MJ Book Club - Michael Jackson Book Discussion (Old Books and New)

Another book that is worth buying is "The Michael Jackson Visual Documentary", by Adrian Grant. I have this one (the updated tribute edition) and I have found myself referring to it, often, whenever I have wanted to clarify something about Michael's professional movements, achievements and philanthropic endeavours.


292006._SX318_.jpg


This book basically lays out for the reader, Michael's professional life, as an artist, in terms of the FACTS and is a meticulous account of his records, concerts, videos and awards, his public appearances and performances and his humanitarian efforts, recorded day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year. It's like a Michael Jackson Bible of events. It's illustrated with hundreds of beautiful photographs and is a wonderful resource for fans who like to "fact check" Michael's movements and/or what was going on in his life at any particular point in time (right down to the day, month and year, sometimes). It was originally published in 1994, however it was updated as an official tribute edition in 2009, which includes the details of Michael's life in the latter period (1995 - 2009). It has a few testimonials and a very touching afterword, written by the author.

Here's a professional review written about the book, by reviewer David Gibson, who gave it a five-star rating. I especially agree with his final sentence:


"While much of what’s been published in the wake of Michael Jackson’s untimely death has been in the spirit of exploitation rather than earnest assessment, a reissued work by Adrian Grant once again serves as the benchmark resource on the King of Pop to date.

Originally published in 1994, Michael Jackson: A Visual Documentary – 1958-2009 – The Official Tribute Edition includes supplementary material covering the intervening years, culminating with coverage of Jackson’s public memorial at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The book’s first forty or so pages skim through his childhood and formative years in the Jackson 5, marking pertinent milestones and professional achievements. The bulk of the book, though, concentrates on Jackson's solo career (post-Off The Wall) and the realities of his life within that time.

A feast for fans, the book is loaded with photos and information depicted in meticulous (sometimes day-to-day) detail. While authorized by Jackson in its prior publication, the accounts offered here aren’t of a typical, hero-worship sort. In fact, much care has been taken by the author to render a straightforward and evenhanded treatment, including accounts of Jackson’s various tribulations and controversies.

Barring the eventual publication of an authoritative biography in more narrative form, Michael Jackson: A Visual Documentary is at this point the most definitive chronicle of the late superstar’s life and career published anywhere."

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/292006.Michael_Jackson
 
Mikky Dee;4274848 said:
I love "Man in the Music"! It's not an especially easy book to read....it takes time; but I revel in the way it delves so deeply into each album, song by song, including the out-takes. It definitely makes one want to go back and listen to a song or an album again, with fresh ears!!

Absolutely. :) I found some multitrack recordings in the 2000 Watts subforum, and it’s fun going back to individual songs and explore them in a new way. I also bought a ticket for Brad Sundberg’s seminar, and I’m really looking forward to that as well. :)
 
Mikky Dee;4274853 said:
Michael Jackson: A Visual Documentary is at this point the most definitive chronicle of the late superstar’s life and career published anywhere."

Added to wish list, thank you. :)
 
I´m currently starting to read one book that I found on Jetzi and it´s called "Michael Jackson - The story the media doesn´t want you to know" something like that. Anyone knows if this book is good? Because it was written by a fan...
 
Mikky Dee;4274853 said:
Another book that is worth buying is "The Michael Jackson Visual Documentary", by Adrian Grant. I have this one (the updated tribute edition) and I have found myself referring to it, often, whenever I have wanted to clarify something about Michael's professional movements, achievements and philanthropic endeavours.


292006._SX318_.jpg


This book basically lays out for the reader, Michael's professional life, as an artist, in terms of the FACTS and is a meticulous account of his records, concerts, videos and awards, his public appearances and performances and his humanitarian efforts, recorded day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year. It's like a Michael Jackson Bible of events. It's illustrated with hundreds of beautiful photographs and is a wonderful resource for fans who like to "fact check" Michael's movements and/or what was going on in his life at any particular point in time (right down to the day, month and year, sometimes). It was originally published in 1994, however it was updated as an official tribute edition in 2009, which includes the details of Michael's life in the latter period (1995 - 2009). It has a few testimonials and a very touching afterword, written by the author.

