The Reggae Nation The Global Legacy of Bob Marley & The Wailers
A unique and colourful historical reggae travelogue exploring the global achievements and impact of legendary reggae group Bob Marley and the Wailers.
More about the book
A travelogue of inspiring revelations, with eloquent descriptions of Marley’s globe-spanning inspiration. Huisman is an articulate guide as he spins the globe, bringing remote outposts and cultures into view where Marley’s works have taken hold.
Roger Steffens
Author of So Much Things to Say: The Oral History of Bob Marley
The book
The Reggae Nation: The Global Legacy of Bob Marley & The Wailers is the result of ten years of research and is the first attempt to comprehensively explore the global achievements, presence, and impact of Bob Marley and the Wailers and their contributions to the ‘Reggae Nation’: the worldwide reggae community. In honouring the memory and legacy of Bob Marley, The Reggae Nation bears witness to and celebrates the enduring vibrancy of reggae music and its global spread.

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, from the Australian desert to the rainforests of South America, from the metropolis of Tokyo to small islands and locales around the world, and numerous places in between on all continents, this comprehensive volume takes readers to the roots and along the routes of reggae and Rastafari.

A striking, one-of-a-kind publication of 432 pages, The Reggae Nation is colourfully and richly illustrated by graphic artist Maria Papaefstathiou, co-founder of the International Reggae Poster Contest. The book features nearly 300 photos, many by renowned photographers from around the world, including Lee Abel, Adrian Boot, Murray Cammick, Ueli Frey, Kim Gottlieb-Walker, Gijsbert Hanekroot, Marcello Mencarini, Ebet Roberts, Mitsuhiro Sugawara, and Rob Verhorst. With a foreword by Roger Steffens, eminent reggae archivist and author of So Much Things to Say: The Oral History of Bob Marley.

The Reggae Nation was published on September 23, 2021 (exactly 40 years after Bob Marley's last live concert) as a limited edition of 600 hardcover copies. The book was released in coffee table format, measuring 23,5 cm (9.25") x 30 cm (11,81") x 3,9 cm (1.54“) and weighing 2.4 kg (5.3 lbs). All copies were numbered and signed by the author. In 2022, after a succesful campaign which included various media appearances, interviews, as well as offline events, the book was sold out.

The Reggae Nation highlights the author’s commitment to reggae, desire to share his knowledge and passion, and intention to give something back to the music and culture. The proceeds of book sales therefore in part go to charity, namely the non-profit organization HELP Jamaica! HELP Jamaica! supports educational projects in Jamaica to give children, young people, and adults from economically and socially disadvantaged areas the opportunity to learn, empower themselves, and nurture new skills.

