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Unmasked
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Product Description
Product Description
In late December 2008, Ian Halperin told the world that Michael Jackson had only six months to live. His investigations into Jackson's failing health made headlines around the globe. Six months later, the King of Pop was dead. Whatever the final autopsy results reveal, it was greed that killed Michael Jackson. Friends and associates paint a tragic picture of the last years and days of his life as Jackson made desperate attempts to prepare for the planned concert series at London's 02 Arena in July 2009. These shows would have earned millions for the singer and his entourage, but he could never have completed them, not mentally, and not physically. Michael knew it and his advisors knew it. Anyone who caught even a fleeting glimpse of the frail old man hiding beneath the costumes and cosmetics would have understood that the London tour was madness. Why did it happen this way? After an intense five year investigation, New York Times bestselling author Ian Halperin uncovers the real story of Michael Jackson's final years, a suspenseful and surprising thriller.
About the Author
Ian Halperin is also a former winner of the Rolling Stone magazine Award for Investigative Journalism. He is the author or coauthor of five books, including the bestsellers Fire and Rain: The James Taylor Story, and Celine Dion: Behind the Fairytale, as well as a number of exposes on the modeling industry. He coauthored Who Killed Kurt Cobain? with Max Wallace. Ian is a regular correspondent for Court TV and has contributed to 60 Minutes 2.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Despite spending some time researching this book, Halperin seems to have rushed it out following Jackson's death.
Unlike some reviewers, I got the impression that Halperin was doing his best to remain neutral and report the facts as he found them. Unlike some of Jackson's critics in the media, Halperin largely allows his research to help him form his opinions, not fit the research to his prejudices. Halperin goes to great pains to provide "the other side" of the abuse allegations and just how corrupt and cack-handed the prosecutors, media and accusers were. This was well worth reading, espeically as I was never truly sure about whether Jackson had abused any of the boys in his care.
However, mid-way through the book, Halperin states, with complete confidence, that Jackson was gay. Someone's sexual preferences make no difference to me whatsoever, and I wouldn't care either way if Jackson was gay. However, the accusation is not really backed up at all. According to Halperin, two of Jackson's former lovers had confirmed this to Halperin, but neither was willing to go on record. Others who state that Jackson was certainly gay cannot offer one shred of evidence. This amounts to the same thing as accusing him of being a molester - without evidence, why should we believe it?
One bizarre notion is that Jackson was meeting with a gay lover in a run-down motel because he couldn't afford anything fancier. This, at the time when Halperin says that Jackson was struggling to put food on the table for his children. He may have been broke, but was he ever that poor? Considering he still employed a small army and was renting a very expensive apartment in California, it doesn't stack up.
Again, I wouldn't care if he was gay. I just think that the case has not been made in this book, and so neither should the accusation have been.
Halperin makes a connection between Jackson's marriage to Lisa Marie Presley and her affiliation with Scientology. The more I learn about Scientology, the more sinister a cult it seems. This part of the book seems rather neat, but also a little fantastical as once again, there is no hard evidence to prove this - just a few secondhand reports of off-the-cuff remarks - nothing approaching proof. Interesting hypothesis, but not fact. Halperin's got previous with Scientology. I'm sure he knows a lot about Scientology and what they are capable of, but there is no concrete connection between his assertions and the evidence he has.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about the final months of Jackson's life is the role the Nation of Islam played in his affairs. This is something worthy of more investigation. Halperin paints a desperate and truly saddening portrait of Jackson's final days where he was left feeling helpless, exploited and totally out of control of his own destiny. One can only feel sympathy for the man and his children upon reading this and I hope that more work is done in the future to unpick the Nation of Islam's role in this.
Ultimately, this book really feels like it was rushed out. Where Halperin has had time to piece together his evidence and corroborate it, he has done a decent enough job. In other parts, it seems he should have held off. But then he'd have missed the chance to be the one to break the news and to cash in on MJ - it seems he has that in common with so many other people he writes about. Jackson was hounded by people who felt they had a right to own a piece of him and his vast wealth, and were shameless in getting it.
I don't want to dismiss Halperin completely, but some parts of this book are simply conjecture without hard evidence.
Unlike some reviewers, I got the impression that Halperin was doing his best to remain neutral and report the facts as he found them. Unlike some of Jackson's critics in the media, Halperin largely allows his research to help him form his opinions, not fit the research to his prejudices. Halperin goes to great pains to provide "the other side" of the abuse allegations and just how corrupt and cack-handed the prosecutors, media and accusers were. This was well worth reading, espeically as I was never truly sure about whether Jackson had abused any of the boys in his care.
