Stale around pg 200 or so. Started well though.

If you think your own family is messed up, this might be the book that changes your mind. This bio of Michael Jackson is well-researched but a bit tabloidy. I really had hoped for more discussion of his music, his youth, and especially the Thriller album; the bulk of this book is about the child molestation accusations, his 2005 trial, and his death. Not to mention all the shenanigans after his death; the book goes on for another 150 pages after May 2009! It's all interesting but just terribly sad. Jackson comes across as an extremely lonely and vulnerable man who was very badly served by almost everyone in his life. ( )

If you think your own family is messed up, this might be the book that changes your mind. This bio of Michael Jackson is well-researched but a bit tabloidy. I really had hoped for more discussion of his music, his youth, and especially the Thriller album; the bulk of this book is about the child molestation accusations, his 2005 trial, and his death. Not to mention all the shenanigans after his death; the book goes on for another 150 pages after May 2009! It's all interesting but just terribly sad. Jackson comes across as an extremely lonely and vulnerable man who was very badly served by almost everyone in his life. ( )

I'm not really a fan of Michael Jackson per se (although I do think he was very talented), but I'm interested in him because his life story touches on so many American themes: race, poverty, wealth, family, religion, tabloid culture, and self-reinvention, to name just a few. This book, while fascinating, was too detailed for me to get through on a single library loan period, and I couldn't renew it because there is a waiting list. I look forward to finishing later. ( )