This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Rich Follett for Readers' Favorite
Michael Jackson & the Music That Was by The Voice of One traces the trajectory of Michael Jackson’s career from his days as the youngest member of the Jackson Five to his tenure as the undisputed “King of Pop.” Written from an industry insider/number one fan point of view (we never know which, as the author does not identify him/herself by name), Michael Jackson & the Music That Was offers a cogent, carefully considered accounting of the reasons for Michael Jackson’s unprecedented rise and inevitable fall from grace – most often, through the sociological lens of the “Pop Ascension” which took place under Berry Gordy at Motown and which disenfranchised Black musical artists from their authentic voices (rooted in spirituals and best represented in modern times by R&B), often with tragic results.
One of the most compelling aspects of the narrative the author has crafted is an unwavering attention to detail. Every conceivable aspect of Michael Jackson’s rise and subsequent fall is examined from all sides, chronicled and cataloged with a historian’s eye for detail and a journalist’s dedication to truth. While a lesser author might have settled for eulogizing the man who became the myth, The Voice of One is singularly focused on presenting an extraordinary musical artist as he truly was – or at least as he seemed to be. If the workings of the industry ‘machine’ upon Michael Jackson’s soul and career played out as this book would have us believe, there has never really been a chance for the general public to develop any sense of the man – the artist – as he actually was: only the reflection survives.
Michael Jackson: artistic genius and master manipulator or long-suffering victim of relentless industry pressure to conform to an ideal he could not possibly embody in any authentic sense? Whichever side of the equation you, the reader, fall on, Michael Jackson & the Music That Was offers a fascinating glimpse into the life, music, and soul of one of our culture’s most unforgettable artists and a stunning manifesto for change in an industry that deprives its superstars of cultural, ethnic, and personal identity in the relentless quest for dominance and profit.