Book Review: Michael Jackson's 'Moonwalk' Re-releases and Explores MJ's Personal Side

I cringe every time I see artists, dancers and actors give a tribute performance to Michael Jackson. It's not that they're not doing a good job, but nobody does it like Michael Jackson. Growing up, the only articles I read or interviews I'd listen to or view were ones that he was directly involved in, not ones that were third-party projects. I believe celebrities really get a lot of pressure put on them to put on a phasod to please their fans and I always sympathized with Michael Jackson. I can't recall ever laughing at one Michael Jackson joke and I definitely didn't tell any. I usually think I'm right about most things, but one thing I really regret not doing was putting Michael Jackson in my Top Five R&B Artists of All Time list. Although those are the five I felt were the best at the time I wrote it, when MJ died, I realized that I knew and enjoyed every single song he put out and appreciated them far more than I'd originally realized I did, probably because my mother was a ginormous fan.

So when I found out that Michael Jackson's book, "Moonwalk," was being re-released and he wrote the publication, I immediately grabbed a copy. For those who want to hear directly from the source, this is a must read. An author telling the story for another person is never quite as personal as that person having to recollect their own details, and there was a personal edge to this book that I've never seen or heard on any radio, television or print interview.

The black and white and color photos were phenomenal. It was funny to see him running and playing with Brandon Adams, who I had a ridiculous crush on in my elementary school years and had the pleasure of interviewing this year. Brandon Adam's interview was bittersweet though because a couple of days later, Michael Jackson passed so the timing was uncomfortable. I liked seeing the photos of the Jackson 5 too, but "Moonwalk" took the readers for granted. Younger readers don't know all of the Jackson 5 by face so I wish there were captions underneath each photo.

But one of them stuck out the most to me. It was the one of him with Diana Ross. MJ freely admitted that he had to fake like he was happy about Diana Ross getting married and that he was jealous, but even if he hadn't, something about the photo they took showed just how much he really had feelings for her. It's always in a man's eyes when he feels territorial about a woman, and that photo was beautiful.

I found it fascinating how much Michael Jackson distastes television for music artists. He stated in the book, "I think a TV series is the worst thing an artist who has a recording career can do. What happens is partly psychological. You are in people's homes every week and they begin to feel they know you too well." This book was written when he was 30 years old, and I wonder if his opinion changed before his passing, especially with so many reality shows about music celebrities on VH1, MTV and BET. Even Bravo had Kandi Burruss sharing her life outside of music on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta."

There were parts of "Moonwalk" that I had to stop myself from reading because curiosity and genuine love for Michael Jackson's music made me go watch his videos or play CDs to get a better image of his songs, especially when he talked about how Quincy Jones wanted him to sing "The Lady in My Life."

Michael Jackson said, "He wanted me to go back to the studio and literally beg for it. So I went back in and had them turn off the studio lights and close the curtain between the studio and the control room so I wouldn't feel self-conscious. Q started the tape and I begged. The result is what you hear in the grooves."

I like "The Lady in My Life" far more just from that anecdote.

But what made me puff my chest out was confirmation of an argument I've had with family members for the past year about whether Michael Jackson invented the Moonwalk dance. They swore up and down that he did, especially my grandfather. However, even Michael Jackson admitted that the dance came before him.

"Now the Moonwalk was already out on the street by this time, but I enhanced it a little when I did it," Michael Jackson said. "These three kids taught it to me. They gave me the basics..."

I am a huge fan of the films "Breakin" and "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo" and have always been fascinated by the way Boogaloo Shrimp danced, and he was one of the three who taught Michael Jackson how to do this dance. By the book being titled "Moonwalk," I was just waiting on that chapter to confirm my argument. Don't get me wrong. Michael Jackson gave that dance a whole new audience and attention, but I respect him more for giving credit to street dancers for creating it. Interesting enough, I also became a newfound fan of "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" after having such happy memories of America's Best Dance Crew's first winners, the JabbaWockeez, perform to it.

There were so many parts of this book that I enjoyed, and "Moonwalk" covered Michael Jackson's life from the Jackson 5 up to the age of 30. He kept his romantic relationships private although glossing over the topic here and there, but I learned a whole lot more information about him. This book is an easy and entertaining read. I give it an automatic 5 out of 5 stars.