So much has how been said and written about the life and career of Michael Jackson that it has become almost impossible to disentangle the man from...
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Nov 07, 2010
Julia
rated it: 
i read this a long time ago... before all the marriages and artificial inseminations... back when everyone called him 'wacko jacko' because of the nose jobs, girly voice and pet monkey... it was an interesting read and now that all of this other stuff is tabloid fodder, the book gives you a much clearer insight as to why this poor guy's so messed up. money certainly doesn't buy happiness.
Nov 07, 2010
K.D.
rated it: 
I am no fan of Michael Jackson. I bought this book few months before he died and it just stayed there in my bookshelves until he died and my friends (who are fans) kept talking about him in the office. Then one of them even gave me a copy of Jackson 5 Motown album for my birthday. So, I picked this 700 plus-page book and gave me 5 days to read. I thought it would be a tall order because I haven't finished a book this thick in less than a week before. However, I found the writing very fluid and e
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Nov 07, 2010
RNOCEAN
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So much has how been said and written about the life and career of Michael Jackson that it has become almost impossible to disentangle the man from the myth. This book is the fruit of over 30 years of research and hundreds of exclusive interviews with a remarkable level of access to the very closest circles of the Jackson family - including Michael himself. Cutting through tabloid rumours, J. Randy Taraborrelli traces the real story behind Michael Jackson, from his drilling as a child star throu
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Jan 07, 2012
Tara
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Summary:
A brief summary of what you thought the book was about.
This was the story of Michael Jackson’s life from beginning to finish, told by one of the journalists that interviewed him frequently over the decades of his success. Also, copious research went into this massive work, to document much of his earlier years and what actually happened behind closed doors.
(Your Name)'s Thoughts:
This was well written, and I enjoyed it immensely, reading the whole More...
A brief summary of what you thought the book was about.
This was the story of Michael Jackson’s life from beginning to finish, told by one of the journalists that interviewed him frequently over the decades of his success. Also, copious research went into this massive work, to document much of his earlier years and what actually happened behind closed doors.
(Your Name)'s Thoughts:
This was well written, and I enjoyed it immensely, reading the whole More...
Oct 21, 2011
Sabrina
rated it: 
I bought this book for two reasons: (1) Subject Mattter - I'm a BIG Michael Jackson fan. The biggest. and (2) I'm a fan of the author.
Not because he's a gifted writer or because his works are entirely factual but because he is very entertaining to read. He also wrote "Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot", another 600+ page tome that I could not put down. Just as in the "Jackie" book it is clear that he has great affection for the celebrities about whom he wr More...
Not because he's a gifted writer or because his works are entirely factual but because he is very entertaining to read. He also wrote "Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot", another 600+ page tome that I could not put down. Just as in the "Jackie" book it is clear that he has great affection for the celebrities about whom he wr More...
Jul 28, 2011
I have enjoyed Tarraborrelli's biographies in the past and this one did not disapoint. He is thorough and fair in his writings,including this all-inclusive work on Michael Jackson. I am not a fan of Michael Jackson's music but his life-story is interesting (and bizarre!) ,to say the least!! The fact that the author and the singer have known each other since childhood makes it all the more gripping. I bought the newly revised edition that was released in August after MJ's death,so it includes the
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Jan 09, 2011
Eleanore
rated it:
It's worth noting right off the bat that Taraborelli is an author who, despite being demonstably eager to do justice to his subject, struggles with accuracy. The first half of the book - which focuses on Michael's youth until about age 20, just after the release of his first solo album outside Motown, "Off the Wall", in 1979 - is rather obviously the better researched (and clearly more accurate) half of this massive tome. The rest isn't something to be ignored or completely written off
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Jul 31, 2010
MAP
rated it:
Having started this book right after reading a biography of 7 people (Six Wives of Henry VIII) that was 450 pages long, 700+ pages of biography of a 20th century entertainer seemed a tad excessive. Granted, I realize that this is a book that has gone through several editions, and so it's easy for the pages to build up since things that may have been edited out if it had been written at one time stayed since it was written throughout 3 decades. But did I really need to read about Michael Jackso
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Jun 25, 2010
Hayley
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Wow, what to even say about this book. I read this book last summer right after Michael died because I decided I really wanted to try to understand the seemingly complicated man that was the King of Pop. I chose this book because I've read other biographies by J. Randy Taraborrelli, and he is GREAT. His writing style is always compelling, and he's always unbiased which is important for a biographer. Unlike some books would surely have done, this book didn't portray Michael as some sort of wacky
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Jan 08, 2010
Kathy
rated it:
It was 1983, I was living in Denver, when I turned on the TV and started watching the Motown 25 Special. The Jackson 5 (now adults)had just finished performing when Michael Jackson announced that he loves those old songs but now he wanted to perform a new song, Billie Jean. I was totally stunned by his performance. He looked so different than the last time I had seen him as a child performing with the Jackson 5. I had never seen such an amazing performance. Because of this one performance,
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Nov 18, 2009
Jason
rated it:
The first cd I ever owned was Michael Jackson's Dangerous. It was at that point that MJ would be the most fascinating artist to me. He was an enigma.
