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Good "Michael" books

Spyce

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So I'm looking for good books to read about Michael, and I was wondering if anybody had any suggestions. I'm not looking for anything that is negative, trashy or paints him in a bad light.

So far I have Dancing the Dream and Moonwalk- those are a necessity. Any others?
 
In the order of importance for understanding and "knowing" MJ:

1. "Man In The Music" by Joseph Vogel - an excellent coverage of MJ's creative life, one of the very few books that does justice to his art.
2. "King of Style" by Michael Bush - a fantastic insight into Michael the genius.
3. "My Friend Michael" by Frank Casco - Michael the man, in the eyes of a close friend.

The are lots of other great books: "You Are Not Alone" by Jermaine Jackson, "Conversation in Neverland" by Barney van Vallin, "Michael Jackson Tapes" and "Honoring the Child Spirit" by Shmuley Boteach (transcribed candid interviews with MJ), "Michael Jackson Conspiracy" by Aphrodite Jones, "A Life for L.O.V.E." by a group of writers, "In Search of Neverland" by Gloria Berlin, and more. But the top three are paramount, imo.
 
I have the following MJ books: If any of these help for you.

Michael Jackson by Stewart Regan (This book was from 1984.)
Moonwalker Story book
Michael Jackson For The Record - 2nd Edition Revised and Expanded
Michael Jackson Man In The Mirror
Loving Michael Jackson (This book was written by a handicapped MJ fan. She wrote that book for Michael himself to read. But other fans can read it as well. I still really like that book.)
Michael Jackson Treasures
Michael Jackson Platinum Edition Collectors Vault
The Opus book (If you can find and afford the price for it. And also if you can handle a 30 pound book. I have the book and L.O.V.E. it. Despite the few mistakes in it.)
Dancing The Dream
and Moonwalk


That is pretty much all that I have. There might some mistakes in some of the ones I mention. But I just over look them. Though there is one MJ book that I did not mention and that is Michael Jackson Unauthorized. Please do not ever get that book. I was 15 when I had gotten that book. Thinking it was a good MJ book to read. And it was one of my worst mistakes I had ever made. It was like reading one big long tabloid about him. I only ever read half of it. And even that much I should not had read. The MJ pictures in that book is the only thing good about it. The rest should be burn. Even now I still feel bad for all the trees that were cut down to make that horrible book. Thankfully I had since learn from my mistake. I would like to get more MJ books. But my depression I am still suffering from. Over what had happen to him. Is just not letting me right now.:(
 
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morinen said:
In the order of importance for understanding and "knowing" MJ:

1. "Man In The Music" by Joseph Vogel - an excellent coverage of MJ's creative life, one of the very few books that does justice to his art.
2. "King of Style" by Michael Bush - a fantastic insight into Michael the genius.
3. "My Friend Michael" by Frank Casco - Michael the man, in the eyes of a close friend.

The are lots of other great books: "You Are Not Alone" by Jermaine Jackson, "Conversation in Neverland" by Barney van Vallin, "Michael Jackson Tapes" and "Honoring the Child Spirit" by Shmuley Boteach (transcribed candid interviews with MJ), "Michael Jackson Conspiracy" by Aphrodite Jones, "A Life for L.O.V.E." by a group of writers, "In Search of Neverland" by Gloria Berlin, and more. But the top three are paramount, imo.
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Aphrodite Jones... I thought she was no good when it came to Michael? I really don't know much about her to be honest, I only know what others have said about her, and I've not heard good things. Then again, I could be listening to the wrong people. I watched a TV special where she was documenting "what really happened" when he died, and the feeling I got was that she supported Murray's story. Then again, I could be wrong on that too. I am still trying to figure out who is worthy of trusting, and who's not.



MJsBollywoodGirl7 said:
I have the following MJ books: If any of these help for you.

