Michael Jackson was no ordinary performer. From the moment he first moved to the rhythm of the Jackson family's old creaky washing machine he was destined to do big things. No one back then however, could have possibly predicted what would happen over the next five decades when the name of Michael Jackson would be one of the most recognisable in the history of popular music the world over. Not only would he have four consecutive number one records with his brothers the Jackson 5, but he would go on to have the biggest album of all time with Thriller and be recognised as the number one charity donor. From the author of the best selling book Michael Jackson For The Record, Chris Cadman brings you Michael Jackson's remarkable 'Life & Times' through his music, his performances, his interviews his achievements and his charity endeavours. Read about the significant people in his life and the many film offers that came his way that sadly never came to fruition. Plus discover his never ending devotion to children's charities and the less unfortunate around the world. This is Michael Jackson The Maestro - The Definitive A - Z, Volume 1: A-J.

Michael Jackson was no ordinary performer. From the moment he first stepped on stage at the age of five to his final rehearsals at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, Michael Joe Jackson was a dynamic performer. During his 45 year career in entertainment, Jackson changed the face of popular music, amazed audiences worldwide and broke down barriers still felt today. Michael Jackson The Maestro The Definitive A-Z Volume 2 - K-Z completes the two volume set on one of the most fascinating artists of all time in popular music. Carrying on from the first volume Michael Jackson The Maestro continues looking at his extraordinary life and times, through his many songs, TV Performances, Tours, videos, documentary’s, Radio shows, films, Interviews, articles, speeches, directors, producers and friends. Despite the media ignoring his record breaking accomplishments, his innovative video & tours and charitable endeavours, he is still held in high regard by his fellow artists such as Beyonce, Madonna, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Pharrell Williams, Ne-Yo, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, and John Rotten, amongst a galaxy of stars who have all sang Michael’s praises since his sad departure. Michael Jackson The Maestro The Definitive A-Z Volume 2 - K-Z brings an era of interesting trivia surrounding Michael’s career and life. Read about Karen Carpenter being in the studio with Michael. Where the premier of ‘Seeing Voices’ was held. The time Little Richard wanted him for the part in his life story. The script he had for the Frankie Lymon Story. His supposed version of the Monkees ‘Last Train To Clarksville.’ Joining Patti Labelle on stage to sing Lady Marmalade, as well as stories and trivia on Madonna, Marlon Brando, Mary Poppins, Michael Flatley and the night he appeared on stage with Stevie Wonder to join in on his hit Master Blaster. All this and an abundance of trivia and rare TV and rare magazine interviews. This is Michael Jackson The Maestro.

In 2007, Nathan Rabin set out to provide a revisionist look at the history of cinematic failure on a weekly basis. What began as a solitary ramble through the nooks and crannies of pop culture evolved into a way of life. My Year Of Flops collects dozens of the best-loved entries from the A.V. Club column along with bonus interviews and fifteen brand-new entries covering everything from notorious flops like The Cable Guy and Last Action Hero to bizarre obscurities like Glory Road, Johnny Cash’s poignantly homemade tribute to Jesus. Driven by a unique combination of sympathy and Schadenfreude, My Year Of Flops is an unforgettable tribute to cinematic losers, beautiful and otherwise.

The investigative biography of Michael Jackson’s final years: “A tale of family, fame, lost childhood, and startling accusations never heard before” (ABC Nightline). When Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, millions of fans around the world were shocked. But the outpouring of emotion that followed his loss was bittersweet. Dogged by scandal for years and undone by financial mismanagement, Jackson had become untouchable in many quarters. Untouchable pulls back the curtain Jackson’s public person to introduce a man who, despite his immense fame, spent his entire life utterly alone; who, in the wake of a criminal trial that left him briefly hospitalized, abandoned Neverland to wander the globe before making one final—and fatal—attempt to recover his wealth and reputation. The Jackson that emerges in these pages is both naïve and cunning, a devoted father whose parenting became an international scandal, a shrewd businessman whose failures nearly brought down a megacorporation, and an inveterate narcissist who craved a quiet, normal life. Randall Sullivan delivers never-before-reported information about Jackson’s business dealings, his relationship with his family, and the pedophilia allegations that derailed his life and mar his legacy today, as well as the suspicious nature of his death. Based on exclusive access to Jackson’s inner circle, Untouchable is an intimate, unflinching portrait of the man who continues to reign as the King of Pop. “A dishy Michael Jackson biography that makes the exhaustively covered King of Pop fascinating all over again.” —People

The renowned Pulitzer Prize–winning cultural critic brilliantly unravels the complexities of one of the most enigmatic figures of our time in this passionate, incisive, and bracing work of cultural analysis. Who is Michael Jackson and what does it mean to call him a “What Is It”? What do P. T. Barnum, Peter Pan, and Edgar Allan Poe have to do with our fascination with Jackson? How did his curious Victorian upbringing and his tenure as a child prodigy on the “chitlin’ circuit” inform his character and multiplicity of selves? How is Michael Jackson’s celebrity related to the outrageous popularity of nineteenth-century minstrelsy? What is the perverse appeal of child stars for grown-ups and what is the price of such stardom for these children and for us? What uncanniness provoked Michael Jackson to become “Alone of All His Race, Alone of All Her Sex,” while establishing himself as an undeniably great performer with neo-Gothic, dandy proclivities and a producer of visionary music videos? What do we find so unnerving about Michael Jackson’s presumed monstrosity? In short, how are we all of us implicated? In this stunning book, Margo Jefferson gives us the incontrovertible lowdown on call-him-what-you-wish; she offers a powerful reckoning with a quintessential, richly allusive signifier of American society and popular culture.

An essential companion to Michael Jackson's music, films, and books, this work offers 21 original, academic essays on all things Jackson-from film, music, and dance to fashion, culture, and literature. Going well beyond the average celebrity biography, this comprehensive book looks at why Jackson is regarded as one of the most important musicians of our time, offering insights into every facet of his art, life, and artistic afterlife. It looks at the methods by which his work was created, presented, received, and appropriated; discusses Jackson's varied personas along with his public and private appearances, albums, conceptual art, short films, and dance; and considers his use of costume, makeup, and reinvention. To help readers understand the phenomenon that was-and is-Michael Jackson, the book focuses on Jackson's historical context through an analysis of his films, songs, and books, examining him as an artist and shedding light on the political and ideological debates that surrounded him. Not shying away from the controversial aspects of Jackson's life and legacy, it also tackles questions of sexuality and racism, gender, and class, comparing Jackson to artists ranging from J. S. Bach to Andy Warhol. Through its examination of Jackson's entire catalog, the work connects all the aspects of his art and life to exemplify-and explain-the performer's unparalleled influence in the 20th and 21st centuries.