Book Review: Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson

I, like many people, have had somewhat of a fascination with Michael Jackson, probably considered the greatest pop artist of all time. He was a person who was so talented yet so, well, eccentric (to put it lightly) and made many people wonder what was going through his head. And with his sudden and mysterious death in June 2009, the fascination continues to grow for many people--including me.

When I noticed this book, Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson, I was intrigued but also in a way put off. The book's author, investigative journalist and blogger Ian Halperin, recently released a book about Brangelina. He also wrote another book called Who Killed Kurt Cobain?, questioning if Cobain actually committed suicide. Other books include Celine Dion: Behind the Fairytale and Fire and Rain: The James Taylor Story (what dirt is there to dig up about that guy?). I was a little concerned I would be reading a 270-page issue of the National Enquirer.

But I found the book to be both balanced and well researched. Halperin spoke with close Jackson friends Macaulay Culkin and Liza Minnelli (although the later was while he was "undercover"). He even briefly spoke with Jackson, again undercover, and he believes Jackson was flirting with him during their conversation.

Halperin starts off his book saying when he decided to write it, he believed Jackson was a child molester and that he was guilty of all the accusations. However, when he did his research, he found many people, including top entertainment journalists, who agreed, but no one could present any concrete evidence to back up their claims.

Halperin's coverage of Jackson starts in 1993, when he was first accused of child molestation. Halperin gives great detail about the legal implications, the media coverage (including the harsh coverage of the TV show Hard Copy, that frequently paid its sources), etc. Halperin even mentions that the young accuser was under sodium amytal, a barbiturate that puts people into a hypnotic state, at the time of his confession. Halperin asserts it was given to his boy by his dentist father. Halperin also details how the prosecution had to examine and photograph Jackson's body to see if it matched up with how the boy described it; it turns out it mostly didn't. There's even a full transcript of the interview with the boy at the end of the book.

The book also covers his marriages to Lisa Marie Presley (who Halperin believes married Jackson to help convert him to Scientology and "cure" his alleged homosexuality) and Debbie Rowe. It also focuses on journalist Martin Bashir's documentary on the King of Pop, right before the 2005 accusations and trial. Halperin shares details of the trial that helped me see why the jury found him innocent; apparently the family of the boy in question had tried to get money from numerous celebrities and had been involved in previous lawsuits.

Additionally, Halperin describes Jackson's body image (questioning how many plastic surgeries he had and if he bleaches his skin white) and declining health. From the information Halperin got from his sources, he predicted on his blog in December 2008 that Jackson only had 6 months to live. There was a huge backlash, but it turned out, Halperin was right. Sources told him how frightened Jackson was of his 2009 concerts in London and how he told his daughter Paris not to be mad at him if he didn't make it to Father's Day. Halperin also asserted how people in Jackson's camp enabled the pop singer's drug habit by giving him what he wanted instead of stopping it.

I think Halperin did an excellent job of being unbiased throughout the book: he presents the facts, not leaning toward the picture of a completely innocent pop star or one of a monstrous child molester. He does believe, like I do, that Michael had a strange connection with children. Maybe the King of Pop was stuck in the childhood stage because he never got to have one; Jackson also told Bashir he was abused by his father.

We may never know the truth behind many Michael Jackson mysteries, but Halperin tries to help readers make up their minds about how they feel about him.

Book Review: Remember the Time

My mom always used to say she knew exactly where she was when she found out JFK died. I feel our generation already has two of those "moments": knowing where we were when we found out about 9/11 and where we were when we found out Michael Jackson died.

I had been driving home from work when I got text messages from two friends. I was really in disbelief and told them both that until I heard it from a reputable news source I wouldn't believe it. But when I got home and turned on the TV, there was the news on CNN, NBC, Fox News: Michael Jackson had died.

Most of my MJ memories consist of dancing to the Dangerous album with my little sister. My family had just gotten a CD player, and that was one of the only CDs my dad had. Emily and I would bop around to "Jam," "In the Closet" and "Who Is It" before dinner.

Others have many, many more memories of Michael, some of them personal. This includes Theresa J. Gonsalves, a writerwho shares her memories of Michael in her new book "Remember the Time."

Gonsalves is the muse for one of MJ's most well-known songs "Billie Jean," but she starts her story before the King of Pop penned that tune after her. Gonsalves was a schoolgirl in love with the Jackson 5, specifically Michael. She wrote hundreds of letters to the pop star, and made a decision she was going to fly out and see the singer perform with his brothers in Las Vegas for her 16th birthday.

It's amazing how easily the young Gonsalves got in contact with Michael. She called the hotel she knew they were staying at and asked to speak to the road manager, Randy Wiggins. She asked Wiggins if she could meet Michael when she flew out to Vegas, and Wiggins arranged for her to spend an entire week with the family.

Gonsalves and Michael bonded during her trip, and they started to talk on the phone -- all the while, Gonsalves continued to write Michael letters, something he really looked forward to receiving. They continued their friendship through Michael's solo success, with Gonsalves visiting him while he lived in New York with his sister La Toya to film The Wiz. During this time, Michael and Gonsalves started a more intimate relationship.

Gonsalves eventually moved out to California to be closer to Michael. Over the years, Gonsalves stopped writing as many letters, and just as Michael was slowly pulling away from his family, the same happened with his relationship with Gonsalves.

Through it all, Gonsalves told Michael she would always be there for him, and she kept running into him over the years, the final time being in 2003 in Las Vegas.

Through her recollections of her memories with the pop star and excerpts from her letters to them, Gonsalves sews together the special bond she shared with someone she saw as the man she loved, Michael, and not mega pop star Michael Jackson. Gonsalves showed she was more than just a groupie to the King of Pop; their relationship went much deeper than that.

Gonsalves also gives an interesting glimpse at the other Jackson family members, especially Katherine Jackson, who was kind to Gonsalves and showed her around California; a very bubbly and talkative Janet; and the religious La Toya. Gonsalves' one interaction with father Joe Jackson is memorable as well.

Included is a letter from La Toya to Gonsalves and a bunch of pictures of Gonsalves with Michael. Through reading "Remember the Time," people can get a feel for the Michael Gonsalves got to know: a kind man who loved his music and giving back to others.