When Michael Jackson passed away earlier this year, it seemed as though that was the end of getting to know more about this music legend. Little did we all know that this really marked the beginning of getting to know more about the person behind the legend. All thanks to his good friend, The Michael Jackson Tapes by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach recently released which is the most open platform ever of Michael Jackson discussing everything about his life. You will laugh, you will cry. You will learn so much about the man you thought you knew. There is so much more to Michael Jackson and you will find all of it out in his own words.

In 2000–2001, Michael Jackson sat down with his close friend and spiritual guide, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, to record what turned out to be the most intimate and revealing conversations of his life. It was Michael’s wish to bare his soul and unburden himself to a public that he knew was deeply suspicious of him. The resulting thirty hours are the basis of The Michael Jackson Tapes. There has never been, and never will be, anything like them.

There is no doubt that The Michael Jackson Tapes will captivate you. You will laugh, you will cry, you will be shocked, and maybe on some levels not surprised. You will walk away from this book with a more profound understanding of Michael Jackson, leaving you wanting more and knowing that there isn’t. Rabbi Shmuley first sets the tone of the conversations with an introduction, sharing how he first met Michael, his friendship with Michael, the demons that ended up taking over Michael, and a note about the conversations which you will find extremely eye opening.

As for the conversations…the first interesting piece of information that I wanted to share was that Michael states that he does not find growing old to be beautiful. Dissect that as you will. There is much more to learn about Michael and reflect on. Some disturbing remarks that were made included Michael walking down the street asking people to be his friend and Michael being “so lonely that he turned to mannequins to feel like he had human company.” As I mentioned, there was a lot to learn, including…Michael did not believe in karma or the big bang theory (which are both explained), he wanted to become a strict vegetarian, he enjoyed A Bug’s Life and The Three Stooges, but more important…Michael loved history but did not know what to believe in because there is so much false “truth” written in the papers today, who’s to say what was written back then was also false? Michael, as odd as he may have seemed, he was a very intelligent and caring man.

As he said on the tapes, “The color of a person’s skin has nothing to do with the content of their character.” If his song “Black or White” didn’t send out the message already, this was great! Something many would agree with are his remarks, “I believe there should be justice but I don’t believe in the justice system” although he contradicts himself a few times and in a sense does so in saying the above and then saying what he did on page 136 causing Shmuley to say that Michael “hated confrontation and he let his underlings do his dirty work.” In almost all of Michael’s conversations with Shmuley, he finds a way to trace the discussion to the innocence of children which at first may be offsetting but as time goes on, it is clear that Michael’s mindset was stuck in his childhood to an extent. In a strange way, I can completely see how this could have happened and in no way blame Michael for the way that he thinks when it comes to children.

An interesting comment Michael made on page 125, was “When other singers are singing about sex and I want to get in a hot tub with you baby and rub you all over and (yet I’m the one who) gets battered in the press as a weirdo. Does that make any sense to you?” Unfortunately Michael did not understand that his music was not the issue, it was the way that he presented himself (with children) after the trials and what was written in the press about him that made him seem like a “weirdo.” Michael also speaks of marriage, loneliness, friends (Elizabeth Taylor, Shirley Temple Black, and non celebrities), frenemies (Madonna, Barbara Walters, Roseanna Barr), growing up with his father who was not much of a father at all, helping children (Gavin, Ryan White, etc…), and so much more giving so much insight! There are many other stand out moments, including when Michael compares women and men with cats and dogs (page 198) and when Shmuley starts a discussion on whether black people have more rhythm than white people.

While a short piece yet just as attention-grabbing was Shmuley’s conversation with Michael’s mother, Katherine. The discussion is mainly about religion – I learned that Katherine was a Baptist before converting to a Jehovah Witness. Her words were very captivating and very much needed in the book in a sense, kind of as a blessing. The book is broken up into 8 parts and Shmuley ends with the “Afterword” which is an incredible conclusion to the book and very well written. This book is definitely a page turner and in Shmuley’s words, “The man who expressed his ideas so eloquently in this book might have surprised you with his intelligence, delighted you with his wit, and provoked you with the depth of his insights about life.”

The Michael Jackson Tapes by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach is available in bookstores now.