"Moonwalk" by Michael Jackson

Pop culture circa 1982 (ish) existed only in my periphery. That was the year Michael Jackson released "Thriller." As revealed in an earlier post, I was pretty much out in the barn. But that was the year I graduated from high school.

My fascination with his dance has somehow been piqued since his untimely death this June. Again, I reference my very first post on this blog. It was the famous Moonwalk that I was searching on You Tube, wondering weather my mother ever secretly attempted it while I was in school, or out in the barn. That lead to my discovery of Jackson's autobiography, "Moonwalk," written in 1988 when Jackson was 29 years old. I have it on interlibrary loan and just completed it.

Jackie Onassis worked for Doubleday when she coaxed Jackson into penning his autobiography, and I am so grateful that she did!

This book is a quick read, although I savored it over several days. It is chock full of photographs of not only Michael but lots of interesting people. His voice in telling his story in print has a child-like quality in the awe and wonder he shares about his early life, the things and people he saw, places he went, and, ultimately, the successes. I realized that this "voice" was going to remain unchanged as he progressed in the chronology of the story of his life. That is the quintessential Michael Jackson, at least the one presented publicly.

He answers all the big questions and is wholly credible. The book pre-dates the sensational child molestation cases.

Additionally, he talks about the making of each of his music videos, which he calls "films" and the debut of the Moonwalk as he performed "Billie Jean" at the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, and Forever on March 25, 1983.

I enjoyed the time I spent with Michael Jackson while I read his autobiography. I am loathe to part yet with the book, but I'll dutifully return it to the library.