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The Reggae Nation The Global Legacy of Bob Marley & The Wailers
A unique, colourful, and limited edition hardcover book which explores the global achievements and impact of legendary reggae group Bob Marley and the Wailers.
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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 comprehensive attempt to explore and understand 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, 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 432-page publication, The Reggae Nation is colourfully and richly designed and illustrated by Maria Papaefstathiou, co-founder of the International Reggae Poster Contest. The book features nearly 300 photos, many of which by renowned reggae and pop music 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, reggae archivist and author of So Much Things to Say: The Oral History of Bob Marley.

The Reggae Nation is published as a one-time limited edition of 600 hardcover copies in coffee table format: 23,5 cm (9.25") x 30 cm (11,81") x 3,9 cm (1.54“), weighing about 2.4 kg (5.3 lbs). Each of the 600 copies of the book is numbered and signed by the author. The book can also be personalized when ordering from the author directly.

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 which has given the author so much. The book never was about money and turning a profit. That is why the project has a non-profit character and the proceeds of book sales (after covering the production costs) 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. More information

Downloads
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About the book
Everything there is to know about the book and its author (PDF).
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Press Kit
Everything there is to know about the book, including visual materials (ZIP).
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The Making Of The Reggae Nation
The making of The Reggae Nation, going all the way back to the beginning of the project in the 2010s (PDF).
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Bibliography
All sources of information consulted and cited in the book (PDF).
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Testimonials
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 (USA)
Author of So Much Things to Say: The Oral History of Bob Marley
AWESOME 🎸🎤🎹🪘🥁🎺🎷@reggaenationbook 💚🧡❤️👑
Junior Marvin (USA)
Guitarist Bob Marley and The Wailers
Congratulations once more on such an impressive project. Excellent!
John Masouri (UK)
Author of Wailing Blues: The Story of Bob Marley's 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. From the bottom of the Grand Canyon to the seas of Japan, 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
What a work... and a beautiful result! The book looks really good; the design, the printing, and also the binding. Maria's design is very convincing, a nice balance between popular and serious. In short, you can be really proud of it. Still unmentioned: great image research that was well used by Maria.
Gijsbert Hanekroot (Netherlands)
Photographer and publisher of Babylon By Bus: Bob Marley & the Wailers Live and Up Close
A few days ago I've 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 and Jamaica photographer
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
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
I received your book, it's lovely!
Miss Pat Chin (USA)
Co-founder VP Records (reggae music label)
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. Now to read it! Congratulations.
Ebet Roberts (USA)
Rock photographer
In the media
Since its release, The Reggae Nation has gotten media attention from around the world. Here are the major publications and interviews:
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(2021-04-07) The Global Legacy of Bob Marley and the Wailers / Do The Reggae Interviews
Interview with Do The Reggae Romania
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(2022-03-16) A Conversation in Dub: Ep.54: "The Reggae Nation: The Global Legacy of Bob Marley & The Wailers" w/ Martijn Huisman
Podcast on Spotify 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 | Sunrise | CVMTV
Interview on Jamaican live television in the program Sunrise, by CVM
(2022-02-05) Martijn Huisman Pens Book on Global Legacy of Bob Marley & the Wailers
Article about the book by Howard Campbell for South Florida Caribbean News
(2022-01-05) The Reggae Nation preview at VP Records
Preview by VP Records, book available at New York retail store
(2021-12-27) ‘The Reggae Nation’ honours the memory and legacy of Bob Marley
Book review by Howard Campbell on Reggae-Vibes.com
(2021-12-20) The Reggae Nation on Italian website HotMC
Book review in Italian by 'Haile Anbessa'
(2021-12-08) The Reggae Nation on Danish website Gaffa
Book review and author interview in Danish by Henrik Bæk
(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 about The Reggae Nation
(2021-11-02) The Reggae Nation on Radio Rijnmond
Live (in Dutch) on RTV Rijnmond regional radio about The Reggae Nation
(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 (in Dutch) with DJ Maroon Wax about The Reggae Nation
(2021-09-24) Wereldwijde boekrelease Bob Marley in Zwolse radiostudio
Article in Dutch in newspaper De Stentor
(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
(2021-09-20) Announcement - The Reggae Nation
Announcement in Dutch on reggae-agenda.nl
(2021-09-12) Review - The Reggae Nation
Book review in Dutch by Jah Rebel on www.reggae.be
(2021-08-18) Review - The Reggae Nation
Book review by Gerry McMahon on Reggae-Vibes.com
(2021-03-18) The Reggae Nation - Reggaeville News 2021
Video by Reggaeville.com about the Kickstarter campaign
(2021-02-25) The Reggae Nation @ Kickstarter Campaign
Article on Reggaeville.com about the Kickstarter campaign for the book
(2021-02-24) The Reggae Nation: The Global Legacy of Bob Marley
Article on WorldAReggae about the Kickstarter campaign for the book
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*Excluding shipping costs. Shipping cost indication: Netherlands €5 / EU €15 / UK £16 / US $8. For other countries, please contact author.
Thank you!
Thank you for your support of this project, it truly means a lot and is hugely appreciated! Without the backing of fans from around the world, this book could not have come to fruition.
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