Michael Jackson: The Magic, the Madness, the Whole Story [Paperback]

This book is a good read for the fans as it paints a vivid portrait of MJ's character revealing the complex, gifted and sometimes emotionally immature person the King of Pop was. It shows what a great business man MJ was in the 1980's- detailing how he made his fortune, and it also goes behind the mask to reveal his low points. Such as how during the 2nd Leg of the Dangerous Tour in Mexico, 1993, while addicted to pain killers and heartbroken over the Chandler Scandal, he destroyed his suite - leaving dents in the walls, and vomit & chewing gum stained floors. Incredible to think that despite all this was he was still able to execute some of the greatest concerts the world has ever seen.

Unfortunately this book is lacking in one HUGE area- namely the stories behind the music and concert tours- essentially what made Michael Jackson a legend! Instead the book focuses on the personal life and business decisions of MJ. All of that stuff is interesting, but I would have preferred a little less of that and more about the music. The author, obviously a big fan of the J5 days, goes into detail about the recording sessions of the 1970's and about Thriller, but then in predictable and disappointing fashion glosses over the subsequent albums as MJ's personal life takes up his focus.

The stories behind the key songs on Thriller are divulged, but after that point nadda. The Dangerous album (my personal fav & MJ's second highest selling) is not even mentioned until at one point it is referred to by the author as his current album... wtf. This is disappointing to say the least. Anyone hoping to hear the stories of how Princess Stephanie of Monaco came to sing on `In The Closet' or how Naomi Campbell came to star in the video should look elsewhere because there is nothing about any of that here. Similarly disappointing- descriptions of the stage shows, special effects, themes & attendance figures of MJ's record breaking world tours are not mentioned. Finally big names in MJ's personal life- Princess Diana, music career- Teddy Riley & stage show- Jenifer Batten are not even mentioned once. :(

At least JRT recognized the quality of Jackson's latter albums. History, BOTD & Invincible are the sole subject of one chapter in which he talks about them one at a time. That's another thing that is annoying about this book- some of it is not in chronological order such as the aforementioned chapter & photo pages which often do not correlate to the era you have just read. The final two areas of the book which are either pointless/incorrect or again a disappointment are as follows-

-JRT's need to offer his opinion on MJ's music- criticizing the BAD album as having some less than stellar tracks when in fact -EVERY- song on BAD is killer, the same of which cannot be said about Thriller `The Girl is Mine' hello... and also his occasional moralizing about what MJ should have done, or why didn't he do it this way, when talking about MJ's continued friendships with minors after the 1993 scandal. A biographer is supposed to tell the story of someone's life, not moralize.

-The post trail years 2005-2009 are glossed over in a matter of a few pages as if MJ was doing nothing. No studio sessions are detailed despite the fact MJ was recording with will.i.am for a few years. JRT admits he lost interest in writing about him after the trial and it shows, apparently he wrote the chapters for MJ's last few years in a month. To summarize I would say that if you are a hardcore fan this book is worth reading to get a deeper understanding of MJ's personality, just don't go in expecting too much about the music.

Whilst aspects of this book are interesting, especially the earlier part, I felt the author relied too much on unsubstantiated hearsay from unrevealed sources. I would have preferred it if he had stuck to facts. This is yet another book purporting to "know" Michael Jackson. At times, the author came across as arrogant, patronising and opinionated. Some of his put-downs made him appear jealous of MJ.

He berates MJ for letting his Neverland staff go after the 2005 trial and yet, at the same time, states MJ was suffering from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, thus demonstrating his own lack of understanding of this condition. Neverland harboured disturbing memories of police raids etc. Add to that attending court every day for months, having to listen to lies about his character, followed by the sensationalised, distorted reporting by a world-wide media without conscience or an interest in the truth - no wonder he couldn't face going back to Neverland, let alone staying in the country. For the sake of his own mental health he needed to distance himself from all the disturbing reminders of the dreadful ordeal he'd undergone.

Another example of Mr. T's lack of understanding with regard to PTSD is the anger he felt that MJ didn't try to revive his career after the trial - he wasn't a commodity without feelings but a human being who had undergone an intensely traumatic experience and was suffering after-effects. Mr. T. appears to think he should have carried on as if nothing had happened. He needed time to heal.

I also note Mr. T. has jumped on the bandwagon of those now claiming to be a "friend" of MJ. Unfortunately, MJ isn't here to tell us whether he considered him a friend, especially as he always said he had very few true friends whom he could trust. It's sad that MJ had to die before Mr. T. was able to feel any modicum of empathy for him.

For me, this book does not represent the "Whole Story". If you want to know the real Michael Jackson, read his own book "Dancing the Dream".

This is a detailed look into the musical history of Michael Jackson and the Jackson family. I found it very heavy on the Motown years but interesting none the less. Jackson was an enigma in life and after reading this book I feel that I have even more questions than before I started it. Enjoy but don't expect any major revelations.