New Books Review

Book Review: Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson (9781400113903): Ian Halperin: BooksHigh on sensationalism, low on facts,

By Ronald Sehaefer “Ron” (Chicago, IL) -

This review is from: Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson (Hardcover)

Having followed Ian’s other explosive celebrity scoops and books over the past several years I sort of knew what to expect with this one. Ian is the one who exclusively revealed on his blog that Angelina Jolie has sex daily with men, women, dogs, plants, and suggestively even her own children. He claims that Brad Pitt impregnated a mysterious Sudanese model who then traveled to Cannes this year to confront him, but then never said another word about it. He claimed multiple times that David Carradine was murdered, when in fact the forensic experts confirmed that Carradine died of accidental erotic asphyxiation. One of his biggest things is to “out” celebrities and in his mind most all of Hollywood is gay. Unfortunately, none of Ian’s exclusives have ever been substantiated by any factual evidence, and most read more like fabricated tales than concrete accounts.

Late last year Ian first alleged (as he does in his book) that Michael Jackson was suffering from a potpourri of deadly diseases including but not limited to Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, chronic gastrointestinal bleeding, severe emphysema, 95% blind in his left eye, near mute, lung and liver diseases and in dire need of a transplant, serious back and leg pain, virtually bedridden and unable to get out, amongst other outlandish illnesses which seemed to grow each week. After these claims were roundly denied by Michael Jackson, Ian aggressively promised to bring out medical records and evidence to support these claims, he never did so but instead challenged Michael to take a medical exam to prove he didn’t have such illnesses. In fact, a mandatory five hour medical exam was conducted several months ago as required by the insurance carriers of the concert series in London (which Ian never mentioned until the day Michael made the announcement himself). The certified doctors responsible for this 50-point exam, including one from New York, confirmed that other than a slight hay fever (cold) he was in great health and the only other illnesses he had was his well known skin condition Vitiligo and Lupus. After Michael Jackson passed away, forensic experts and those conducting the autopsy again made note that he did NOT die due to natural causes or lingering illnesses and that we’d have to wait for a toxicology report. It is suspected that a single anesthetic was administered by an inexperienced doctor which led to his shocking death, not all of the reasons Ian has proclaimed.

This book makes heavy, heavy use of anonymous sources Ian describes as “close friends” of Michael Jackson. Ian also has a reputation of using names of sources that simply do not exist or have no legitimate association with the celebrity he is describing–such as calling “Dean Smith” a close friend of Michael Jackson despite no such person ever existing in his life; not once did any media outlet mention such a name in connection to Michael Jackson over the course of forty years. To substantiate some of Ian’s health claims in the past, he cited an old and obsolete gossip column from Fox News while portraying it as a brand new quote for his own story. He also uses other gossipers like Perez Hilton to confirm his stories, most such claims we’ve long heard in tabloids for years and years.

Ian regurgitates the widespread rumors of Michael’s children, plastic surgery, and sexuality. He claims that Michael Jackson is gay (despite much evidence indicating otherwise including all the heterosexual material found at Neverland in 2003). Ian insists that he has seen photographs of Michael dressed all up in drag with gay men at nightclubs but then says that Michael wasn’t even recognizable at all… He also does not show any such pictures to us, or to the media. Ian allegedly went undercover as a gay hairdresser to meet Michael Jackson, but does not give a timeline or exact location; for the record Karen Faye had long been Michael Jackson’s sole makeup artist and stylist even after he passed away.

Ian claims that Michael Jackson wanted to die and that he couldn’t hardly walk let alone dance or sing (on Ian’s site he claimed Michael couldn’t even wipe his own butt). Pictures and videos of Michael Jackson’s final rehearsals at the Staples Center in Los Angeles were released by AEG officials. They recorded more than 100 hours of HD video of Michael singing and dancing night after night, including just hours before he passed away. It is expected that they will be releasing this material on DVD, in theaters, or as a Pay-Per-View event in the future. I want everyone to take a look at those pictures, and at the video of Michael dancing and singing, and then remember that Ian proclaimed he was bedridden and “could no longer sing, for a start. On some days he could barely talk. He could no longer dance.” According to concert promoters, Michael sang live much of the time during rehearsals and sounded better than ever even though he was told to preserve his voice for the real concerts, this too will come out when more video gets released.

