On Michael Jackson

Not the best way to spend your time if you want an accurate book about Michael Jackson

Jefferson writes with elegance which is to be expected of a Pulitzer-prize winning author. What I didn't expect is her bias in trying to pull the reader into what feels like someone who bought the media propaganda. With the vast amount of information available on Michael Jackson, it takes away from the validity of Jefferson's book when simple fact checking isn't researched.

Jefferson writes that Priscilla Presley was sure Jackson sought Lisa Marie to secure his lineage but the truth is Lisa Marie Presley pursued Jackson because she was sure he could help her with a recording career. In the process she fell for the charismatic Jackson. Presley confirms this as well as the inner circle that saw her chase Jackson. Presley promised Jackson children and when she wouldn't agree after the marriage, it was part of the reason for the dissolve even though they loved each other. Michael's desire to have children is well documented.

Jefferson weaves beautifully Jackson's love for the circus and his desire to create magic for his fans. However,that is short lived because it feels as if she is trying to sway us to believe Jackson was a pedophile. In the last chapter on the trial, she opens with a bullet point list of the charges brought against him. Again, simple research shows Jackson was cleared of all charges and that the vindictive D.A. Thomas Sneddon was obsessed with bringing the ax down on Jackson even when the accusers are shown to be professional liars in their quest to take money from many celebrities, not just Jackson. Same with the Jordan Chandler trial which should be re-named the Evan Chandler trial. Evan forced his son to go along with his lies to blackmail Jackson. Interesting how the media has virtually ignored that Evan committed suicide months after Jackson died and that his son severed his relationship with his father because of the fantastic lies he told. Hmm, instant karma?

Jackson admitted to suffering from Vitiligo, which destroys the pigmenation of the skin leaving the sufferer to translucent white skin. It feels as if Jefferson believes and wants us to believe he wanted to become white.

She also questions his obsession with plastic surgery. Any basic understanding of psychology will help you to understand that victims of abuse often develop Body Dysmorphic Disorder, where the sufferer is preoccupied with physical flaws especially the nose, skin and hair. They never see themselves as ever looking quite right. Add that to a father and siblings who constantly called a sensitive boy "fat nose" and it all adds up. I would like to feel Jefferson's compassion for Jackson, not her judgements.

Jefferson needs to do more fact checking as the blatant lack of accuracy takes away from what could otherwise be a good, quick, entertaining read.

If you want facts check out Redemption by Geraldine Hughes, written by the legal secretary who represented Jordan and Evan Chandler. And ask yourself: if you thought your child was being molested would you pursue money? Raise your hand if you would want justice.

Another good read is Conspiracy by Aphrodite Jones, who covered the 2005 trial. Jones. Jones gives us the behind the scenes that showed that the trial for Jackson was a modern day lynching.

Jefferson's book is slanted. We can get that type of information for free from the mass media without buying her book. Jackson told us about the lies. Most people choose not to believe him because of what the media fed them.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

dont waste your money on On Michael Jackson

It was painful to read 2 chapters. Never finished it. Big waste of money. My favorites are Moonwalk by Michael Jackson, and Michael Jackson The Magic and the Madness, love both of them. Michael jackson Tapes and Redemption are worth the money.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A reflection on pop culture, not a biography

If you're looking for a biography of Michael Jackson, look elsewhere. If you're looking for a concise, but intriguing look at possibly the most fascinating entertainer ever and how our society sees him, then this book is for you. Despite a few, minor factual errors, the book is very enjoyable. It looks at Jackson from some angles not often taken- from a historical and cultural view. The book hits on the main themes you always hear with Jackson- his 'freakish' image, his sexual ambiguity, his troubled childhood and his highly dysfunctional family. What makes this book different is that rather than telling the reader what to believe, it only brings up questions, suggests different ways to view the issue, and leaves the ultimate decision up to the reader. Allowing the reader to think for his or herself is a refreshing change in a day and age when the media is often shoving a pre-packaged opinion down people's throats.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Elegant Prose with Michael at the Center

This Pulitzer prizing-winning author has an elegant way with words and a turn of a phrase. She strives to place Michael in the center of what was culturally happening at the time of his ascendancy and subsequent decline (at least in the press; his fans remained loyal). However if someone is looking for a book of Michael this is not the one. This book is "about" Michael or rather on how Michael affected, was perhaps affected by, and perceived by the culture in which we live from the standpoint of how our society has always treated the freak, the oddity, the thing that is different from the "norm". This very slim book is a good and quick read. One complaint, the author got a couple of her facts wrong and for me that takes a little away from the book. Especially, when they were facts that are well-known and easily checked.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Outstanding

A number of show-biz bios of this eccentric individual have already been published, which makes Margo Jefferson's take on him refreshing. In a series of essays, she explores several aspects of Michael Jackson's life, in particular his abnormal childhood, endless plastic surgeries, and accusations of pedophilia. Never judgmental, she simply offers some insightful thinking and intelligent speculation about Jackson and his relationship with the world at large. Wonderful writing, thoughtful ideas....highly recommended.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

not good

This is full of tabloid junk. Waste of money.

This is a great book it keeps you reading till the end

This book you can't put it down. It's a basic book that give you insite on Michael J's life as she saw it. Short and to the point. No guessing just the facts laid out for you on the greatest entertainer that the world has every known up to a certain point in his life. I don't think anyone really knew him. He done his job and he done it well as a entertainer. His kids , family , fans in that order was very important to him and this is how it came about.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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