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146 of 151 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
OK biography of a fascinating man, July 27, 2009
This review is from: Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story, 1958-2009 (Hardcover)
I did nothing this past weekend but read this book. Michael Jackson is incredibly interesting to me- a compelling and unsolvable mystery. Was he vain, or did he have body dysmorphic disorder? Did he want to be white, or was he trying to cover up disfiguring vitiligo? Was he heterosexual, gay, or asexual? Was he a pedophile, or was he a repressed child who was only able to relate to kids? How could he be so outgoing on stage, but so shy and reserved off stage? Was he destroyed by the media/lawyers, etc, or did he destroy himself? In certain interviews, he seems exquisitely gentle, sweet, kind, and sincere... at other times, he seems childish, naive and evasive. I have the deepest compassion for this misunderstood man whose story of meteoric superstardom and crashing fall from grace could be a Shakespeare tragedy. The irony is that he was constantly being judged by people whose characters were inferior to his (eg the unscrupulous Mr. Martin Bashir)
In this biography, the nature of the relationship between the author and Michael Jackson is unclear. They first met when they both were kids, at a time when the author was too young to be a reporter. Some of the information he reports is uncited, and you are led to wonder where the heck it came from, as other reviewers have noted. I thought the author tried to be fair and presented both sides of the story for the most part. However, he often came across as judgmental; the facts alone would have sufficed, but the author usually sums up with his own opinion about Michael's psychology or behavior or motives- opinions I often disagreed with.
At times he would quote psychiatrists who had theories about Michael that I often thought were rediculous: for example, one psychiatrist thought Michael's interest in mannequins suggested that he was narcissistic. The mannequins were not replicas of himself, they represented people of several different ethnic groups. The obvious explanation for the mannequins is that he was lonely and couldn't relate to "normal" people.
The author is sick of hearing about Michael's lost childhood. He calculates that he missed out on a certain number of years of his childhood, and has spent double that amount of time recovering them as an adult. I'm not a psychiatrist, but I don't think it works that way... I'm pretty sure you have to experience your childhood when you're a child for it to count. He also suggests that Michael's vitiligo was caused by skin-bleaching agents, when it more commonly occurs spontaneously as an autoimmune disorder; the co-presence of lupus, another autoimmune disorder, makes this a more likely cause. Overall, I felt the portrayal of Michael was slightly more negative than positive. The stories that portray him as a cut-throat artist or an aggressive businessman are most interesting, but don't necessarily represent all aspects of his complex personality.
I definitely wanted to hear about his personal life, but not at the expense of his musical and professional history. For example, the creation and release of the "Dangerous" album was completely glossed over- by then it was all about the scandal. In contrast, he spends pages and pages describing the planning of a Jackson 5 concert series in Korea that never occurred.
At the end of the book, the author says that he still has doubts about whether Michael Jackson was innocent of Jordan Chandler's accusations. Among other reasons, he remembers Jordan's mother's poignant testimony at the 2005 trial, and states that it was clear she had been totally ruined by her association with Michael Jackson. Not sure what her ruin has to do with Michael's innocence or guilt? There are obvious major credibility issues with the Chandler family. Evan Chandler had motives beyond those that concerned his son. A nasty, vindictive man, he wanted to get back at Michael for some personal slight and wasn't ashamed to retire in luxury on someone else's hard-earned money. June's lawyer withdrew from the case- how often does that happen, especially knowing how much money was to be made? This lawyer later claimed he thought Michael was innocent. Jordan refused to testify against Michael, even many years later. So I thought the author could have put more emphasis on the Chandlers' lack of credibility. Early on in the book he talks for several paragraphs about how even if Michael were really gay, he would never act on it because of his strict moral upbringing and religious beliefs. Does child molestation not fall under the same category??
I still recommend the book, but suggest that you make your own conclusions about this enigmatic man.
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202 of 217 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Read with caution, July 25, 2009
This review is from: Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story, 1958-2009 (Hardcover)
Ok, so in the sad world of Jackson biographies, this is undoubtably the best. Taraborelli's style is conversational and enjoyable and I agree with the reviewers before me- it is difficult to put down.
However, there are a number of things that rattle the credibility of this publication.
