Latest on MJJC

Question about the Taraborrelli book...

Jaz

Jaz

Proud Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2011
Messages
70
Points
0
so, this is my first mj bio im reading and i wanted to ask, while most reviews are positive of this book, especially those coming from mj fans, did this book seem to make out like mj was quite a selfish person? I understand he wanted to be number one (he sure did that) and he was willing to do anything for it and that he had to have everything right and everything in his control, but something makes me think that this book is making out like hes just all about himself in a not nice way, very different from the humble michael we like to remember, the one that thought of others before himself? or was it in regards to entertainment it had to be about him, otherwise everyone came first?

he also seemed according to the book, to be quite the hyperchondriact, and very attention-seeking...anyone else get that vibe?

all thoughts appreciated :)
x
 
yes i also thought that when i read that book. there is very little information about all the charities he has given money to and all the humanitarian work he did. i guess that you have to be quite selfish to get to the top in showbusiness, but i think that sometimes taraborrelli makes it worse than it actually was.

i dont like how he sometimes like to picture michael as 'spoiled' who wants everything served to him right away. he was always working really hard, and coming from a pretty poor family he didnt get things the easy way. and about the attention-seeking i dont know. maybe he wanted the attention beacuse he loved to be in the spotlight, but i dont trust taraborrelli when he says that the hyperbaric chamber and the elephant skeleton stories was michaels idea. i think taraborrelli is like all other journalists, he twists a story to make it sell better.

i think that this book isnt completely giving the right image of michael and that everything you read in the book needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. it is a great book and it gives you alot of facts that you didnt know about michael, so i recomend it to other fans, but as i said, dont believe everything you read in it.
 
I don't buy into anything in that book, unless Michael writes it, I am not believing.

I just think there are too many "sources" in the book. Sure, there are lots of supposed Michael quotes, fair enough.

But things like his and Lisa Marie's relationship, details of the Chandlers etc etc - I don't believe it. Michael wouldn't discuss any of that in detail, and we all know how many people have said stuff about Michael that isn't true.

I am sure there's a bit of it's which is true, but I can't agree with everything that is in there, with so many second and third hand information. Its a bit too tabloid for me.

As I said, if Michael didn't say it, I don't believe it. And some of the stuff/subjects in there are too private in my opinion.
 
thnx so much for your help guys, i didnt think it was all too true, and yes quite alot of things mentioned are very sensitive issues NO ONE would talk about
 
In reading this book I found quite a few inconsistencies. Not that I'm an expert on MJ (I'm a newbee) but there were a few things I questioned. For example, in the book MJ seems to dismiss Brooke Shields and isn't even interested in going to the Grammy's with her. And yet in interviews he gushes about her and says how much he loved her. Just one example. I can't recall the others. Should have taken notes.
 
yes ive been taking down alot of notes...no longer that fond of mr. taraborrelli
 
Michael approved of the book though.. the first edition anyway.

I thought it was ok. In fact I liked some parts.. other parts were a little off.

Regarding MJ.. you have to understand, to get to the top, to have the success he had, if he thought he was right he had to have his own way, he had to be in control. In entertainment sense maybe it did have to be all about him. He always wanted the best, he always wanted to work with the best. He knew what he wanted to do and what he wanted, and he got it. I have heard this from his own mouth in taped conversations and interviews and from Karen Faye recently on her facebook - that he was stubborn and wanted to be in control. Don't get her wrong, she said he listened to others, but in the end he did what he wanted. Who can blame him for wanting to be in control of his own destiny?

That doesn't take away from the Michael we knew. We know how big Michael's heart was and all he did to help people. How curteous and thoughtful he was to everyone. How humble he was. Everyone who talks about meeting him and working with him says he was the nicest guy they ever met. Just because he knew what he wanted doesn't make him a bad person.

You can still know what you want, and get what you want whilst still being polite.
 
the first edition of the book wasnt bad.yet even then it had many fly on the wall moments. tabloidarellie writing about things he would have never known about conversations that he was never involved in. he did this many times in th ebook in order to juice it up so non of that can really be taken seriously. his problem is like the rest of the media wores he has made his career acting like he knew mj when he interviewed him once in the late 70's. the later edtions of the book showed how little hie knew theres some blatent plagarism from the like of the national enquirer.stories almost wirtten word for word. im surprised they never sued him. read the book for a laugh but thats about it
 
I read the latest version. In my opinion this is quite good.
 
