From the earliest emergence in the 1950s of the fiercely competitive sound systems, fighting sonic batttles in downtown Kingston, the story of Jamaican music is traced through ska, the birth of reggae, dub, roots reggae and the impact of Bob Marley to the new, harder-edged developments that have emerged since the 1980s, including dancehall, ragga and jungle. Previously unpublished transcripts of interviews with key figures such as Lee Scratch Perry and Prince Buster introduce the authentic voices of reggae history to the book - which blends researched facts, graphics and images to create not only a sense of the pulse of the music, but also the contrasts of poverty, humour, desperation and joie de vivre that typify both the island of Jamaica and its music.