Here's a professional review written about the book, by reviewer David Gibson, who gave it a five-star rating. I especially agree with his final sentence:


"While much of what’s been published in the wake of Michael Jackson’s untimely death has been in the spirit of exploitation rather than earnest assessment, a reissued work by Adrian Grant once again serves as the benchmark resource on the King of Pop to date.

Originally published in 1994, Michael Jackson: A Visual Documentary – 1958-2009 – The Official Tribute Edition includes supplementary material covering the intervening years, culminating with coverage of Jackson’s public memorial at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The book’s first forty or so pages skim through his childhood and formative years in the Jackson 5, marking pertinent milestones and professional achievements. The bulk of the book, though, concentrates on Jackson's solo career (post-Off The Wall) and the realities of his life within that time.

A feast for fans, the book is loaded with photos and information depicted in meticulous (sometimes day-to-day) detail. While authorized by Jackson in its prior publication, the accounts offered here aren’t of a typical, hero-worship sort. In fact, much care has been taken by the author to render a straightforward and evenhanded treatment, including accounts of Jackson’s various tribulations and controversies.

Barring the eventual publication of an authoritative biography in more narrative form, Michael Jackson: A Visual Documentary is at this point the most definitive chronicle of the late superstar’s life and career published anywhere."

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/292006.Michael_Jackson

That one must be very interesting! Too bad I have to save money :(
 
I just discovered this free e-book on Twitter. It looks wonderful! :)

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Celebrate the brilliance of Dangerous with this free ebook that goes track by track. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MichaelJackson?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MichaelJackson</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dangerous?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Dangerous</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MJFam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MJFam</a> <a href="https://t.co/3n23TJOFNR">https://t.co/3n23TJOFNR</a> <a href="https://t.co/STq0NRYYMT">pic.twitter.com/STq0NRYYMT</a></p>&mdash; MJ101 (@MJ_1_0_1) <a href="https://twitter.com/MJ_1_0_1/status/1199521156878888964?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

There&#8217;s a whole series: http://www.mj101series.com/

No need to sign up or give your e-mail address or anything. :)
 
ScreenOrigami;4274855 said:
I also bought a ticket for Brad Sundberg&#8217;s seminar, and I&#8217;m really looking forward to that as well. :)

OMG....that is seriously one of the best things an MJ fan can do!! Brad Sundberg is a treasure trove of information.
 
ScreenOrigami;4275247 said:
I just discovered this free e-book on Twitter. It looks wonderful! :)

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Celebrate the brilliance of Dangerous with this free ebook that goes track by track. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MichaelJackson?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MichaelJackson</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dangerous?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Dangerous</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MJFam?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MJFam</a> <a href="https://t.co/3n23TJOFNR">https://t.co/3n23TJOFNR</a> <a href="https://t.co/STq0NRYYMT">pic.twitter.com/STq0NRYYMT</a></p>&#8212; MJ101 (@MJ_1_0_1) <a href="https://twitter.com/MJ_1_0_1/status/1199521156878888964?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

There&#8217;s a whole series: http://www.mj101series.com/

No need to sign up or give your e-mail address or anything. :)

I have this collection on my computer, but I haven't read it yet. I've read very positive comments about it.
 
Mikky Dee;4275347 said:
OMG....that is seriously one of the best things an MJ fan can do!! Brad Sundberg is a treasure trove of information.

Only two weeks to go now, and I can&#8217;t remember the last time I was so excited about something. I&#8217;m planning to completely empty my brain the night before and then just sponge everything up that he says. :)
 
Mikky Dee;4275347 said:
OMG....that is seriously one of the best things an MJ fan can do!! Brad Sundberg is a treasure trove of information.