Like most people, I was astounded by all the things that he supposedly did (which I'm still not sure of - too much deception involved on both sides), but also by the controversial things that can't be denied. Since his death in June, I have wanted to learn more about him. I read a couple magazines about him and they mostly talked a More...
Like most people, I was astounded by all the things that he supposedly did (which I'm still not sure of - too much deception involved on both sides), but also by the controversial things that can't be denied. Since his death in June, I have wanted to learn more about him. I read a couple magazines about him and they mostly talked a More...
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Jul 24, 2011
Cammie
rated it:
My Michael. :( Taraborelli's final update to his book is a pretty fair read. You can tell tho, that as Michael gets older and Taraborelli has less and less contact with Michael than he did in the early years, the book slowly moves away from facts and moves into speculation about what Taraborelli "thinks" went on towards the last years of Michael's life. Still he paints a reasonably fair portrait of Michael Jackson. Although die hard fans may be upset at some stories or anecdotes t
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Nov 10, 2011
Franz
rated it:
This book was the first I ever read about Michael Jackson, way back in 1991, When the first edition came out. The earliest parts are meticulously researched, and fair, pointing out the singers eccentricities while being sure to highlight Jacksons goodness and accomplishments. However, in later editions, the newer material realizes increasingly on untrustworthy sources, and, sadly, the music is covered less and less. One chapter is used to review 3 albums. The newer editions also become less and
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Jan 24, 2010
OOSA
rated it:
Greatest Entertainer Ever
A fan of the late great Michael Jackson, I opened this book wide-eyed with interest. A massive read, it was also hard to put down. However, I'm somewhat torn. While informative, I question the credibility and its accuracy of some of what was written. As an author Taraborrelli's narrative is well written, flows easily, and it's apparent that he had an "inside" look. Some of the book appears to be based in truth, while other parts are questionable and More...
A fan of the late great Michael Jackson, I opened this book wide-eyed with interest. A massive read, it was also hard to put down. However, I'm somewhat torn. While informative, I question the credibility and its accuracy of some of what was written. As an author Taraborrelli's narrative is well written, flows easily, and it's apparent that he had an "inside" look. Some of the book appears to be based in truth, while other parts are questionable and More...
Jan 23, 2011
Amanda
rated it:
A brilliant read. Taraborrelli is one of the few authors who can write about Michael Jackson without being overly biased or opinionated.
I read this book a couple of years ago when Micheal was falling from fame. I have always been a fan so I loved this insight into the smaller details of his life. I think passive fans may find it a little tedious though.
I usually dont read MJ Bio's as authors either seem to hate him or be overly obsessed with him. Randy is neither. He was More...
I read this book a couple of years ago when Micheal was falling from fame. I have always been a fan so I loved this insight into the smaller details of his life. I think passive fans may find it a little tedious though.
I usually dont read MJ Bio's as authors either seem to hate him or be overly obsessed with him. Randy is neither. He was More...
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Feb 19, 2011
Andrew
rated it:
the guy claims to have been a friend of MJ, but we all know what MJ thought of reporters. the book is rather thick with bible type paper, and smells strongly of ink which is not pleasant. there were a few things in the book that was news to me, but not much else. tends to run on and on or repeats alot of the same stuff. was really just reading it to get to the *updated* end... but still nothing here to make me want to recommend the book. the author is very sympathetic to joseph jackson, which i
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May 08, 2011
Athena
rated it:
What people forgot was that M.J. was a human being.He felt pain, loneliness, he wasn't perfect, he made mistakes & he had his quirks.. This book tries to seperate the man from the legend. Some interesting things I learned: Did U know Thriller was almost shelved?, At one point in time he was scared to drive?, how about Did you know he was the one who started the story about tthe hyperbaric chamber?(He wanted his career to be the Greatest show on Earth and it was!!!) The bad thing is journalists s
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Apr 04, 2011
Ashley
rated it:
I've got to hand it to Mr. Taraborrelli...this book was far better than I thought it would be.
Ever since Michael Jackson died I've been interested in reading a biography about him, but it's kind of hard to find a good one. Some of the books I'd seen boasted preposterous claims that made it difficult for me to even consider picking the book up and being able to take it seriously.
