The Encyclopedia of Reggae: The Golden Age of Roots Reggae Paperback – November 13, 2012

I have numerous books on reggae and its artists. This is probably the most accessible alphabetical introduction to the reggae genre as you can get. It covers artists, Rastafarian beliefs, dancehall, Jamaican history, and so much more. It is an easy read and suggests key albums for collectors to consider adding to their collections. Colour photos and other visual supports really allow those new to reggae to understand the musical style within the context of Jamaican history and culture. For reggae music album collectors, the Rought Guide to Reggae or the Reggae and Caribbean Music book by Dave Thompson may be of interest as they score which albums to buy at an affordable price.

Fantastic book, with plenty of amazing pictures of reggae legends and information on the most influential personalities of reggae. Bad point it that is does not cover all artits. I didnt have had time to read it completely, but at a first look I noticed that in some profiles, the years in activity are WRONG!!! For example, at The COngos' profile, it's written "Years in activity: 1977-1980's". And it's perfectly clear for any reggae follower that The Congos are still in activity and recording many interesting albums while making tours around the globe (although they may have had a transitory break up in the 1980s). That's just to name an example, but I get afraid other information inside may be not acurate like that...Anyway, just for the very nice pictures and layout, it's worth the value!!!

An alphabetical & photographic journey through the history of reggae music. So much interesting information. The type is small for my old eyes. I actually had to change to a brighter light bulb to avoid buying stronger reading glasses. I find myself on You tube & Itunes listening to cuts after reading about the artist. Great about the greatest music.

Whether you are new to reggae / Jamaican music or been a passionate listener for years this is a must have. Dr Alleyne does a fantastic job covering all the major players and those whose work time may have forgotten in one place. The real defining attribute to this book is the narrative written for each artist, producer, historical figure, etc. Unlike other genre overviews, The Encyclopedia of Reggae significantly benefits from the sole voice of Dr. Alleyne. There are no contradictions, long held but summarily disproved myths or over emotive descriptions. Each entry deftly lays out the who, what, when, where, why it is / they are significant and recounts the artists key discography. A fan and some what scholar of early Jamaican music myself, if found little to dispute over any lack of inclusions or over stated relevance. Rather, I read the book cover to cover and agreed with each choice, learned a lot of new information and realized there are quite a few hole in my record collection that need plugging thanks to this definitive account of reggae, ska, rock steady, dub, mento and Jamaican music.

I bought several copies of this book for myself and friends for Christmas and am so glad I did. The book is a complete and very thorough, vibrant account of the history and evolution of Reggae music. A must own for any music lover!

I originally rented this book from our local library and fell in love with it. So i found it here on Amazon, where I go for everything and found it for a great price!

Ditto all the reviews here. I've been reading through this for a couple of years since I got it as a gift one Christmas. I like Dr. Alleyne's "best of" lists in the back and his engaging style. It'd be a shame if he approached reggae purely as an academic subject.Just a few quibbles: No WAILING SOULS? I mean, what's roots reggae without the Souls? They're one of the few groups famous for not changing format since....ever. Certainly Alleyne could've given part of the TWO PAGES devoted to Native (who's Native, anyway?) to the Wailing Souls.Also, reggae pioneer JOE HIGGS' partner in Higgs & Wilson was Roy Wilson, not Delroy (Delroy Wilson would have been all of ten years old in 1958, when Higgs & Wilson had their debut single, "Manny, Oh!").The author had to make tough choices and I'm sure some genuinely interesting personages and topics were left out. Overall it's a very good survey of roots reggae. Four and-a-half stars.

The Encyclopedia of reggae The Golden age of roots reggae is an amazing book i saw this book years back and only got it this year enjoy reading it a lot i even bought 2 more copies for my friends, the price of the use book is the best way to go