However, mid-way through the book, Halperin states, with complete confidence, that Jackson was gay. Someone's sexual preferences make no difference to me whatsoever, and I wouldn't care either way if Jackson was gay. However, the accusation is not really backed up at all. According to Halperin, two of Jackson's former lovers had confirmed this to Halperin, but neither was willing to go on record. Others who state that Jackson was certainly gay cannot offer one shred of evidence. This amounts to the same thing as accusing him of being a molester - without evidence, why should we believe it?
One bizarre notion is that Jackson was meeting with a gay lover in a run-down motel because he couldn't afford anything fancier. This, at the time when Halperin says that Jackson was struggling to put food on the table for his children. He may have been broke, but was he ever that poor? Considering he still employed a small army and was renting a very expensive apartment in California, it doesn't stack up.
Again, I wouldn't care if he was gay. I just think that the case has not been made in this book, and so neither should the accusation have been.
Halperin makes a connection between Jackson's marriage to Lisa Marie Presley and her affiliation with Scientology. The more I learn about Scientology, the more sinister a cult it seems. This part of the book seems rather neat, but also a little fantastical as once again, there is no hard evidence to prove this - just a few secondhand reports of off-the-cuff remarks - nothing approaching proof. Interesting hypothesis, but not fact. Halperin's got previous with Scientology. I'm sure he knows a lot about Scientology and what they are capable of, but there is no concrete connection between his assertions and the evidence he has.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about the final months of Jackson's life is the role the Nation of Islam played in his affairs. This is something worthy of more investigation. Halperin paints a desperate and truly saddening portrait of Jackson's final days where he was left feeling helpless, exploited and totally out of control of his own destiny. One can only feel sympathy for the man and his children upon reading this and I hope that more work is done in the future to unpick the Nation of Islam's role in this.
Ultimately, this book really feels like it was rushed out. Where Halperin has had time to piece together his evidence and corroborate it, he has done a decent enough job. In other parts, it seems he should have held off. But then he'd have missed the chance to be the one to break the news and to cash in on MJ - it seems he has that in common with so many other people he writes about. Jackson was hounded by people who felt they had a right to own a piece of him and his vast wealth, and were shameless in getting it.
I don't want to dismiss Halperin completely, but some parts of this book are simply conjecture without hard evidence.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
nothing new, waste of money, plus there's a picture of Janet that has a caption saying it's LaToya! Shocking!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The author got lucky. He foretold Michael Jackson's death. When the prophesy dramatically came true with stunning accuracy - he said Michael would be dead in six months and it turned out to be six months and a day - his credibility as an investigator rocketed. The tabloids carried his "inside information" and this book appeared.
But the coroner's report has burst his bubble. There was no reference to any genetic disease killing Michael, as he had claimed. The autopsy revealed that the star had been in quite good condition for his age, a finding backed up in footage for all to see in the film This Is It. Michael died as a result of homicide, not disease.
The book's other main claims are even more wide of the mark.
Author Ian Halperin tells us he is gay - "obviously gay", as he puts it - and he makes entertaining use of his camp style in some enterprising undercover investigations, plausibly passing himself off as a hairstylist to the stars, for instance. But the fruits of these labours turn out to be either laughably inconsequential or wildly inaccurate.
Ironically, the biggest laugh we get comes just when he thinks he has finally struck gold. Posing in his hairdresser role, Halperin catches up with the world's most famous entertainer and manages to engage him in conversation, a triumph that evidently went straight to his head. Based on what strikes this reader as mere wishful thinking, our excited author concludes that the superstar is flirting with him: "I had visions in my mind of Michael leaning over and kissing me on the lips," he swoons.
Ha! In your dreams, honey! Haven't a billion girls yearned hopelessly for that, even his two wives? This is not an investigation: it's Wacko Jacko meets an even wackier Brüno! But this is the wafer-thin basis on which he decides Michael was interested in men rather than boys.
In support of his theory he contents himself with mythology rather than research. For instance, 13-year-old Jordan Chandler, who famously alleged in 1993 that Michael had abused him sexually, gave a detailed description of the star's genitals to the police. Halperin hastily dismisses this description on the basis of a single sentence from a news report appearing in USA Today and elsewhere in January 1994 which has since been plastered all over the internet on Jackson fan sites. This snippet apparently confirmed from law enforcement sources that police photos of Michael Jackson's genitalia "do not match descriptions given by the boy".
But if that was true, why did prosecutor Tom Sneddon attempt to get the photos admitted as evidence at Michael's trial? If Jordan's description did not match the photos, this evidence would have done much to destroy the prosecution case, not strengthen it.