Enter "Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story".
I found More...
Ever since Michael Jackson died I've been interested in reading a biography about him, but it's kind of hard to find a good one. Some of the books I'd seen boasted preposterous claims that made it difficult for me to even consider picking the book up and being able to take it seriously.
Enter "Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story".
I found More...
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Nov 07, 2010
Tara
rated it:
This book was first published in 1993, updated in 2004 (when Jackson was accused of child molestation for the second time.) I've read quite a few of Taraborrelli's celebrity biographies, and this one was particularly interesting because he befriended Michael at an early age. The book is strongest dealing with the first 30 years of Michael's life, from his humble beginnings to child stardom with the Jackson 5 and his enormous success as a solo artist. There were lots of stories about Michael's sh
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Aug 17, 2009
Penny
rated it:
I admire the author for attempting to tackle the personal life of THE greatest entertainer in my generation. I was surprised at how unbiased the Taraborrelli was..for the most part he seemed to play both sides. I look forward to other people releasing fair biographies on mj, but in the meantime this will suffice. only thing that aggravated me was the wooden fake dialogue when obviously tarraborrelli wasn't in the room! the earlier motown years are the best part. in the 90s it seems to fall
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Nov 09, 2009
Kori
rated it:
I thought this book was riveting. Nobody will really ever know the truth about what made Michael Jackson tick, but this book seems very well researched. Each individual interview and reference is documented in the 30+ pages of source notes. The author did a very nice job of presenting a solid, objective biography. I feel like I stepped into a shocking snapshot of what his life must have been like.
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Nov 07, 2010
Nenette
rated it:
Wow!!! For one, this book just again stressed the fact that MJ is an extremely talented person, and a powerful one too. Talented - we all know that. Powerful - he used his fame and money to get anything he wanted. However, I think there was really something wrong with the guy, and again, I think it's all emanating from the fact that he didn't seem to want to grow up, with all the power at his disposal. He remained childlike/childish; he ran from and refused to face up to his responsibilitie
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Jun 01, 2011
Sally
rated it:
As a huge fan of the King of Pop, I think this book is amazing! By reading this, I knew so much more about Michael, at the same time, understand that he only is a human too. Taraborrelli's done a wonderful job on researching, interviewing and writing the book without being biased or opinionated. I love the book and I think it'd be a great book for everyone to spend some times on.
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Jan 19, 2012
Celine
rated it:
This biography of Michael Jackson was really great to read.It was a really interesting story that talked about his whole life from the day he started his career till the day he died.It also talks about his family,friends,concerts,songs,#1 albums,plastic surgeries,and his final days.This book was actually written by Michael Jackson's family friend.
Oct 06, 2009
Joan
rated it:
A fascinating book if you want to learn about how fame can destroy someone and change them infinitely. I actually threw up after reading less than half of it, but soldiered on. I guess what fascinated me the most was his marriage to Lisa Marie Presley and how legitimate it seemed to be. They had sex sooo much (she likes strange men evidently).
Aug 29, 2009
Jane
rated it:
Unfortunately, I read the 1991 edition of this book, so I didn't get a lot of the story. Based on what I read, though, I still believe that Michael Jackson was a screwed up and sad man who was basically innocent. His love for children seems to be a desire to hold on to what is good and pure. I think I've had enough of Jackson for a while. My fascination has waned.
Jun 12, 2011
Nasheem
rated it:
Michael Jackson has been through the paparrazzi stressing him, his childhood, and fame fortune throughout his life. All the way until his death on June 25th 2009 Michael has been one the world's greatest entertainers of all time. He paved the way for new generetaions of todays singers and artists.
Jan 14, 2010
Mscharlee
rated it:
Hands down the BEST book about Michael Jackson there is. Tells in explicit details his entire story; the good and the bad. Very insightful. I devoured this book in like 6 days. Cold read it again. A must-read for any MJ fan or really anyone who is curious about his life. Very detailed.
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Aug 10, 2011
Hannah
rated it:
It was informative and probably the best bio on MJ you'll find to date. No gorgeous prose, but informative. Wow, the copyediting and line editing is atrocious. I'd be ashamed to have this book come out in my name with such a poor editing job.
Oct 02, 2009
Elise
rated it:
This book is the definitive account of Michael Jackson's entire life from the early beginnings to his death. It's very in depth. Some of the events in there are questionable however. It's important to note that the author hadn't interviewed Michael in person after a certain time, so some of the so called "conversations" seem like fiction. It's those parts you have to really take with a grain of salt. Overall, I thought the book was very good and worth reading though.
