Never Can Say Goodbye: The Katherine Jackson Story

by Katherine Jackson

The untold story of Michael Jackson by his mother - Katherine Jackson. 150 pages of never-before-seen photos from The Jackson Family's Personal Archives.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir

150 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[NON · Rating 3 out of 5]

The love that Katherine has for her son is undeniable; listening to her talk about him one would get to sense as if she got no other child but him. Michael Jackson often expressed that unlike his father who struggled with emotions–Katherine out-poured her children with love. “She is very affectionate and emotional and outgoing and expressive of how she feels,” Jackson said of his mother.

And that's why I was excited for this read.

“She thanks me. She's always thanking me. She always says, ‘Thank you for everything you've done for me.’ And I go, ‘Mother, what are you talking about? Look what you've done for me,’ I said. ‘Don't thank me. Thank you.’” -Michael Jackson

The book's name is heartfelt; taken from The Jackson 5's 1971 single of the same title. The potential is obviously there but the execution is extremely poor. The photography content is beautiful despite being repetitive and focuses heavily on the Pop royalty on stage rather than off stage; that was distasteful to me because it left me with the impression as if they only saw him as that. On the other hand, the textual content is disappointing because there's nothing new; actually it's a brief rehash of her autobiography, “My Family, The Jacksons”. I'd recommend you to pick that book instead of this one.

If Katherine's purpose of publishing this photo-book is to gift it for Jackson's fans, I'm sorry to say that it's unsatisfying because all that mentioned here are well-known facts/stories that were told hundred times before over and over again. If this were really for his fans then all that we want is to learn more about him than what was already told, and we wanted photos that we haven't seen before. Katherine got enough anecdotes about her son that could last a life-time, the least she could've offered is new ones that she didn't tell countless times before.

If you wish to learn more about Michael Jackson then it's best to read the two books he published: 1- Moonwalk 2- Dancing the Dream

Also check The Jacksons: Legacy

[Stasia Bruhn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Katherine Jackson says that this book was created for the fans and so the world could know the true Michael. For these reasons alone this book fails. My Mom and I are Michael Jackson fans. She bought this for 50.00 dollars & the only place you can truly get this is at secretjacksonvault.com. We were both truly disappointed!! Most of the pictures are of Michael with his brothers(the Jackson 5). Not alot of pictures of just Michael. We wanted to see family photos& Pictures of Michael off stage. We know the On-stage Michael. We wanted to learn more about Michael from the one person who could tell us things about her son we did not know.Most everything that was written Michael Jackson fans already know. We know about how it all began, we know who his inspirations were, we know all about Bubbles,etc. You can find out any of this info just by the internet.Most of the pics are from the Jackson era and almost all were from when he was still living with his family. You don't learn anything new.There are not many personal stories from Katherine. This is what Michael Jackson fans are looking for!! The reason why I didn't give it a lower rating is because the pictures are large, glossy, nice, & colorful. Just not what we were expecting. This book was not bought for pictures of the Jackson 5. To me I think this book is a Fluff piece with little substance. There is a better book out there Michael Jackson-The magic, the madness, the whole story by J. Randy Tarraborrelli which gives you some insight into the true Michael Jackson. As Michael Jackson fans we (my mom and I) feel the book is misrepresented and we feel cheated! We expected more from Katherine!!The price is a little expensive and was bought only because it was from Katherine.My mom told me that the money from this book goes to Michael's charities and to his children. We are very happy about this at least..

[Rachel Yuska · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast reading. I finish it in less than an hour. Basically, it's a photobook. So sad to see handsome late MJ morphed into an alien. He looked handsome with afro hair, wide nose and brown skin.

[Isabel Rebelo da Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of Michael Jackson in pictures, by his loving mother.

[Ashlove65hotmail.Om]

love mj

[Mr Nightmare · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fast and enjoyable read. Basically it's a photobook, it has lots of pothos from the Jackson era and almost no text al all.
Besides facts that are very well known by the fans and very few cute annedoctes the rest of the book consists of just photos, high quality photos, but that's it.
From a book that aimed to share the true Michael Jackson, it fails terribly.
What I really liked is the pure love that Mrs. Jackson has for her son, it made my heart melt.
An undying love between Mrs. Jackson and her loving son that you can feel through the pages of this book.

If you are looking to learn more about Michael Jackson I would suggest Moonwalk.

[Lauren · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book was a complete and total let down. I was hoping to learn something new and not just general knowledge. this is filled with pictures of Michael when he was young and in Jackson 5. the stories are just he loved his fans his life ended too soon. I was hoping that being from his mother we would get a little insight

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book i was lucky engough to find on a goodwill auctiion i cant recomend pying the very high online prices a. the book is mostly unseen and trust me i have seveal thosound picrures in my digtail and book collection of michael jackson however there are a few stories and pictures of her other kids

[Vanita · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's like looking through a family album, getting some explanations. Mother Jackson does not go into very much detail or depth, but her love for Michael is so clear. It does seem like her other children fade into his shadow, though.

[Toni Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waited ages to read this finally got my hands on a copy, I loved the beautiful colour pictures, I was hoping for more of story from Katherine Jackson, but it was still lovely seeing all the family together in happier times, I purchased this book as a keepsake.

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can somebody help me I can't find the read button on the books

[Winter Sophia Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Excellent Read!