The classic biography of reggae legend Bob Marley, updated and revised for the twenty-fifth anniversary of his death
Bob Marley left an indelible mark on modern music, both as a reggae pioneer and as an enduring cultural icon. Catch a Fire, now a classic of rock biography, delves into the life of the leader of a musical, spiritual, and political explosion that continues today.
Under the supervision of the author’s widow and with the collaboration of a Marley expert, this fourth edition contains a wealth of new material, including many revisions made by the author before his untimely death. An appendix to the new edition chronicles Marley’s legacy in recent years, as well as the ongoing controversy over the possibility that Marley’s remains might be exhumed from Nine Mile, Jamaica, and reburied in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where hundreds of Rastafarians live. The new edition also contains an expanded discography and is factually updated throughout.
“Probably the finest biography ever written about a popular musician.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
“As close as rock journalism comes to transcendent literature.”
—Playboy
“White has a deep appreciation for reggae’s immediacy, hypnotic power, and contradictions . . . An exhaustively researched labor of love.”
—Chicago Sun-Times
Description of Catch a Fire: The Life of Bob Marley:
Bob Marley, reggae superstar and pop culture icon, left an indelible mark on modern music. Catch a Fire: The Life of Bob Marley delves deep into the life of the lionized leader of a musical, spiritual, and political explosion that still reverberates more than a decade after his death. Almost nothing pertaining to the life of Bob Marley is left out; the origins of Rastafarianism (the Ethiopian religion that was the keystone of his life), the roots of the reggae sound, the Jamaican political and social debacle that informed his lyrics--this is a comprehensive account of the life of the artist and the times that produced him.
Catch a Fire is assiduously researched; the details writer Timothy White presents of the King of Reggae's life are cinematic in scope and, at times, cumbersome. White includes much of his primary source material, ranging from full interviews with band members to unearthed CIA documents, and devotes a whole section to describing his exhaustive research process. The final product is rich with elements of spiritual tome, rock biography, and history text; it is a hagiographic epic--the story of a man and his legend. --Brendan J. LaSalle
Catch a Fire: The Life of Bob Marley Reviews:
The Natty Dread! 
2009-10-17 - The hands down best biography these eyes have read! Extremely detailed, The Gong and his religion comes to life here!
Catch A Fire caught me a fire!
2009-07-06 - I found this book in London several years ago, as an avid Marley fan I grabbed it up immediately and simply couldn't put it down. A complex man, a complex faith, deceptively "simple" music and a chaotic world wove a musical phenomenon perfectly caught in this book.
White does a superb job interspersing his obvious passion for Marley and reggae and the island which spawned both, weaving a tapestry which is easy to "just" enjoy or to really delve into and "get" where Marley was coming from. Rasta lives, reggae lives and Bob Marley still lives in both.
Be you a real fan of reggae and it's ultimate master, or just looking for a good read, you won't go wrong with "Catch A Fire".
hydra. St. Petersburg, FL
Bob Marley's Life
2009-05-28 - This book is more than just a biography of the late Bob Marley. It has a lot to offer the reader.
Jamaican history and the history of the Rastafarian religion are covered in detail. It's also a ghost story, where as the author tells us how the believe in the supernatural, influences everyday Jamaican life.
Marley, of course is the central character in the narrative. The other characters are highly interesting also. Bob's mother and father (the word father is used loosely) are central characters of the story, as are the member of the Wailers and his faithful wife, Rita
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Marley, the Caribbean or Reggae music.
RIP Bob
Worst Book EVER 
2009-05-15 - After going to Jamaica, and actually visting Bob Marley's home and tomb, I wanted to read more about his life. What I got was the worst written book I have ever read. The author jumps around so much I couldn't keep up. He mentions so many people, names, and dates my head was spinning. This book was not about Bob Marley- this was more about the politics going on at the time. I was looking for a book that told of Bob's life; his family, his relationship with his wife, his kids. This was not the book that I was looking for.
Marley reviewed 
2009-01-11 - I bought this book for my college-aged son for Christmas. He read it with gusto and recommends it to others who enjoy reggage music and reading about Bob Marley's life.