The bottom line is that none of the salacious speculations in Ian’s book, especially about Michael’s alleged illnesses or sexuality, are backed up by factual evidence or supporting documents. Ian claims to have seen Michael’s medical records, but fails to show them to us and his claims contradict that of forensic experts and doctors. He claims to have seen confidential documents, pictures, and spoken to unknown or anonymous close friends but again none of this can be substantiated. Ultimately we get yet another unauthorized book containing nothing but speculation at a point when Michael Jackson himself can’t even defend against such accusations.

For those who believe that Ian set out to create an unbiased book about him, you need to review his blog and the things he previously wrote about Michael until the time that he passed away. Just weeks beforehand he claimed that his book will “shock you as to how sick a human being can actually be. How screwed up, how ****ed up, a man–if you call Michael Jackson a man–can be.” He referred to Michael Jackson as “Wacko Jacko” and wrote even more grotesque things on his blog about him. The original title of his book was in fact “Peter Pan or Pervert” and had a much more pessimistic description put out by the original publishers. Would not recommend this, nor would I recommend any subsequent unauthorized products coming out on the heels of Michael’s death.

Professional Fan Fiction,

By Ivy Gordon (Boston, MA) -

This review is from: Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson (Hardcover)

Celebrity biographers are an interesting breed. It’s important to keep questioning their motives as you read along. Some do it for wealth, some do it for fame, some do it to glorify or defame their subject. Very rarely do you find someone committing their life’s work to the raw truth in these type of profiles. Not when sensationalism sells.

Halperin’s latest work should be considered professional fan fiction. He appears to have taken basic facts about Jackson’s life and let his imagination roam. Almost all of his tips come from anonymous sources. There’s a reason we are taught from grade school to cite sources, people. There is absolutely no reason to believe these stories are true. The assumptions he makes and conclusions he jumps to are often laughable. Halperin never interviewed Jackson.

The highlight of the book is Halperin’s analysis of the child molestation charges. He finds that there is no truth to the accusations, which is plainly apparent with any research into the families and the specifics behind the charges.

I have never been a huge fan of Jackson the musician, but I have become fascinated with his story. I never imagined someone could be so violently robbed of privacy and compassion and condemned by the same people who adored him. Don’t waste your money on this book. [...]. That’s a summary of the whole book. Please note that this is published on the Daily Mail, a disreputable tabloid. Further, notice that one of Halperin’s claims, that Rowe is demanding custody, has already been proven false. As per the claims that Jackson couldn’t sing or dance and would only contribute 13 minutes of the performance, I sincerely doubt AEG would allow that. Outrage would spread after the first show and everyone would start demanding refunds. And check out the author’s personal blog. It’s hilarious narcissism. And he claims to be producing a documentary about Jackson. Exploitation at it’s lowest.

The fact of the matter is we will probably never know the truth about Michael Jackson. His life was so bizarre and so private, I don’t even imagine his closest of friends would know the whole truth. If you’d like to read anything on him, I recommend his autobiography, Moon Walk. Although it is bloated with sugar-coating and, well, lies- you can learn more about him by reading between the lines of his own words than you could elsewhere. And, of course, you wouldn’t be feeding the vulture. So it is deliciously ironic when Halperin points the finger of blame at Jackson’s greedy entourage for his death while so desperately trying to grab a piece for himself. Halperin ought to be ashamed.

Rest in Peace, Michael.

If you want a book quickly thrown together after Jackson’s death, this is NOT the book for you!,

By T. Pinsonneault “Grinchnot” -

  

I thought this was a great tell all book about Michael Jackson’s life. The first 14 chapters deal with Jackson’s life BEFORE his death and only the last chapter looks to have been added after Jackson’s death.

Alot of research and in-depth coverage went into this book well before Jackson died — so you won’t be discouraged. When describing the charges and court case Jackson had to endure, all of the important points were mentioned with complete declarations and whole pages of dialogue from witnesses while testifying during the trial.

The best thing about this book is Halperin’s intentions when he dove into this project headfirst. He was clearly out to demonstrae why Jackson was guilty of the child molestation charges and he ended up walking away from the fire surprised by his findings (or rather lack thereof).

I was pleasantly surprised to find so much information, research, facts and statistics in this book so I could decide for myself whether Jackson was guilty or innocent of the child molestation charges.

I should mention that Halperin also reaches into the depths of Jackson’s bizarre behavior, his ever-changing appearance, growing up physically and mentally abused at the hands of his father, the ups and downs of his long music career, previous drug use, and his relationships with Debbie Rowe, Lisa Marie Presley, and various other people who passed through his life at one point or another.

The only negative I found is some reduntancy. Other than that, it’s a fast, great read!!
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