Michael Jackson by Stewart Regan (This book was from 1984.)
Moonwalker Story book
Michael Jackson For The Record - 2nd Edition Revised and Expanded
Michael Jackson Man In The Mirror
Loving Michael Jackson (This book was written by a handicapped MJ fan. She wrote that book for Michael himself to read. But other fans can read it as well. I still really like that book.)
Michael Jackson Treasures
Michael Jackson Platinum Edition Collectors Vault
The Opus book (If you can find and afford the price for it. And also if you can handle a 30 pound book. I have the book and L.O.V.E. it. Despite the few mistakes in it.)
Dancing The Dream
and Moonwalk


That is pretty much all that I have. There might some mistakes in some of the ones I mention. But I just over look them. Though there is one MJ book that I did not mention and that is Michael Jackson Unauthorized. Please do not ever get that book. I was 15 when I had gotten that book. Thinking it was a good MJ book to read. And it was one of my worst mistakes I had ever made. It was like reading one big long tabloid about him. I only ever read half of it. And even that much I should not had read. The MJ pictures in that book is the only thing good about it. The rest should be burn. Even now I still feel bad for all the trees that were cut down to make that horrible book. Thankfully I had since learn from my mistake. I would like to get more MJ books. But my depression I am still suffering from. Over what had happen to him. Is just not letting me right now.:(
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Thank you for the suggestions- both of you. I will be in the back seat of a car for two days (well, 4 total) when I go on vacation this summer, plus sitting around on the beach quite a bit. It'll be nice to have a collection of books to choose from :)

And MJs, if you ever want to talk, just shoot me a message. I might not have answers for you, or even anything to say at all, but I will listen. I really do hope that you are able to move past this :heart:

Oh, and no worries about the unauthorized book. Anything that has "Unauthorized" in the title is automatically a red flag for me anyway. But thanks for the tip! :)
 
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Aphrodite Jones' book is solely about the 2005 trial and absolutely exonerates Michael. I don't know what she thought about Murray, nor do I care, to be honest. All I can say is that when it comes to the 2005 allegations, her book is a must.
 
morinen said:
Aphrodite Jones' book is solely about the 2005 trial and absolutely exonerates Michael. I don't know what she thought about Murray, nor do I care, to be honest. All I can say is that when it comes to the 2005 allegations, her book is a must.
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Okay, awesome :) I will have to check it out. Better to do that anyway to form my own opinion of her. It is very likely that I read the comments and made my opinion of her based on those, which, I know, is never a good thing to do.
 
One book I like that I don't see recommended too often: Michael Jackson: Before He Was King by Todd Gray.

A couple other lesser known reccommendations

Behind the Mask: What Michael Jackson's Body Language Told the World by Craig Baxter
M Poetica by Willa Stillwater
 
Oooh- "Behind the Mask" sounds interesting. I'm all about psychology and reading body language! That will be a must-read for me :) Thanks!
 
How exactly good is 'Man In The Music"?
I still deny to buy it, because i read there is no new information about MJ.
 
I have not read it so I cannot say anything about the book itself, but Joe Vogel is known to speak very highly of Michael. I've read a few of his articles (they might even be excerpts from his books, I can't remember) and I have been very happy with what he says. Man In The Mirror (and I'm pretty sure he wrote a couple others) are on my bucket list.
 
Joe's book is good imo. Some people feel it did not contain enough new information. If you have read everything there is to find about MJ's studio work before, there will indeed be quite a lot of familiar stuff in there. However, I think I read quite a lot prior to this book, but I still did learn new stuff from it, and I thought it was well written. It's also one of the few books that focuses on MJ's music (a damn shame), which is nice about it in and of itself. I would also highly recommend his book on Earth Song. Many people don't seem to know about it and it's a great read imo. He also has a bundle out containing a collection of his articles, which I think were also pretty good. As far as other books that focus on the music go, Bruce Swedien's book was disappointing (it read more like a collection of thoughts, was not well written imo) but does contain some really interesting info. Be aware that it is quite technical and dry though. For The Record, which was already mentioned, is a great encyclopedic book. The recently published Maestro by the same author is even better.

