Pinnacle: The Lost Paradise of Rasta [Hardcover]

A son of one of the founders of the Rastafarian movement tells the inside story of the utopian village his father founded and the colonial forces that ultimately destroyed it. Born and raised at Pinnacle, Howell had the unique opportunity to witness the events surrounding this first-ever Rasta communitys rise and fall. Working alongside his fathers biographer, Lee, the author offers insights into Leonard Howell (1898-1981), the man who founded the commune, and the troubled history of Pinnacle itself . . . Illustrated throughout with black-and-white photographs, this loving tribute will appeal to historians of Jamaica and the Caribbean, as well as anyone with an interest in the origins of Rastafarian culture. An instructive and enlightening book. Interwoven with the story of the commune is valuable background on Rastafarianisms origins in Marcus Garveys movement for African independence, from which it broke in the early 1930s when Howell designated Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie I as the Living God. An incredibly fascinating read. For anyone interested in Rastafari and its origins, this is a must-read, as told by the only person who could possibly tell itbecause he lived it! Finallythe unwritten history appears! Replete with visual images of documents and old photographs, Bill Howells personal recreation of the historical time line is vivid and engaging. More than eighty years ago, his fathers moment of (self)realization and then the emerging movement of Rastafari changed life as we know it, and in ways were only now beginning to fully overstand. Part historical text and part personal memoir, Bill Howells gripping account of life growing up in Pinnacle underscores the value of land in the creation of the Rastafari ethos of freedom and independence in colonial Jamaica. Supported by previously unpublished colonial records, his book documents the relentless campaign of harassment and extortion by authorities directed against his father, Leonard HowellCM