1. Taraborrelli contributes to the Daily Mail, a smutty British tabloid.
2. Taraborrelli allows the Daily Mail to refer to him as Jackson's "friend" and even "lifelong confidante." This is incredibly far from the truth. Taraborelli makes no such assertions himself, but allowing himself to be referred to as such is just as bad. This type of self-aggrandizing disregard for the truth undermines his otherwise seemingly-semi-credible work. (Also of note, the Daily Mail also calls Stacy Brown a family friend. Brown is another Jackson biographer who revealed that crucial portions of his biography were made up for sensational purposes when under oath in Jackson's 2005 trial)
3. There are some things that Taraborelli reports as fact that could only have reached him through a biased, drawn-out grapevine. For example, Jackson's sex life with Lisa Marie. Also, the portions written about the nature of Jackson's relationship with Jordie Chandler, particularly the pieces where Jackson is alone with only the family in their home when Jackson is like, obsessively staring at Jordie. Who the HELL told Taraborelli that? One of Chandler's parents? Good ol' Uncle Ray? Knowing that Taraborrelli took liberties with the fact here and in other places where he will put incredible detail into scenes of which he couldn't possibly be aware makes you wonder where else he did this(and, also, if he knew all this- why did he not know that it was Jackson's insurance who paid the Chandlers the $20 million and not Jackson himself?) Does it make for enjoyable prose? Yes. But it's basically FAN FICTION.
4. Taraborrelli associates with some pretty shady anti-Jackson characters. He considers Diane Dimond a close friend. Frankly, I don't understand how someone could see past her tasteless witch-hunting to become a friend. He also gave interviews to this guy who's in this name escapes me, but he made a documentary called "Michael Jackson: What Really Happened" This documentary is so poorly made, it seems like a middle-schoolers powerpoint. And basically everything in it is ridiculous and incorrect.
5. Taraborrelli's participation in the 2005 trial was less than admirable. He seemed to favor the prosecution's chances when, upon review of the transcripts and evidence, they never had a case. He also got all of this credit for being so "close" to Jackson, but then he went along with all of the reporters who entertained themselves by relentlessly mocking their cash cow. I spent one week on the press there, and I was blown over by how unprofessional the environment was.
6. Taraborrelli admitted in an interview that he hadn't been keeping up with Jackson's story for the past few years. This means that the final portion of this book was scrambled together in a month.
7. The reason, Taraborrelli admitted, that he had been ignoring Jackson was because he was mad at him. .....seriously? ...are you joking? FEELINGS SHOULD NOT MATTER IN BIOGRAPHY WRITING!!! Taraborrelli, you are not Jackson's FRIEND. You aren't allowed to be mad at him! This is unprofessional and immature.
All of this said, I do think this book is worth a read. Taraborrelli writes well and definitely appears to come much closer to fact than any other biographers. His sources listed are extensive, yet vague in some very crucial areas. Unfortunately, the truth will never be known when it comes to Michael Jackson. Some lie for fame and money. Celebrities will lie for their image. Taraborrelli does seem to care for Jackson and is capable of discussing his life without his comments dripping with mockery like other "journalists." Sadly, I imagine this is as good as it's going to get.
ETA 12/18/2009: After following him on Facebook for the past four months, my opinion of Taraborrelli has greatly increased. I understand why he made the choices that he did now, and, upon reflection, I appreciate his work much more. I look forward to the next edition.
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109 of 118 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
WARNING: DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK, August 30, 2009
This review is from: Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story, 1958-2009 (Hardcover)
After the announcement of Jackson's death I began researching about his life and times. In my effort to create a holistic perception of this artist I bought Taraborrelli's biography of Jackson.
After examining this book very thoroughly I was surprised by the vagueness, the inconsistencies, the half-truths and the omission of facts that permeate this biography. I have decided to evolve myself to a project of exposing this so-called biography in order for other readers not to be fooled by this author and create the wrong impression about Jackson.
