morinen
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I want to give a quick summary of two new books that were released about a month ago, since I haven't seen them mentioned here yet.
The first one,
Conversations In Neverland with Michael Jackson
Dr. William B. van Valin II MD
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0062PE724/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title
This is a small book (only released as Kindle ed.) written by a doctor whom Michael befriended in the beginning of 2000s. Their relationship started as a doctor-patient one, but then they began visiting each other and spending time together and kept in touch until Michael left the country after the trial. Ethically avoiding Michael's private matters, the doctor relates his impressions from the generous, childlike and a bit eccentric man he knew and talks about their mutual pastime and conversations. This guy wasn't a close friend (not as close as Frank Cascio, as it is obvious from the narrative), but he has a few anecdotes and touching memories to share. In general, I found the book sweet and a bit funny at times.
The second book,
An Agoraphobic's Guide to Hollywood: How Michael Jackson Got Me Out of the House
Darlene Craviotto
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0067WPLWC/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title
This book (available both in Kindle and paperback) is written by a lady who was hired as the screenwriter for the Steven Spielberg's "Peter Pan" movie that Michael was supposed to star in. The book is not strictly about MJ, the author tells the story of the movie project and her pesonal challenges with it (she is an agoraphobic). However, the whole project evolved around Michael, so a big portion of the story is devoted to him. She worked with him closely on the script and they managed to get it finished (!) by the time Spielberg decided to shoot "Hook" movie instead. There was a news recently with Spielberg commenting out of the blue that Michael hadn't seen things his way. Well, from this book it actually looks more like Steven didn't see things Michael's way and he betrayed Michael a little bit by turning to an alternative project (as much as you can talk about betrayals in showbiz). I wonder if the news appeared because Steven had heard about this new book...
Anyway, I found the book insightful because it conveys Michael's view of Peter Pan, directly in his words transcribed from the taped conversations (taped on MJ's request, for history). Michael identified with the character of Peter Pan on a very deep level, so in talking about Peter he reveals himself, and learning about his perception of this character for me was a way to understand him better.
The first one,
Conversations In Neverland with Michael Jackson
Dr. William B. van Valin II MD
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0062PE724/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title
This is a small book (only released as Kindle ed.) written by a doctor whom Michael befriended in the beginning of 2000s. Their relationship started as a doctor-patient one, but then they began visiting each other and spending time together and kept in touch until Michael left the country after the trial. Ethically avoiding Michael's private matters, the doctor relates his impressions from the generous, childlike and a bit eccentric man he knew and talks about their mutual pastime and conversations. This guy wasn't a close friend (not as close as Frank Cascio, as it is obvious from the narrative), but he has a few anecdotes and touching memories to share. In general, I found the book sweet and a bit funny at times.
The second book,
An Agoraphobic's Guide to Hollywood: How Michael Jackson Got Me Out of the House
Darlene Craviotto
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0067WPLWC/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title
This book (available both in Kindle and paperback) is written by a lady who was hired as the screenwriter for the Steven Spielberg's "Peter Pan" movie that Michael was supposed to star in. The book is not strictly about MJ, the author tells the story of the movie project and her pesonal challenges with it (she is an agoraphobic). However, the whole project evolved around Michael, so a big portion of the story is devoted to him. She worked with him closely on the script and they managed to get it finished (!) by the time Spielberg decided to shoot "Hook" movie instead. There was a news recently with Spielberg commenting out of the blue that Michael hadn't seen things his way. Well, from this book it actually looks more like Steven didn't see things Michael's way and he betrayed Michael a little bit by turning to an alternative project (as much as you can talk about betrayals in showbiz). I wonder if the news appeared because Steven had heard about this new book...
Anyway, I found the book insightful because it conveys Michael's view of Peter Pan, directly in his words transcribed from the taped conversations (taped on MJ's request, for history). Michael identified with the character of Peter Pan on a very deep level, so in talking about Peter he reveals himself, and learning about his perception of this character for me was a way to understand him better.
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