You were absolutely right. And somehow I don&#8217;t even feel like talking about it. Much like after you talked to a friend, you don&#8217;t run around and tell everyone what you&#8217;ve heard. :)
 
ScreenOrigami;4276668 said:
You were absolutely right. And somehow I don&#8217;t even feel like talking about it. Much like after you talked to a friend, you don&#8217;t run around and tell everyone what you&#8217;ve heard. :)

I know how you feel. It's very special and people should just make the effort to go to a seminar themselves, whenever there's one even remotely near them. That way, they'll understand.
 
Mikky Dee;4277150 said:
I know how you feel. It's very special and people should just make the effort to go to a seminar themselves, whenever there's one even remotely near them. That way, they'll understand.

Taj said in the live stream yesterday that his documentary is inspired by Brad&#8217;s seminars, and at his recent seminar in Berlin, Brad had only the nicest things to say about Taj. :)
 
I&#8217;m currently in the process of sorting all the MJ material that has accumulated on my hard drive into a chronological timeline. How reliable is Adrian Grant&#8217;s book? Are there any known errors? Or is it safe to use that as a guide?

Thanks. :)

EDIT: Specifically, I&#8217;m wondering about the Motown audition. Grant places it in &#8220;winter 1968&#8221; while the Jacksons website clearly dates it July 23rd, so that doesn&#8217;t add up.
 
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I have ten different books about Michael in my collection. At the moment, I'm about halfway through Bill Whitfield and Javon Beard's book "Remember the Time", and I've also read the first couple of chapters in "83 Minutes", about the immediate aftermath regarding Michael's death.
 
I just finished reading "83 Minutes". IMO, it was a bit disappointing, but still interesting. If you've read a lot of MJ books, there's not much new info here. However, the last chapter dealing with his death conspiracy theories is quite interesting. Too bad they don't elaborate more on them, especially the one regar
 
I just finished reading the Frank Casio book and have mixed feelings about it. I hesitated because I didn't want him to exploit his friendship with MJ, but I was curious. What do some of you think about it?
 
Courtneymartin;4277766 said:
I just finished reading the Frank Casio book and have mixed feelings about it. I hesitated because I didn't want him to exploit his friendship with MJ, but I was curious. What do some of you think about it?

I read that book too! I also don´t know what to think. I agree with you when you say he exploits his friendship with MJ. I speak for myself, if I was friends with Michale I would never write a book about our friendship, our private conversations, etc... Why do that? Frank should keep that to himself.
About the book, I don´t know if some of the things are true, because so many people write stuuf about him that is not true, that I don´t know if those things are real or just made up stuff to make money out of it.
 
I just finished reading "83 Minutes". IMO, it was a bit disappointing, but still interesting. If you've read a lot of MJ books, there's not much new info here. However, the last chapter dealing with his death conspiracy theories is quite interesting. Too bad they don't elaborate more on them, especially the one regar

I got that book at Half Price Books a while back and haven't gotten around to reading it yet. Good to know it's at least mildly interesting.

Also, I think your post got cut off at the end.
 
I've been looking to get Michael Jackson "All The Songs" since last year. It cost 50 dollars and I've been too cheap to spend any money frivolously but it's cool because it gives a detailed account of all the records Michael was co-wrote, produced and or was featured on lead-vocal wise or background. Especially the songs most people aren't really aware of that tend to be my personal favorites.
 
I got that book at Half Price Books a while back and haven't gotten around to reading it yet. Good to know it's at least mildly interesting.
Also, I think your post got cut off at the end.
It did....what I was saying is the AEG conspiracy in the final chapter. Too bad they didn't dig more into that one. "Making Michael" by Mike Smallcombe is also a decent book, especially about his later years.
 
I just don't know why he exaggerated. He said he knew Michael since he was a kid. So, why tell lies? I wonder what Michael thought about him...