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There are only a handful of copies left, so don't miss out and order your copy today!
See what book buyers and reviewers have to say about the book
Testimonials
Your fantastic book has arrived and I am thrilled beyond words! What an amazing accomplishment! The design is terrific, the worldwide Marley artifacts are gorgeous, the reporting superb.
Roger Steffens (USA)
Author of So Much Things to Say: The Oral History of Bob Marley
Congratulations on such an impressive project. Excellent!
John Masouri (UK)
Author of Wailing Blues: The Story of Bob Marley's Wailers
AWESOME 🎸🎤🎹🪘🥁🎺🎷@reggaenationbook 💚🧡❤️👑
Junior Marvin (USA)
Guitarist Bob Marley and The Wailers
A book unlike any other and one that I encourage all Marley and reggae fans to get. It takes the reader around the globe and exposes them to the seeds that Bob planted so many years ago and what they resulted in. This book will take the reader on a journey of a lifetime. Along the way you'll learn how one man from Jamaica impacted an entire planet for the better good of humanity.
Joe Jurgensen (USA)
Author of Bob Marley: The Complete Annotated Bibliography
This hard-back book is an exceptional piece of work. It’s a real ‘labour of love’, to be cherished by the reggae community. Wonderfully-well packaged and produced, spilling over with an array of revealing insights. It is fair to say that this wonderfully-well illustrated tome is an invaluable addition to reggae’s library stock. As they now say around the globe: ‘Raspect’!
Gerry McMahon (Ireland)
Reggae writer and reviewer
A few days ago I got your phenomenal book! It's fantastic! Everything fits: the writing, the photographs, the design, the quality of the paper and the binding. It's quite a masterwork!
Rainer Bratfisch (Germany)
Author of Das grosse Reggae-Lexikon: Rastas, Riddims, Roots & Reggae: Vom Ska bis zum Dancehall
Wow, what a brilliant accomplishment! Popping graphics, heavy weight like a treasure, great photos…..and I haven’t even read anything yet! Who in the world with any interest in reggae at all would not want a copy?
Lee Abel (USA)
Reggae photographer
What a work...! The book looks really good; the design, the printing, the binding,... The design is very appealing, a nice balance between popular and serious. You can be really proud of it!
Gijsbert Hanekroot (Netherlands)
Photographer and co-author of Babylon By Bus: Bob Marley & the Wailers Live and Up Close
Bravo! The book is GORGEOUS. What an accomplishment! You should be very proud!
Kim Gottlieb-Walker (USA)
Photographer and author of Bob Marley and the Golden Age of Reggae
Great book. I can't stop reading it, loads of great pics. Heavy to lug around on travels, but it's loaded with lots of historic and great moments in Reggae.
Copeland Forbes (Jamaica)
Tour and artists manager, reggae historian
It is beautiful. I am often disappointed when books arrive as either the reproduction or paper quality or design are not good. I was happily surprised by the book and am honored to have a photograph in it. Congratulations!
Ebet Roberts (USA)
Rock photographer
I received your book, it's lovely!
Miss Pat Chin (USA)
Co-founder VP Records
In the media
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(2022-12-07) The Reggae Nation & Nine Miles band
Interview and live performance for RTV Ridderkerk (Dutch)
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(2022-04-07) The Global Legacy of Bob Marley and the Wailers
Interview with Do The Reggae Romania
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(2022-03-16) A Conversation in Dub: "The Reggae Nation: The Global Legacy of Bob Marley & The Wailers"
Spotify podcast with James Pasqua and Dan Battaglia
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(2022-02-15) The Reggae Nation: New Book on Global Roots Reggae
Book review by Banning Eyre on Afropop Worldwide
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(2021-02-04) The Reggae Nation: The Global Legacy of Bob Marley & The Wailers
Interview on Jamaican live television in the program Sunrise, CVM Television
(2022-02-05) Martijn Huisman Pens Book on Global Legacy of Bob Marley & the Wailers
Article by Howard Campbell for South Florida Caribbean News
(2022-01-05) The Reggae Nation at VP Records
Instagram book preview by VP Records
(2021-12-27) ‘The Reggae Nation’ honours the memory and legacy of Bob Marley
Book review by Howard Campbell on Reggae-Vibes.com
(2021-12-08) The Reggae Nation on Danish website Gaffa
Book review and author interview by Henrik Bæk (Danish)
(2021-12) The Family Acid
Article about Roger Steffens & family, with book recommendation (bottom)
(2021-11-08) The Reggae Nation on Colombian TV Teleislas
20-minute Zoom interview on Colombian television
(2021-11-02) The Reggae Nation on Radio Rijnmond
Live on RTV Rijnmond radio (Dutch)
(2021-10-31) The Reggae Nation @ Gwangju Design Biennale
Digital tour of the Biennale DUB exposition in South Korea (Gallery 2).
(2021-09-24) Reggae Connection Special
Reggae Connection with DJ Maroon Wax (Dutch)
(2021-09-24) Wereldwijde boekrelease Bob Marley in Zwolse radiostudio
Article in newspaper De Stentor (Dutch)
(2021-09-23) Martijn Huisman takes us on a Bob Marley Tour around the World with The Reggae Nation
Article on WorldAReggae.com
(2021-09-21) Reggae to the world
Article in the Jamaica Observer newspaper
(2021-09-12) Review - The Reggae Nation
Book review by Jah Rebel on reggae.be (Dutch)
(2021-08-18) Review - The Reggae Nation
Book review by Gerry McMahon on Reggae-Vibes.com
(2021-03-18) The Reggae Nation - Reggaeville News
Video by Reggaeville about the book Kickstarter campaign
(2021-02-25) The Reggae Nation @ Kickstarter Campaign
Article on Reggaeville.com about the book Kickstarter campaign
(2021-02-24) The Reggae Nation: The Global Legacy of Bob Marley
Article on WorldAReggae about the book Kickstarter campaign
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There are only a handful of copies left, so don't miss out and order your copy today!
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Thank you!
Thank you for your support of the book, it truly means a lot and is hugely appreciated! Without the help of fans from around the world, The Reggae Nation could not have come to fruition.