Going far beyond the standard imagery of Rasta-ganja, reggae, dreadlocks -- this book offers an uncensored vision of a movement with complex roots, and the exceptional journey of a man who taught an enslaved people how to be proud and impose their culture on the world. In the 1920s a handful of Jamaicans had a revelation concerning the divinity of Haile Selassie, king of Ethiopia, and founded the most popular mystical movement of the 20th century. This is the astonishing tale of Leonard Percival Howell and the first Rastas. Although jailed, ridiculed, and treated as insane, Howell, also known as the Gong, established a Rasta community of 4,500 members, the first agro-industrial enterprise devoted to producing marijuana. In the late 1950s the community was dispersed, disseminating Rasta teachings throughout the ghettos of the island. A young singer named Bob Marley adopted Howell's message, and through Marley's visions, reggae was ready to explode.
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Review
"A journalistic detective story." -- Ugly Things
"Absolutely fascinating . . . a compelling must read for anyone who even pretends to be a reggae or ska fan." -- Dirty Linen
"An ambitious project and an unqualified success." -- All About Jazz
"Exacting and lushly written, the book is worthy of the highest esteem." -- Relix
"Gets to the roots of what would become Jamaica’s two greatest exports: reggae music and Rastafarianism." -- Global Rhythm
"Written with careful verve, The First Rasta reads like a novel-fitting for the story of such a fantastic figure." -- Caribbean Beat
"Absolutely fascinating . . . a compelling must read for anyone who even pretends to be a reggae or ska fan." -- Dirty Linen
"An ambitious project and an unqualified success." -- All About Jazz
"Exacting and lushly written, the book is worthy of the highest esteem." -- Relix
"Gets to the roots of what would become Jamaica’s two greatest exports: reggae music and Rastafarianism." -- Global Rhythm
"Written with careful verve, The First Rasta reads like a novel-fitting for the story of such a fantastic figure." -- Caribbean Beat
About the Author
Helene Lee is a journalist for 'Liberation', specialising in the music of Africa and the Caribbean. Stephen Davis lives in Milton, Massachusetts.
--This text refers to the
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When Bob Marley began his reggae crusade in 1972, he came armed not just with the best street poet's songbook since Bob Dylan, but with a strange new spiritual nationality as well. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
When Bob Marley began his reggae crusade in 1972, he came armed not just with the best street poet's songbook since Bob Dylan, but with a strange new spiritual nationality as well. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Stefi
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Well written, completed and really objective history of rasta in Jamaica. I read it with my husband and we both loved it (he being a jamaican). It explain in detail who Leonard Howell was, how things were in Jamaica during his time and how the rasta movement started.
By James
Format:Paperback
This is an excellent book. I managed to get hold of a New copy from a UK distributor at a cost that totalled below £10. I'd have paid more though. I'm glad that the writer, Helene Lee, has used her journalistic experience to delve into the past & uncover the life & times of Leonard Howell & the community he founded at .
By Rob Zappa
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Enjoyed this book very much. Really seems to know her stuff. Cleared up a lot of mythology for me. Recommended.
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