This biography of Mayer Matalon, an influential Jewish Jamaican, traces his path from humble origins to innovator, public servant, political insider, and leader of his familys conglomerate, from the 1940s to the end of the twentieth century. Mayer Matalon was not born into the Jewish-Jamaican elite who traced their ancestry in Jamaica back hundreds of years and who were successful entrepreneurs, prominent intellectuals, and politicians. Mayer Matalons father, Joseph, was one a handful of Jews who came to Jamaica in the wave of turn-of-the-century Levantine emigration, and his mother, Florizel Madge Matalon, was a young, beautiful, poor Jewish-Jamaican girl. A failed businessman, Josephs legacy was eleven children who created their own legacy in Jamaican business and politics.

The Matalon siblings built a conglomerate, venturing into businesses and experimenting with business models that had never been tried in Jamaica, enjoying success for the first twenty years, struggling to retain viability for the next twenty years, and fighting to keep the family together throughout.

Matalon rose to wealth and prominence through his talent for numbers, his innovative ideas, and his extraordinary emotional intelligence. He was one of Prime Minister Michael Manleys closest confidantes, in and out of power, and he advised every Jamaican premier and prime minister from Norman Manley to Bruce Golding, with only one exception. That one exception resulted in a sidelining that had a blowback that set Jamaica back decades and that sealed his familys businesss fate.

This is a story of race, class, and power in postcolonial Jamaica. Through the lens of Mayer Matalons life, the book outlines Jamaicas political and economic trajectory over the sixty years before and after independence. This biography peels back the surface layers of the many citations and public accolades, and goes beyond the often uninformed speculation on the Matalons beginnings, revealing in rich detail the unusual life of an extraordinary Jamaican.

After World War Two England was on her knees, so the call went out to the British Empire for volunteers to help rebuild the Mother Country. Young men and women from different Caribbean islands were quick to respond, paying the considerable sum of £28.10s to board HMT Empire Windrush  the ship of dreams that would take them to their new lives.

The motives and back-stories of these West Indian people is a key part of the Windrush story, one that has never been fully told. This powerful narrative reveals what happened on board that ship, which was packed with young, excited people who had never before left their parents, their parishes  let alone their islands. In the course of the memorable two-week voyage there were parties, friendships made and broken, fights, gambling, racism, sex - and discussions of God and love.

'David Katz's in-depth portrayal of his genius is to be commended and is an essential addition to any serious music fan's collection' David Rodigan MBE OD

'For the complete picture of this musical genius you can't get better than David Katz's People Funny Boy - if you're into Scratch, it's essential' Don Letts

Arguably the most influential force in Jamaican music, Lee Perry brought Bob Marley to international stardom and has since collaborated with artists such as Sir Paul McCartney, The Clash and The Beastie Boys. The book delves behind the myth of Perry to give a fuller examination of his life and work through extensive interviews with family members, fellow artists, friends, lovers, enemies, as well as the man himself to present a complex portrait of a unique soul driven by unseen spiritual forces. This revised and expanded edition has been thoroughly updated and completely overhauled to render a more nuanced, accurate and accessible read, with new information on Perry's later years, including his Grammy Award, cessation of herb smoking and final passing, as well as previously unpublished information about his early life, his unique relationship with Marley, and his fabled Black Ark studio.