Other than that I agree with several of the suggestions that have already been made (though not all). Some others that come to mind now are the Thriller 25 book and The Visual Documentary. The latter is not so much a book but more a compendium, containing a chronologically organized overview of MJ's life.
 
Spyce after looking at that post of mine. I did forget to tell you about this one book that I have. And that is Michael Jackson For The Record 2nd Edition Revised and Expanded. This book is really amazing it tells about all of the songs that Michael has ever done. And it even mentions the reasons and stories about some of those songs. Well they are mostly listed I don't see Abortion Papers listed anywhere in that book. Or the other name that the song goes by. So I guess not all of his songs that he ever did is listed in that book. I think that book is one of the best books that a MJ fan could ever possibly have in their collection.
 
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Spyce said:
So far I have Dancing the Dream and Moonwalk- those are a necessity. Any others?
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Those are the only ones I own, too. The only other book I'm interested in is the one about his business side (soon to be released, I think): "Michael Jackson, INC."
 
SheilaMJFan4Ever said:
Those are the only ones I own, too. The only other book I'm interested in is the one about his business side (soon to be released, I think): "Michael Jackson, INC."
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It's already out. It was released June 3rd.
I want to read that, too. I think it will be a bit dry, talking about business and stuff, but there's probably going to be some interesting stuff as well. Not much is known about the business side of Michael and how he handled all that, so it will definitely be interesting to learn about.
 
Spyce said:
It's already out. It was released June 3rd.
I want to read that, too. I think it will be a bit dry, talking about business and stuff, but there's probably going to be some interesting stuff as well. Not much is known about the business side of Michael and how he handled all that, so it will definitely be interesting to learn about.
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That kind of stuff interests me the most, me being a Business major (and working in the Marketing field), lol!
 
I bought both Man In The Music and For The Record.
Dancing The Dream will maybe my next one.

BTW: The Mods should make this Thread 'Sticky'.
 
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Does anyone have "Michael Jackson INC.?" I want to know what the book is exactly about.
 
I've read most of these books and can't think of any others to add besides The Making of Thriller by Douglas Kirkland - it contains behind the scenes pictures of the thriller video, and a cool 3D cover!

I have a lot of the books already, except there are some I wouldn't mind getting... does anyone have Earth Song by Joseph Vogel, is it any good? Also there is a picture book called A Life in Pictures by Yann-Bruce Dherbier I wouldn't mind getting, does anyone have it, what are the pictures like, are they rare or just the same old ones?

Also there is a book coming out Sept 25 about the Dangerous album I wouldn't mind checking out....
Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jacks...r=1-1&keywords=michael+jackson+dangerous+book
 
How can people still recommends Cascio's book? Not everything he wrote there' was true and a true friend doesn't spill the beans on the other person's he chose to keep private to make money! Dame Elizabeth was a true friend in all the extension of the word, not Frank Cascio.
 
You can read many books about Michael as well as magazines on my website.
 
Sorry to delete (because I was confusing with an other title...)
 