It could be better but it's overall balanced. I think there is room for a better book but this is the most in depth study I read. The first edition is really good,
 
i understand how he felt he had to be in control and its good that he was, otherwise he might not have been who he was if it werent for him stepping in and saying no i want it this way and this is the way it will be.

but to act like a little spoilt brat? i mean michael has never forgotten where he has come from, i dont know if someone coming from a place and situation as he did would have time to think of little me me me moments.
i enjoy reading the book, theres quite a bit im learning, but by the looks of most replies, i see this isnt no where near 100% facts, and i suppose with michael jackson knowing 100% is only a dream one could wish for.

but like i always say, if theres something michael would want his fans to know hed tell us in one way or another, if theres something he wanted to keep priavte thats his business and his right. even if there are gaps in his story, so be it, i just dont like the fact that piecing these gaps together means reading a whole lot of BS.
 
elusive moonwalker said:
the first edition of the book wasnt bad.yet even then it had many fly on the wall moments. tabloidarellie writing about things he would have never known about conversations that he was never involved in. he did this many times in th ebook in order to juice it up so non of that can really be taken seriously. his problem is like the rest of the media wores he has made his career acting like he knew mj when he interviewed him once in the late 70's. the later edtions of the book showed how little hie knew theres some blatent plagarism from the like of the national enquirer.stories almost wirtten word for word. im surprised they never sued him. read the book for a laugh but thats about it
Click to expand...

Randy never claims to be in the room. No one who writes a biography will know the entire story about someone unless they do alot of interviews and utilize sources from other parties. That is exactly what he does. Randy had alot of contact with people around Michael and even Michael himself spoke to him over the years. That is the truth. He even stated he fell out of contact with MJ especially after a trial. He never claimed they were BFF. They knew eachother from their childhood, so it is not like they are strangers either.I believe the book is 99% accurate. Like I said, to be a true fan you have to take the good with the bad. I haven't read the latest edition yet, but I am sure Randy will keep with his standard he presented in earlier editions.
 
I read this book, I think, maybe two years ago, and I remember feeling quite negative about it. Especially in the early part of the book Taraborelli makes it seem that Michael was power hungry and extremely attention seeking.
Obviously none of us really knew him personally so we have no idea what he was like behind closed doors, but I have a hard time believing some of the things written in that book.
Also you have to remember that some of the phone conversations etc that Taraborelli was never there for and only had whichever "source" repeat back to him their memory of it, could easily have been misconstrued. Even taking one word out of a sentance can change the whole meaning of it.

I found it to be an interesting read in places, but I'm sure a lot of it wasn't factual. You have to remember he only interviewed Michael a hand full of times so the rest of the book was really just based on what other people have told him.
 
I'm reading the revised version of the book. Some of it is pretty good....other parts are a joke
 
Randy never claims to be in the room.
Click to expand...
im not saying he does, im saying he writes as if he were in the room or a fly on the wall so obviously theres alot of added on B.S to make it more juicy unless he can read minds. therefore alot needs to be taken with a pinch of salt ontop of the fact hes has so little connection to mj over the years yet acts like some informed insider. anyway i guess hes upset he will have to find a new job seeing as the cash cow has gone. wonder how long he will keep writing for the daily mail in the uk now. theres goes another job.
 
I'm almost finished reading this book. I think it definitely starts to fall apart towards the end. I get the impression Taraborrelli really wanted to write a novelization of Michael's life because it's written like fiction. Yes, I can tell some of it is very hard to believe really happened, and he talks as though he was actually there to witness it. Also some of his judgments about Michael really bug me. Like making him out to be pretty spoiled and putting too much blame on him. However, overall I am finding the book a pretty interesting read, so I haven't regretted buying it. The parts that don't seem like fiction are really good.
 
wow, another taraborelli thread?!?!

oh well--- I will say the same thing I say all the time: I like the 1st edition. I have the second, and I dont like it. I've got reasons for my choice- but I just don't feel like typing them right now!! lol
 
what is the first edition? is the 2nd the one after his death?

it is an interesting read no doubt, but i hate paying these people, buying there books wen they write false things about mike :(
 
Jaz said:
what is the first edition? is the 2nd the one after his death?
Click to expand...

