From the Bookshelf of Remembrance Of Michael Jackson…

Michael Jackson: The Man behind the Mask

Bob Jones,

Stacy Brown (Contributor)

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Jan 09, 2010 Sheila rated it it was ok

Bob Jones worked as a journalist in the 1960s before going to work with Motown as a publicity manager. Leaving Motown in 1987, Michael Jackson hired him as VP of MJJ Productions. Stacy Brown knew Michael and other members of the Jackson family on a personal basis for over twenty years. The two authors have very strong ideas about Michael Jackson and their work with him and his family. It is up to the individual reader as to what is to be believed as unvarnished truth and what is to be discarded Bob Jones worked as a journalist in the 1960s before going to work with Motown as a publicity manager. Leaving Motown in 1987, Michael Jackson hired him as VP of MJJ Productions. Stacy Brown knew Michael and other members of the Jackson family on a personal basis for over twenty years. The two authors have very strong ideas about Michael Jackson and their work with him and his family. It is up to the individual reader as to what is to be believed as unvarnished truth and what is to be discarded as disgruntled rambling.

It is easy to understand that Mr. Jones was unhappy because he was fired via a short letter instead of being told why or even in person. Later, he was further shocked because the contents of his office was removed. After years of what he felt was devoted Public Relations service, Mr. Jones felt betrayed and decided to write this book to tell his version of working with Michael and the other members of the Jackson family.

Claiming to have originated the term “the King of Pop”, Jones describes the Jackson in a definitely unfavorable light throughout the book. Early on, he includes an excerpt from Michael Roberts’ Westword.com article where Jackson family members are given derogatory titles such as Best Scapegoat, Best Phrasemaker, and Most Supportive Parent, which include snidely explanatory definitions.

Numerous passages portray various family members as manipulative, jealous, and just plain untalented. “Facts” are revealed and then italicized opinionated information is provided by the author on nearly every page of this unflattering book. 6 of the 12 photos in the book include Jones smiling as if he enjoys his job; which is hard to understand as the reader peruses the stories he tells. Jones “spills” a lot of unseemly information that is meant to be unquestioned and regarded as unmitigated truth because of his included personal involvement.

The first ten pages alone give Jones’ belittling recounting of Michael’s charity work, allegation cover ups, and reckless personal choices. If one makes it through those beginning remarks, there are more unhappy “revelations” throughout the balance of the book. With chapter names promoting innuendo of racism, haughtiness, and financial instability, it doesn’t matter where the reader begins; it’s all disheartening, page by awful page.

In the first chapter, Jones depicts Michael as the man in the “surgically-meshed-together face” who has absolutely no positive regard for any person in his family and supports the statements by providing supposed quotes from the entertainer himself. As a sudden about face, Mr. Jones then describes the excitement and enjoyment he derived from working with Motown and the Jacksons by stating that it was a chaotic “ride.” He does make a few positive, irrefutable remarks about the successful recordings produced which include the “Off the Wall” and “Triumph” albums, but merges it with how tough his job was doing damage control during the molestation allegations of 1993.

Later chapters portray Michael Jackson as someone that has deluded himself into believing he knows Princess Diana, but that she never returned contact that Mr. Jones tried to make on Michael’s behalf. Still later in the book, both of Michael’s marriages are reported to be shams because he only wanted to have white children, yet had no need for an actual life mate. Although both Lisa Marie Presley and Debbie Rowe have stated that they loved Michael Jackson and that the reasons they divorced him were brought on not so much by his manner as the lifestyle the superstar was required to live due to his immense popularity and their individual dislike of the same, Jones conveniently does not include this information in the book.

Other chapters pervade the ideas that Michael faked injuries and illnesses to avoid responsibilities, charged for charitable personal appearances, and rarely paid his bills. The collaborating authors further state that fans had to be transported in to some venues to prove that Michael’s popularity had not waned.

Near the end of the book, one of the final insults is a copy of the actual 2004 indictment documents. Jones refers to Michael Jackson as no longer having “artistic influence”, that his star had peaked 15 years ago, and by calling him a “disaster”.

In all fairness, regarding record release dates, and strictly musical information such as song and album titles, this book is mostly correct. Motown, Havenhurst, and Encino are correctly placed on the map as well. The glossy cover sports a nice vintage photo of Michael on the back and this reviewer did not see any misspelled words in the text. However, the bulk of this tome can be highly regarded as Mr. Jones’ extremely slanted personal opinion and innuendo.

If the reader never liked Michael Jackson, this book contains a plethora of enumerated suspicions. However, if one admired Michael Jackson, this is not a book that will be taken seriously; in fact, a lot of readers will not make it through the first chapter due to its questionable content and salacious nature.
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1 like · Like · see review

Sep 24, 2009 Jayla Fuller rated it it was amazing

bet it would be good.

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Sep 24, 2009 Ramone rated it really liked it

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