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Man in the Music: Joseph Vogel
Featuring Michael Jackson: Joseph Vogel
Michael Jackson Inc.: Zack O'Malley Greenburg
Michael Jackson A Visual Documentary: Adrian Grant (MJ mentions this book in the HIStory album booklet)
Michael Jackson: Before He Was King: Todd Gray
Otherness and Power: Michael Jackson and His Media Critics: Susan Woodward
Michael Jackson American Master: C. Mecca (Original Copies are very expensive, but you can get it on kindle for 10 dollars)
Michael Jackson: The Complete Story of the King of Pop: Lisa D. Campbell
The Michael Jackson Story: Nelson George
Thriller 25th Anniversary: The Book, Celebrating the Biggest Selling Album of All Time: Michael Jackson
Ebony Special Tribute: Michael Jackson In His Own Words: The Editors of Ebony
Michael: The Editors of Rolling Stone
Remember the Time: Protecting Michael Jackson in His Final Days: Bill Whitfield,Javon Beard, Tanner Colby
The King of Style: Dressing Michael Jackson: Michael Bush
M Poetica: Michael Jackson's Art of Connection and Defiance: Willa Stillwater
M Poetica: Michael Jackson's Art of Connection and Defiance, Second Edition: Willa Stillwater
Was Michael Jackson Framed?: The Untold Story That Brought Down a Superstar: Mary A. Fischer
Michael Jackson Conspiracy: Aphrodite Jones
Defending A King ~ His Life & Legacy: Dr. Karen Moriarty
My Friend Michael: Frank Cascio (I can see why some fans might be skeptical about this book due to the whole "Michael" album thing. But this is a great read in my opinion, and to me it reads very genuine and heartfelt)
Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson: Randall Sullivan ( I never understood why fans were boycotting this book. I loved this book. This book is well written, detailed and well researched. I don't know how one could read this book and not feel empathy for MJ. The author, while yes, he does point out some flaws MJ had during his lifetime,is sympathetic towards MJ in my opinion. Fans need to realize that the tabloids were a big part of MJ's life, and so yes, this book does visit the tabloid sensationalism that surrounded MJ, because you can't tell the story of MJ's life without addressing the things he had to go through regarding the media. The author lays out all everything that was going on with the Chandler case, and the Arvizo case. The author states all the claims that both families were making, and then he come's back with a slew of information that complete contradicts everything the families claimed happened. I for one, am a fan of this book.)
Keep Moving: The Michael Jackson Chronicles: Armond White
 
Iconic Michael said:
Does anyone here have Opus? How good is it?
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Yes. The Opus is absolutely beautiful. It is very expensive though. I think right now they are going for around 900 dollars new. I have seen them for 250 used in some places. If you are interested in buying the Opus though, keep in mind this is a HUGE book, and it weighs almost 30 pounds, you may want to have some kind of book stand that it can prop open on to read.
 
JEMFTV said:
Does anyone have "Michael Jackson INC.?" I want to know what the book is exactly about.
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Michael Jackson INC is probably one of the best books I have ever read about MJ. I doesn't read like a business book at all.I would tell every fan, that this is a must have.
 
jtabbott8 said:
Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson: Randall Sullivan ( I never understood why fans were boycotting this book. I loved this book. This book is well written, detailed and well researched. I don't know how one could read this book and not feel empathy for MJ. The author, while yes, he does point out some flaws MJ had during his lifetime,is sympathetic towards MJ in my opinion. Fans need to realize that the tabloids were a big part of MJ's life, and so yes, this book does visit the tabloid sensationalism that surrounded MJ, because you can't tell the story of MJ's life without addressing the things he had to go through regarding the media. The author lays out all everything that was going on with the Chandler case, and the Arvizo case. The author states all the claims that both families were making, and then he come's back with a slew of information that complete contradicts everything the families claimed happened. I for one, am a fan of this book.)
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It's not well written and not well researched at all, in my opinion. A lot of tabloid crap thrown together and treated as fact. On top of that Sullivan uncritically accepts everything that crooks around MJ like Marc Schaffel, Howard Mann etc. say. If Sullivan cared to really do the job and do some research he would have had no problem spotting obvious lies in what these people were telling him.
 
jtabbott8 said:
Man in the Music: Joseph Vogel
...
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Agree to all on your list (I've read them all) except for Sullivan - for the reasons Respect stated. It is not well-researched and has loads of inaccuracies and plain BS. And the author completely misrepresents Michael as a person and an artist - well, to be exact he doesn't present him as an artist at all, and MJ was a consummate artist through and through, he lived and breathed music, ideas, creativity. Reading that book you don't get that impression at all and that alone is a huge disservice to Michael. Even Taraborrelli did a better job, imo. That is just not a good or accurate portrait of Michael Jackson. It does reflect more or less the mess that was his inner circle and affairs in the last years though.
 
And what about "In The Studio with MJ" from Bruce Swedien? I only read negative comments about. And it has almost nothing to do with Michael, and it is just about technical music stuff.
 
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