours of research, writing, and editing, my book is finally finished and ready for publication. But to get 500 copies of the book printed, I need help. Your help."

SUPPORT THE PROJECT @ KICKSTARTER.com

THE BOOK
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 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. There is no other book like this unique and professionally produced work about the 'King of Reggae' and what he has meant and continues to mean to people all over the world.   

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

ROGER STEFFENS ABOUT THE REGGAE NATION
In this remarkable book, a travelogue of inspiring revelations, you will find eloquent descriptions of Marley’s globe-spanning inspiration that was the prime mover in creating what the author calls the ‘Reggae Nation’. Huisman is an articulate guide as he spins the globe, bringing remote outposts and cultures into clear view, where Marley’s works have taken hold, transformed local belief systems, and become the new hymnal for peace-seekers.

BOOK PROCEEDS TO CHARITY - HELP JAMAICA!
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.” The author started and undertook this massive project not to make money, but to satisfy his curiosity about the achievements and legacy of Bob Marley and to share his passion and knowledge with others. The Reggae Nation highlights Huisman's commitment to reggae and is his way of giving something back to the music which has given him 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! e.V.

BOOK SPECIFICATION

Design: Full colour, by Maria Papaefstathiou
Language: English
Cover: Hardcover
# of pages: 420
# of photos & illustrations: 295
Dimensions: 23,5 cm (9.25") (W) x 30 cm (11,81") (H)
Weight: ~ 2,8 kg / 6.2 lbs (approx.)
The Reggae Nation is available in two versions: Print and Digital. 

The Print Edition is a one-time, limited edition of 500 copies. Each copy is numbered and autographed by the author. 
The Digital Edition is a PDF-file of the book. While the text is the same as the Print Edition, the Digital Edition contains about 10% (~ 30 photos) less due to photographer agreements and copyrights. 

SUPPORT THE PROJECT @ KICKSTARTER.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR MARTIJN HUISMAN
Martijn Huisman is an experienced researcher and author, husband to a reggae-loving wife, and father of two young children. In 2010, he published a free online work entitled Jamming in Japan: Bob Marley & The Wailers in Japan 1979 about Bob Marley's visit to Japan. In 2018, together with renowned photographer Gijsbert Hanekroot he published the photo book Babylon By Bus: Bob Marley & The Wailers Live and Up Close (English) and Babylon By Bus: Bob Marley & The Wailers in Nederland (Dutch).