Boss Sounds by Marc Griffiths Fantastic book that goes over every single faucet of Skinhead Reggae. Has great info on all labels that released Skinhead Reggae titles, as well as the hottest tracks from each label. A great starting point for those beginning to collect vinyl. Definitely points in the right directions and who & what to look for. *****

Reggae Explosion: The Story of Jamaican Music by Chris Salewicz and Adrian Boot This is an absolutely gorgeous oversized book overflowing with fantastic photos - even some I'm sure you haven't seen before! Not too heavy on the information side, but fantastic for the photography and graphics. Absolutely stunning. A must have! ****

Rough Guide To Reggae by Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton Absolutely priceless information in this book - this covers every single nook and cranny of the history of reggae and has fantastic little sections of recommended titles, profiles, and side stories. It can drag on in a few parts, but in other parts, it can be downright entertaining. I always refer back to this book if I have any questions. Bust out the notepad and take notes, cause I'm sure you'll learn something from this one. *****

Young, Gifted, and Black: The Story of Trojan Records by Michael de Koningh and Laurence Cane-Honeysett A great reference book - but not much else. This isn't very interesting, but if you have some unanswered questions about the history of Trojan and it's subsidiaries, this is your book. Great profiles on all the subsidiaries, and some great insight on the evolution of the UK reggae market. ***

Solid Foundation: An Oral History of Reggae by David Katz I'm not done with this book,(so this will be updated), but so far, it's absolutely entertaining - getting what happend from more than one resource. All the big names are here - I'm only about 100 pages in, but I've learned a lot so far. I can't wait to read more. *****

Marley Legend: An Illustrated Life of Bob Marley by James Henke Very cool book, indeed. I think the best way to describe this is an grown up pop up book - little photo albums, concert flyers, fake tickets & stickers...Very fun to look at and read! The information isn't as in depth as I'd hope, but the way this whole book was set up is incredible. ****

No Woman, No Cry: My Life with Bob Marley by Rita Marley and Hettie Jones Great book - I read this in about three days. Although it really isn't all about facts and whatnot, it really puts the real life into the music industry - it reminds you that there were REAL people behind all the songs you know and love. A very easy read that makes you totally love Rita Marley. *****

The Two Tone Story by George Marshall This was the first ska related book I ever bought when I was in 7th grade. I read it cover to cover immediately. The most interesting thing I still love about this book is all the photos - both press and intimate photos. Flyers, too! Goes into depth about the uprise and sudden crash of Two Tone. Has a complete discography in the back, too. I know this can be hard to get a hold of, but it's a very cool book indeed. ***

Surfers Soulies Skinheads and Skaters: Subcultural Style from the Forties to the Nineties by Amy de la Haye and Cathie Dingwall This book is so cool - you can really see the ties between subcultures and how style evolved. It's not really in order, so I would recommend having this book with The Soul Stylists. There isn't much text, but the photos speak for themselves. ****

Pretty in Punk by Fred Skarface & Julie I spent quite a bit of cash on this tiny book. Cool concept, but I really would've liked to see more to this...like being printed in color. Some of the photos are quite small, and it looks just scrapbooked together. If you can find this for a decent price, get it. Otherwise, not really worth it. ***

Made in the U.K.: The Music of Attitude, 1977–1983 Photographs by Janette Beckman, Foreword by Paul Smith, Essays by Vivien Goldman and Paolo Hewitt Not much text, but there are some absolutely stunning photos in here that captivate U.K. subcultures at their height of popularity - mostly, this is a book of fans. There are a few photos of musicians in here (including a great photo of Laurel Aitken playing guitar), but the fans have become immortal in this book. *****

Pretty in Punk by Lauraine Leblanc This is on here because I think this is relevant for girls in subcultures in general - you just take out the word "punk" and insert it with skinhead, mod, rudegirl, rockabilly...whatever. This book is very interesting and VERY well done. The author herself spent quite some time interviewing punk girls and getting to know them. Reguardless of their subcultural identity, their thoughts are very similar of girls in nearly every subculture. I highly, highly, highly recommend this book to anyone interested in females in subcultures. *****

Mojo: Bob Marley & Reggae Mojo came out with an issue all about the history of reggae, and they did quite a good job, if I may say so! Nothing too in depth (since it is a magazine), but their choice of subject was great - covering skinheads, prince buster, rocksteady...This even has some book reviews in it as well! I know you can find this on ebay occasionally pretty cheap, so it's definitely worth picking up!

Soul Stylists: From Mod to Casual by Paolo Hewitt This book is so easy to read since it's just little statements from original fans of music about everything - allnighters, music, clothes, girls, dancing...you name it. It's covered. Between statements, there's bits of history covering the evolution of scenes - this displays the best timeline of subcultures I've ever seen. There are absolutely no photos in this book, so if you're not too familiar with some terms involved in subcultures, I recommend having "Surfers, Soulies..." (above) to know what they're talking about fashion-wise. One of the coolest parts of this book is that it has a playlist from each person in each subculture covered in the back of this book. Also, it has a "where are they now?" section that includes each person. One beef with this book - it's slightly sexist. Hardly any women are included, and women are mostly spoken of as "arm decorations" in this book. not cool. That aside, this is a great book. ****

All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul by Vladimir Bogdanov, John Bush, Chris Woodstra, and Stephen Thomas Erlewine Review coming soon!

Roots Knotty Roots by Michael Turner and Robert Schoenfeld Review coming soon!