The Book of Exodus

A searing portrait of Bob Marley and the making of Exodus, Time’s best album of the twentieth century—and an acutely perceptive appreciation of his musical and spiritual legacy
 
“Finely reported, vividly written, and politically astute, Vivien Goldman travels with Bob Marley on the intimate journey that led him to become the voice of the Exodus.” —Mariane Pearl, author of A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband, Danny Pearl

Reggae superstar Bob Marley is one of our most important and influential artists, and his 1977 album Exodus is the most lasting testament to his social conscience. Recorded in London after an assassination attempt on his life sent Marley into exile from Jamaica, it remains a masterpiece of spiritual exploration.

Vivien Goldman was the first journalist to introduce mass white audiences to the Rasta sounds of Bob Marley. Throughout the late 1970s, Goldman was a fly on the wall as she watched reggae grow and evolve, and charted the careers of many of its superstars, especially Bob Marley. So close was Vivien to Bob and the Wailers that she was a guest at his Kingston home just days before gunmen came in a rush to kill “The Skip.” Now, in The Book of Exodus, Goldman chronicles the making of this album, from its conception in Jamaica to the raucous but intense all-night studio sessions in London.

But The Book of Exodus is so much more than a making-of-a-record story. This remarkable book takes us through the history of Jamaican music, Marley’s own personal journey from the Trench Town ghetto to his status as global superstar, as well as Marley’s deep spiritual practice of Rastafari and the roots of this religion. Goldman also traces the biblical themes of the Exodus story, and its practical relevance to us today, through various other art forms, leading up to and culminating with Exodus.

Never before has there been such an intimate, first-hand portrait of Marley’s spirituality, his political involvement, and his life in exile in London, leading up to his triumphant return to the stage in Jamaica at the Peace Concert of 1978.