Passions: Bob Marley

In The Book of Exodus, Vivien Goldman takes in the history of Bob and the biblical roots of the Exodus story, as central to the Rastafarian as it is to the Jews. Early Rastafarian preachers even taught that the Rastas were the original Israelites – “Go Down Moses” is one of the most widely recognised of the slave spirituals and the injunction against hair-cutting is the origin of both dreadlocks and peyot.

Vivien Goldman is a writer, broadcaster, musician and Professor of Punk and Reggae at New York University.