1) The majority of the information provided in the book is attributed to people who are not named but presented under the vague terms of either "associates" or "friends". Descriptions of incidents about Jackson, crucial to the creation of an impression about him, are attributed to nameless "friends", "bystanders", and "witnesses". If Mr. Taraborrelli was not allowed to reveal names or be more specific about his sources due to privacy issues he should not have used information obtained by them at all. How do we know that he did not concoct this info about Jackson? One of the many examples is the description of a fight between Lisa Marie Presley and MJ (p. 565) where none information about the sources of the author was given. This is a sign of unprofessionalism which is evident throughout this biography.
2) The author describes Jackson's behavior as "odd" or "strange" while omitting facts that could justify Jackson's seemingly unusual behavior. One example is the reference of MJ wearing masks in public which is depicted as an eccentricity of Jackson without any further explanation given. Jackson himself explained in an interview he gave to VH1 in 1996 that he was required to wear a mask by his doctors since his debilitating dermatological disease vitiligo rendered him allergic to the sun and susceptible to skin cancer.
3) The author devoted a mere paragraph about Jackson's diseases just saying that Jackson was diagnosed with vitiligo and lupus without mentioning how these two serious diseases affected his life. He even says that some doctors (again nameless generalizations) support that vitiligo can be caused from the use of bleaching creams, something which is obviously not true. No dermatologists in their right minds would say that and even if someone did they should have been mentioned specifically. By saying "some doctors say" the wrong impression that MJ might have used bleaching creams and brought this upon himself can be created. After intensive research in various accurate and legit medical boards I have found that the use of bleaching cream is improbable to cause vitiligo. It can only cause skin burns, skin wounds and irritation and that is even if it is chronically used. "The most common side effect of skin bleaching is skin irritation and a burning sensation. The itching or stinging of the skin should be mild and temporary, with some reddening of skin where cream is applied".
4)Another major faux pas by Taraborrelli was the omission of many facts and evidence concerning the Jordie Chandler case. The father's shady past is not mentioned neither his financial problems nor his legal ones. (GQ magazine, "Was Michael Jackson Framed? The Untold Story", 1994)
Taraborrelli provides a very positive picture of Evan Chandler by frequently mentioning his good relations with his son and his interest in him something that Michael Freeman - June Chandler's attorney - does not agree upon. Evan had no relationship with his son prior to Michael's involvement. He had had another family and 2 other children. (Side note: Taraborrelli only mentions Chandler's one other child and not two). Furthermore, some disturbing descriptions concerning MJ's alleged obsession with the little boy reveal how biased against Jackson Taraborrelli really is. He says that MJ "stares and follows Jordie around intensely" (p. 447) while characterizing his relation with Jordie as "cosmic", a description undoubtedly used for sensationalism. Again, no evidence mentioned concerning Jordie's and Michael's alleged relationship. Moreover, Taraborrelli mentions that Evan suggested to Michael to build an extra wing on Evan's house for MJ to live in. Apparently he was that pleased with MJ befriending his son. What Taraborrelli does not mention is that after Evan (and not MJ according GQ magazine) found out that there were zone restrictions, suggested to MJ to buy him a new house. Taraborrelli did not even mention the criminal past of the attorney Barry Rothman who took the Chandler case or his "familiarity" with child molestation cases or even the bankruptcy he filed in November 1992 (GQ magazine, p. 5-8). Also the alleged conversation between Evan and MJ does not seem to ring true; it is confirmed that they had a meeting but what went on at the meeting no one was able to find out in many details. Again, from where does Taraborrelli derive his information?
5)Taraborrelli only mentions very briefly MJ's charity work which was a major part of his life the last 25 years. MJ repeatedly had visited hospitals and orphanages bringing toys and joy to underprivileged children around the world. His donations to charitable organizations were over 300 million dollars. He had sent 7 tones of medicine to Sarajevo in 1992 through the Heal the World foundation which was founded by him. He has an entry on the Guinness World Records in 2001 as the only celebrity ever who supports more than 30 charitable organizations around the world.
I would definitely not recommend this book as it presents a negative and biased view of Michael Jackson and it is a waste of your time and money. Instead, if you want to know more about the man Jackson really was you could purchase Jackson's books written by him. The one is Moonwalk and the other is Dancing the Dream. If you however want to read an objective book about MJ I would recommend the Michael Jackson Conspiracy by Aphrodite Jones. It is based on the transcripts of the 2005 trials and the evidence regarding the case.
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