I know that I did read in another book (can't remember which one right now) that Michael was very upset with him about that book and stopped talking to him afterwards. IMO, the book is really a good read...quite interesting...but I don't believe all he says. I know some things are inaccurate.....even tabloid-ish. The best chapter is near the end, when he revisits Neverland after Michael's death. Very touching!
 
Courtneymartin;4278115 said:
I know that I did read in another book (can't remember which one right now) that Michael was very upset with him about that book and stopped talking to him afterwards. IMO, the book is really a good read...quite interesting...but I don't believe all he says. I know some things are inaccurate.....even tabloid-ish. The best chapter is near the end, when he revisits Neverland after Michael's death. Very touching!

I heard that too. Yeak I like the book but as I said, I don´t belive everything he talks about.
 
Is there such a thing as a complete MJ lyrics collection out there? Not looking for annotations or interpretations, just a plain old lyrics book. :)
 
Is there such a thing as a complete MJ lyrics collection out there? Not looking for annotations or interpretations, just a plain old lyrics book. :)

There is a website with lyrics to all of his songs--lyrics only. You could print it out and not have to buy a book. I don't remember the name of it. Sorry, I ran into it by luck. Just do a Google search. That's how I found it.
 
DifferentKindOfLady;4277799 said:
I read that book too! I also don´t know what to think. I agree with you when you say he exploits his friendship with MJ. I speak for myself, if I was friends with Michale I would never write a book about our friendship, our private conversations, etc... Why do that? Frank should keep that to himself.
About the book, I don´t know if some of the things are true, because so many people write stuuf about him that is not true, that I don´t know if those things are real or just made up stuff to make money out of it.

I have had many long, deep and meaningful chats with Frank Cascio in DMs on twitter and to me he is very sincere and genuine. I think he has been misunderstood by fans and there is a lot of misinformation going around amongst the fandom, about Frank and his own personal thoughts, ideas, motives, etc. A lot of things said by fans about him are just not true. He has explained many things to me. He said that he wrote the book more as a cathartic exercise, than anything else....to put his story out of his head and down on paper.....to express his own feelings....to put out there his perspective on what Michael was like and what their relationship was. He said he never expected to make money from it and didn't do it for money. I think, in many ways, fans have been just as cruel and judgmental towards Michael's friends as they have been towards his enemies; although I accept that sometimes it's hard to determine which is which.
 
I've been looking to get Michael Jackson "All The Songs" since last year. It cost 50 dollars and I've been too cheap to spend any money frivolously but it's cool because it gives a detailed account of all the records Michael was co-wrote, produced and or was featured on lead-vocal wise or background. Especially the songs most people aren't really aware of that tend to be my personal favorites.

This one sounds interesting. I will definitely check it out!
 
Courtneymartin;4278563 said:
There is a website with lyrics to all of his songs--lyrics only. You could print it out and not have to buy a book. I don't remember the name of it. Sorry, I ran into it by luck. Just do a Google search. That's how I found it.

Thanks, but I&#8217;m looking for a book. Just because I like books. :)
 
I have had many long, deep and meaningful chats with Frank Cascio in DMs on twitter and to me he is very sincere and genuine. I think he has been misunderstood by fans and there is a lot of misinformation going around amongst the fandom, about Frank and his own personal thoughts, ideas, motives, etc. A lot of things said by fans about him are just not true. He has explained many things to me. He said that he wrote the book more as a cathartic exercise, than anything else....to put his story out of his head and down on paper.....to express his own feelings....to put out there his perspective on what Michael was like and what their relationship was. He said he never expected to make money from it and didn't do it for money. I think, in many ways, fans have been just as cruel and judgmental towards Michael's friends as they have been towards his enemies; although I accept that sometimes it's hard to determine which is which.

Thanks for sharing your perspective on Frank Cascio; I loved his book and thought it was 100% true. There's some things in it that I doubt a scammer would include, which make Michael out to be as fallible as the rest of us. No rational person would include those details, if they hoped to profit from the book.
 
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