Before You Judge Me: The Triumph and Tragedy of Michael Jackson's Last Days

by Tavis Smiley, David Ritz Narrated by Leo Coltrane

Overview

A powerful chronicle of the sixteen weeks leading up to King of Pop Michael Jackson's death.

Michael Jackson's final months were like the rest of his short and legendary life: filled with deep lows and soaring highs, a constant hunt for privacy, and the pressure and fame that made him socially fragile and almost -- ultimately -- unable to live.

With the insight and compassion that he brought to his bestselling story of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s final year, Tavis Smiley provides a glimpse into the superstar's life in this emotional, honest, yet celebratory book. Readers will witness Jackson's campaign to recharge his career -- hiring and firing managers and advisors, turning to and away from family members, fighting depression and drug dependency -- while his one goal remained: to mount the most spectacular series of shows the world had ever seen. Before You Judge Me is a humanizing look at Jackson's last days.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Praise for Before You Judge Me

"With compassion and unwavering empathy, Smiley weaves Jackson's music into the turmoil that enveloped the pop star...This heart-wrenching portrait of Jackson's experience will appeal to fans who wish to remember him for what he was: one of the world's greatest entertainers."—Tyler Hixson, Library Journal (starred)

"The authors delve through a wealth of research material to create a nearly day-by-day account of Jackson's last weeks, with occasional glimpses into his earlier life.... The most intriguing sections of the book unravel the complicated business relationships in which Jackson was involved, his attempts to separate himself from his parents and siblings, and his efforts to push his art further while his fans were demanding more of the same."—Kirkus Reviews

"This is a sympathetic and admiring look at the final days of a great entertainer who couldn't or wouldn't grow up."
—June Sawyers, Booklist

"Smiley and Ritz wisely spend as much time on the ins and outs of Jackson's managerial team as they do on his emotional health. As well as the war over who would manage Jackson, the book covers much behind-the-scenes rumbling from the Jackson family.... [Smiley and Ritz] show how he found the most freedom when lost in the joys of music, both performing and creating.... His accidental overdose death is all the more tragic in the context of a time when it seemed his career was getting back on track."—Publishers Weekly

"A sweeping portrait of the life and legacy of Michael Jackson."—Neil Pond, Parade

"Well-researched... It's a highly-sympathetic view, presenting Jackson as a committed artist with a probing intellect."—Jay Gabler, The Current

Library Journal

★ 04/01/2016
On June 25, 2009, when Michael Jackson, the king of pop, was pronounced dead, the world lost one of its most iconic and influential performers. Fans worldwide mourned the loss. TV and radio host Smiley (Death of a King; My Journey with Maya; PBS's Tavis Smiley) and veteran music biographer Ritz provide a singular examination of the last four months of Jackson's life, as he prepared for the blockbuster concert series "This Is It" in London. With compassion and unwavering empathy, Smiley weaves Jackson's music into the turmoil that enveloped the pop star. Drug addiction, financial ruin, the ghosts of the torment he suffered at the hands of his abusive father—all haunted Jackson throughout his life, one he spent searching for privacy, normalcy, and the love of his children. Readers will listen to Jackson's lyrics with a new sense of knowledge and discomfort. Smiley intends to relate an account that will remind readers that, despite his eccentricities, Jackson was human, hence the title. VERDICT This heart-wrenching portrait of Jackson's experience will appeal to fans who wish to remember him for what he was: one of the world's greatest entertainers.—Tyler Hixson, Library Journal

Kirkus Reviews

2016-04-13
TV and radio host Smiley (My Journey with Maya, 2015, etc.) and his frequent writing collaborator Ritz tell the story of the 16 weeks preceding the death of singer Michael Jackson (1958-2009).Before he died, the King of Pop was preparing for a series of comeback concerts in London. He was also doing a lot of shopping, playing with his three children, watching Shirley Temple movies, making questionable business decisions, receiving almost daily Botox injections, taking an increasing number of prescription painkillers, and suffering from a degree of insomnia that caused him to enlist a doctor to administer the anesthetics that led to his death. The authors delve through a wealth of research material to create a nearly day-by-day account of Jackson's last weeks, with occasional glimpses into his earlier life. Smiley and Ritz are clearly sympathetic to their subject, sometimes to the point of glossing over Jackson's more questionable choices and actions. In occasionally purple prose, the authors ratchet up the suspense and drama of this period of the singer's life, ending most of the brief chapters with some variant on, "Sleep, the most precious of commodities, eluded him," or "sleep, precious sleep, comes not at all." The most intriguing sections of the book unravel the complicated business relationships in which Jackson was involved, his attempts to separate himself from his parents and siblings, and his efforts to push his art further while his fans were demanding more of the same. The authors, who set out to understand why their subject died at 50, end up asking a different question: "Given the extraordinary obstacles he faced, the stresses that pulled him apart, how did Michael survive as long as he did?" This compact biography should please Jackson's fans even if it doesn't break new ground in exploring the singer's life.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170380190
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	06/21/2016
Edition description:	Unabridged

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