Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson

1/2 chapter in and the author reports that Michael Jackson's middle name was Joseph. A common error but one that separates the serious biographies from those pasted together from magazine articles. Jackson's middle name was Joe. It doesn't take the FBI or a mildly interested reader to find that out. So, why, then is it such a common mistake? Laziness. As soon as I run across this error in any publication about Michael Jackson into the bin it goes. If you can't be trusted to get your subject's name right you should probably choose someone else to "expose."

This is one detailed book and is recommended reading by anyone interested in what really went on with Michael Jackson's life and career. Warts and all were revealed from those who both loved and hated him in a fair and balanced way. The sources and accounts from eye witnesses were clearly and abundently supplied by the author who confirmed that Michael Jackson, although vainglorius, flawed, and admittedly, talented beyond measure, was not and could not ever abuse or hurt anyone, especially a child.What struck me, was all the mistakes Jackson made, especially with those closest to him, who gave him so much grief and horrible advice. Considering all that he had to face with the false media narrative that surrounded and tried to destroy him, then as now, it's amazing that he still maintains a positive impact on the world in entertainment and social issues. Very telling considering all that is going on with this story today.Anyway, truth includes a critical telling of facts from all sides, so to anyone who happens to get this far and is interested, I highly recommend this book.

The book focuses onJackson's last years, but earlier things are threaded in along the way.Has pretensions to be definitive, but the organization and tone may work against that in the long run. The writing is good and the book has been carefully produced -- few typos, not an extraordinary amount of repetition(though there is some). Seems to rely on hearsay most of the time, and even I (definitely not an expert) can spot inaccuracies. Still, the research into Jackson hearsay is thorough, if that's what you want. Bends over backwards not to be noticeably kind to Jackson, who nevertheless comes across as a decent, smart man with a soft heart, doing his best but overwhelmed eventually by people who wanted to use him and by his own isolation. There's lots of detail on contracts and negotiations here -- probably too much -- and many lessons to be learned about the difficulty most people have being fair and respectful to a non-conformist,especially when that person is naive and there is a lot of money swirling around. I. was impressed by the many,many betrayals Jackson experienced at the hands ofpeople he trusted, and howStressful his life was. I managed to miss the whole MJ phenomenon when it was happening, but have developed great respect forJackson since I've started learning about him now.

I'm researching Michael Jackson's life, so I've read dozens of books written about him.This book by Sullivan is a reiteration of Taraborelli's "Michael Jackson: The Magic, the Madness, the Whole Story" (which I read right before I bought this book )All this author did was copy and paste from several books ( mainly from Taraborelli's ) and articles from the web, which I had also read due to my research.I suggest you get Taraborelli's book (He knew MJ since they were 5 years old) and Frank Cascio's "My Friend Michael: An Ordinary Friendship with an Extraordinary Man" if you want to read MJ's biography.

I can't imagine a more fully documented or annotated book about Michael Jackson. What a tragic life he led, and his betrayal by so many of his closest family members, will blow your mind. Is it 100 percent true? We will probably never know as with many things about Jackson. But the author does a commendable job of documenting every point he makes. Profusely. RIP, MJJ.

Book filled with a lot of inconsistencies and tabloid trash, had jar of fake noses, wanted white kids, not true! I’ve followed MJ and researched him for years. Not a good read for me....disappointed.

This book is so much better than I had expected. I am a huge Michael Jackson fan. It was a true delight to read because it is very detailed. I found out some great things that I never knew about Michael Jackson. I was also very pleased that the author was fair in his assessment of Michael's life. Most authors are not kind to Michael Jackson's life. Another great book that I purchased about Michael Jackson was by Randy J. Taborelli. I may have misspelled his name. But the book is huge. It only took me 3 days to read this book and the one by Randy J. Another great book about Michael Jackson that you might want to check out is by Aphrodite Jones- I think it is called- Michael Jackson Conspiracy. LaToya Jackson wrote a book a few years ago that is good, but don't buy her first book. She was very unkind and lied about her family in her first book that she wrote in the 90's. Just thought I would share these other books with you if you are a Michael Jackson fan. And last, but not least, Michael Jackson's autobiography Moonwalker is great. As well as the book that his brother Jermaine Jackson wrote. Enjoy reading these books.

While I wouldn't consider myself a "fan" of Michael Jackson, I grew up enjoying his music and certainly respect the extraordinary talent he possessed. I enjoy biographies and really liked the book written by two of his bodyguards, "Remember the Time," but that book was narrowly focused and left me with more questions than answers. This book answered a lot of those questions. I felt it was balanced and fair for the most part. Most of all, it was immensely readable--I found it very hard to put down. Why it's so poorly reviewed on Amazon, I can only speculate, but I would highly recommend this book and would point the buyer to the many PROFESSIONAL reviews of this book. A very good read and I'm still thinking about it days after I finished it.

I have read several MJ related books. This large book would be the best review I have read . It seems well researched and appears to be a balanced account. It addresses MJ's complex financial situation in life and in death. It reveals that MJ's family situation which is complicated by family members keen to cash in on MJ's wealth and talent. Repeated firing of staff is evident all the way through MJ's life, as are the myriad of legal battles that MJ endured (mostly financial). Although MJ did have friends, young and old, many were willing to sell stories about him which left him with a sense of betrayal. Well worth reading.

Untouchable :the strange life of micheal jackson is unlike any micheal jackson book i have read and i have read about half a dozen in my time ,included Moonwalk and other from the 1980s ,what set this book apart from the books i have read is this book focuses on the last years of micheal life 2003 to 2009.Untouchable was very interesting read and i could not put it down because it contained new info about the late superstar that interested me .including jackson`s many money worries fight over his music catalogue.Untouchable is so far the best Jackson book i have read and i was very pleased with the new info about the late great superstar that micheal jackson ..5 out 5

This is an extraordinary book that gives a balanced, in-depth and extremely harrowing account of the last years of Michael Jackson's life and the aftermath of his death. It is a troubling insight into a world of backstabbing advisers, attorneys and family members, with Michael constantly on the move, living like a hunted animal. No-one has more successfully documented the toxic atmosphere that surrounded Jackson, mainly created by the opposing factions all pulling him in different directions, greedy for money or reflected glory. On the rare occasions that someone good and honest appears on the scene they are soon swept away by those with less than honourable intentions. I found much of the book upsetting, especially the description of his death and the days leading up to it. There are lighter moments though; particularly touching are the descriptions of Michael's life with his children during his time spent in Ireland, where he seems to have been actually valued and treated as a human-being by those around him and had a chance to live a relatively 'normal' life.Sullivan is not trashing Jackson's reputation, he is sympathetic to him and states that he believes in his innocence. I don't believe anyone would think any less of MJ after reading this, far from it - he climbed even higher in my estimation.That said, there are inaccuracies which are inexcusable, e.g. claiming Michael wore a prosthetic nose (a look at the autopsy report shows this is not the case), and Gordon Brown being described as the 'prime minister of the Liberal party'. Also, his conclusion that Michael remained a virgin his entire life will anger some fans.

Rubbish. MJ wearing a fake nose? What foolishness.

good read