This book is beautifully illustrated. I finally purchased a book about Michael Jackson with quite a few photos of Michael I had not seen before. However, some of the dates that accompany the photos are questionable, others are plain wrong! For example, on page 56 the photo "overleaf" states, "1971 Michael aged 17". Michael turned 17 in 1975. Also, the photos on pages 86 and 87 are dated 1986, but these photos are from the 1990's or perhaps even from MJ's 30th Anniversary Concert in 2001. Either way, these photos are not from 1986.
These glaringly obvious errors made me wonder about the accuracy of the "stories" at the beginning of this book. As an unwaveringly loyal fan of Michael Jackson's for 18 years, I felt a lot of what was written at the beginning of the book was unnecessary, particularly with regard to Michael's children.
This book would have been much more enjoyable without the author's opinion of Michael and his life. I found some of it hard to read. Why do we need to keep reading about the 2005 court case for which Michael was found NOT GUILTY? Why couldn't the author celebrate the joy MJ brought his fans through his music and dancing? And why is there barely a mention of Michael's humanitarian efforts? Also, the author constantly makes comments about Michael's psychological state. If he was so "damaged" then why are his children happy, polite, well-adjusted young people?
A great book for the pictures, but a let down with the errors and, what I feel, is disrespectful writing about Michael. I would recommend MJ fans buy this book for the photos, but do not bother reading the beginning. It makes interesting reading if you know nothing of the legend that is Michael Jackson, but talking about the paternity of his children and the court case that almost ruined him is in extremely poor taste!!!