I was wondering the same thing?:scratch: What's the difference between the first edition and the second? I have both second and the last edition, it's the same thing, only difference is Taraborelli adds a few chapters about the trial until his death. I think. :)

First Edition: http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jackson-Magic-Madness-Taraborrelli/dp/B001NG5EKQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254400562&sr=1-4

Second Edition : http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jackson-Madness-J-Randy-Taraborrelli/dp/0330420054

Third Edition: http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jackson-Magic-Madness-1958-2009/dp/0446564745/ref=pd_sim_b_5

Am I right? :scratch:
 
if there are revised editions doesnt that prove that he had to go back and recheck a few things that were clearly untrue?

or does it just mean he added more?
 
CaptainEoLove85 said:
I'm almost finished reading this book. I think it definitely starts to fall apart towards the end. I get the impression Taraborrelli really wanted to write a novelization of Michael's life because it's written like fiction. Yes, I can tell some of it is very hard to believe really happened, and he talks as though he was actually there to witness it. Also some of his judgments about Michael really bug me. Like making him out to be pretty spoiled and putting too much blame on him. However, overall I am finding the book a pretty interesting read, so I haven't regretted buying it. The parts that don't seem like fiction are really good.
Click to expand...

I have never read this book, because I felt that the author misrepresented his relationship with Michael and when it first came out I heard about a few inaccuracies, so I can't say anything more than that about the book.

But I would like to say that Michael was not spoiled. He didn't forget where he came from. His family started out with nothing, like Jermaine said. They all lived in a house the size of a 2 car garage. But, Michael was nice to everyone he met, unlike most celebrities.

He was demanding and he knew what he wanted and unless you could convince him that it should be otherwise, he expected things to be the way he wanted. Especially when it came to his music and performances. He had a strong personalilty. As you saw in This Is It, things were done his way, but he was in no way a prima donna.

He really was the best, so why should they have been done any other way? He was a perfectionist, but, he certainly earned the right a million times over to do things any damn way he pleased, IMO. :)

My point is to some people that may have come acoss as spoiled or demanding but that is a wrong interpretation. And I think anyone who really knew Michael would notice the difference.
 
Jaz said:
if there are revised editions doesnt that prove that he had to go back and recheck a few things that were clearly untrue?

or does it just mean he added more?
Click to expand...
he added more as Michael aged
 
I have issues with this book, was disappointed in it when I read it, and I don't like the author of the book! He Gave complements to Diane Dimond and Ron Zonen (The assistant D.A) to Sneedon during the 05 Trial against MJ, telling them how good at their job they are...O_0 on TV during and after the trial....gotta be kidding me!

He is totally on my Shit list along with the rest of them!

He wish he was MJ's friend LMAO at him!!
 
bluetopez said:
I have issues with this book, was disappointed in it when I read it, and I don't like the author of the book! He Gave complements to Diane Dimond and Ron Zonen (The assistant D.A) to Sneedon during the 05 Trial against MJ, telling them how good at their job they are...O_0 on TV during and after the trial....gotta be kidding me!

He is totally on my Shit list along with the rest of them!

He wish he was MJ's friend LMAO at him!!
Click to expand...

:eek:
Wowwww... I didn't know that.

I bought this book because I trusted another MJ fan friend who recomended it. I live in Chile, so we have almost no single chance to buy any MJ books here (which is not that bad, after all, since most of those books are rubbish). No to mention any books in Spanish. But this is here and in Spanish.

And there is the book... on a shelf... I shouldn't have bought it. I tried to read the first pages, but that image of this "weird" man with the purple mask with this little kids using masks was too much for me. So far, I don't like it and I don't feel like reading any further than page 5.

I should have read a lot of comments from other MJ fans before buying this :( There's so much to learn.
 
PCR said:
:eek:
Wowwww... I didn't know that.

I bought this book because I trusted another MJ fan friend who recomended it. I live in Chile, so we have almost no single chance to buy any MJ books here (which is not that bad, after all, since most of those books are rubbish). No to mention any books in Spanish. But this is here and in Spanish.

And there is the book... on a shelf... I shouldn't have bought it. I tried to read the first pages, but that image of this "weird" man with the purple mask with this little kids using masks was too much for me. So far, I don't like it and I don't feel like reading any further than page 5.

I should have read a lot of comments from other MJ fans before buying this :( There's so much to learn.
Click to expand...
Go ahead and read it. You might as well since you paid for it. Just keep the good and toss the bad. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top