Halperin's background research ranges from abysmal to non-existent. His own engagement with Jackson's life did not begin until the end of the 2005 trial; everything before that is dealt with very superficially. Despite the Final Years title, this earlier period accounts for quite a large chunk of the book. The shallowness of his labours is evidenced by the absence of any reference notes or credible indications as to the reliability of his unnamed sources.
But the coroner's report has burst his bubble. There was no reference to any genetic disease killing Michael, as he had claimed. The autopsy revealed that the star had been in quite good condition for his age, a finding backed up in footage for all to see in the film This Is It. Michael died as a result of homicide, not disease.
The book's other main claims are even more wide of the mark.
Author Ian Halperin tells us he is gay - "obviously gay", as he puts it - and he makes entertaining use of his camp style in some enterprising undercover investigations, plausibly passing himself off as a hairstylist to the stars, for instance. But the fruits of these labours turn out to be either laughably inconsequential or wildly inaccurate.
Ironically, the biggest laugh we get comes just when he thinks he has finally struck gold. Posing in his hairdresser role, Halperin catches up with the world's most famous entertainer and manages to engage him in conversation, a triumph that evidently went straight to his head. Based on what strikes this reader as mere wishful thinking, our excited author concludes that the superstar is flirting with him: "I had visions in my mind of Michael leaning over and kissing me on the lips," he swoons.
Ha! In your dreams, honey! Haven't a billion girls yearned hopelessly for that, even his two wives? This is not an investigation: it's Wacko Jacko meets an even wackier Brüno! But this is the wafer-thin basis on which he decides Michael was interested in men rather than boys.
In support of his theory he contents himself with mythology rather than research. For instance, 13-year-old Jordan Chandler, who famously alleged in 1993 that Michael had abused him sexually, gave a detailed description of the star's genitals to the police. Halperin hastily dismisses this description on the basis of a single sentence from a news report appearing in USA Today and elsewhere in January 1994 which has since been plastered all over the internet on Jackson fan sites. This snippet apparently confirmed from law enforcement sources that police photos of Michael Jackson's genitalia "do not match descriptions given by the boy".
But if that was true, why did prosecutor Tom Sneddon attempt to get the photos admitted as evidence at Michael's trial? If Jordan's description did not match the photos, this evidence would have done much to destroy the prosecution case, not strengthen it.
Halperin's background research ranges from abysmal to non-existent. His own engagement with Jackson's life did not begin until the end of the 2005 trial; everything before that is dealt with very superficially. Despite the Final Years title, this earlier period accounts for quite a large chunk of the book. The shallowness of his labours is evidenced by the absence of any reference notes or credible indications as to the reliability of his unnamed sources.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
SICK
How distasteful!
Revelling in sordid gratuitously scandalous allegations, and graphic details shortly after someone has just died. Read more
Revelling in sordid gratuitously scandalous allegations, and graphic details shortly after someone has just died. Read more
Published 2 months ago by drak
Not to be Recommended
This is a badly written book which I did not enjoy reading. He was obviously rushing to get it out but even if he wasn't in a rush I do not think that it would have been a good... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Eartha Josephine
A LOT BETTER THAN FEARED.
I REALLY DIDN'T KNOW IF I SHOULD READ THIS BOOK,OR IF IT WOULD MAKE ME ANGRY. THE WRITER ADMITS EARLY ON THAT HE SET OUT TO FIND MICHAEL AS GUILTY AS SIN AND GET HIM PUT AWAY FOR... Read more
Published 17 months ago by BAZ316
MJ.Unmasked
I recently purchased the book 'Michael Jackson; Unmasked'. I read the reviews on it before i bought it. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Ms. B. Swift
Not a fan must have!
I brought this book about 2 weeks after MJ'S death, not ever hearing of the author, I wish I hadn't brought it as it is definitely not a book for us MJ fans, it is just full of... Read more
Published 23 months ago by LouJess
Don't trust this author
I would never ever buy anything by this author but particularly where Michael Jackson is concerned. IH admits that he set out to "nail" Michael over the child abuse allegations... Read more
Published on 18 Jan 2010 by Jane E. Grost
A summary of the tabloid press
The book doesn't justify its name. The focus is directed to all sorts of former employees in Michael's estate, psychologists, various researches and statistics. Read more
Published on 6 Dec 2009 by Maia
DO NOT BUY !!!
There is only one thing to say about this book and that is that the author is very smart - unfortunately ! Read more
Published on 18 Nov 2009 by S. Greve
Just Awful !
Thought this would have been one of the better " rushed out to cash in " Michael Jackson books . But was just awful . Read more
Published on 18 Oct 2009 by Rebecca A
Good read
I read this book, the author was on a quest to prove Michael Jackson was guilty of the charges of child molestation. Read more
Published on 5 Oct 2009 by A. Williams
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