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I read this book and Michael Jackson Conspiracy by Aphrodite Jones around the same time. It was right after Michael Jackson's passing last year that made me want to read more about Michael Jackson. I wanted some answers, so I went looking for them.
I saw Ian Halperin on one of the morning shows and decided to get his book when it came out. Along with Aphrodite Jones' book, I re-read this shortly after the one-year anniversary of Michael's death. I know that this book received a lot of bad reviews. Going through this book, I know that there are parts that are truthful, as they match what Aphrodite Jones had said in her book. Ian Halperin, much like Ms. Jones, was convinced with Michael Jackson's guilt in the sexual molestation charges. He was out to prove this, and in the int-rum, he found that he was thinking Michael Jackson was innocent and framed. I'll give the author credit for admitting this.
However, the book still has enough "sensationalism" to try to sell books. This came out right after Michael Jackson's death. The claim on the book, The Final Years of Michael Jackson, is a bit misleading, however. There was very little about the controversy surrounding Michael's death. A bulk of this book centered around, like Ms. Jones' book, the sexual molestation charges and other "sensational" inquiries. Mr. Halpern felt the public needed to read about Michael's ever-changing skin color, his plastic surgery, and most explosively, his sexual orientation. Those parts of the books are what angered most long-time Jackson fans and supporters.
What I found bothersome about the author is his shady manner in trying to get his stories. Maybe lying and disguising yourself to get into the "inner circle" of your subject is typical of journalists. Someone who has to resort to such tactics makes me feel as though he cannot be totally trusted on the subject that he is reporting about.
I did find two positive things that happened as a result of this book. The first was the part of the book that went into Michael Jackson's marriage to Lisa Marie Presley and the Scientology connection. I can say that this book, after reading it last year for the first time, prompted my desire to read anything I could get my hands on regarding the twisted cult of Scientology. This also prompted me to further research religious cults in general, but Scientology I find the most fascinating and dangerous.
The second is that I had decided to check out Ian Hapern's two books on the death of Kurt Cobian: What Killed Kurt Cobain and Love & Death. I can say that What Killed Kurt Cobain (Love & Death is pretty much the same book with slight updates) is a much more intriguing read than this book is.
So, if you're looking for specks of truth in some sensationalism, then this is the book for you. Otherwise, you can join me in my search to find accounts based on reality.
- Hardcover: 224 pages
- Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment; 1St Edition edition (July 14, 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1439177171
- ISBN-13: 978-1439177174
- Product Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 9 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
- Average Customer Review: 219 customer reviews
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#1,420,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #758 in Western U.S. Biographies
- #3853 in Rock Band Biographies
- #10574 in Ethnic & National Biographies (Books)
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