Defending a King ~ His Life & Legacy
Defending a King ~ His Life & Legacy
Reviewed by Alice D. for Readers Favorite
“Defending a King: His Life & Legacy” will leave the reader in a different place at its ending. Even readers who are indifferent to Michael Jackson will be true fans at the end of this book. Author Karen Moriarty takes the reader step by step into Michael Jackson’s life and career, convincingly conveying his great musical genius and his inability to deal with the sycophants and cheats who attached themselves to him. As the “King of Pop”, his ability to write brilliant songs and dance to their beat could not be matched by anyone else in the music business. But this great talent also made Michael Jackson inept in business dealings. Dr. Moriarty tells of how people who worked for Michael Jackson
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Well intentioned but poorly executed! Reinforces stereotype that MJ fans are poor researchers!,
I had high hopes for Dr. Moriarty’s book “Defending A King”, based on reviews from different MJ fan sites and blogs, an endorsement from Tom Mesereau, and hearing her interview on Blog Talk Radio to promote the book. However, after finally completing this massive 500 page book, I am left with a feeling of immense incompleteness, as there is much to be desired from this well-intentioned but poorly research book. Let me explain:
The book started out great, with Dr. Moriarty speaking about her conversations with MJ’s bodyguards from Vegas. There is a lot of great information that they gave, and it’s a shame that they had a falling out with Dr. Moriarty and did not complete the book with her, as was the original intention. The knowledge that she received from MJ’s attorney Tom Mesereau was valuable as well, as Dr. Moriarty gives fans an inside look at what is was like for MJ to experience that tortuous trial.
Unfortunately, the book falls apart quickly because Dr. Moriarty obviously isn’t very knowledgeable about MJ, and she is a very poor researcher. Here are a few examples:
On page 226, she inadvertently regurgitates a March 2008 tabloid story written by Stacy Brown, who co-authored the 2004 piece of trash book “Man Behind The Mask” with MJ’s former manager Bob Jones. The article, titled “Jacko Clan In A Deep Funk”, was originally printed in the New York Post, and it purports to be an honest portrayal of the whereabouts and happenings of the Jackson family in 2008. It was reprinted in the “Michael Jackson Tribute – Exclusive Collector’s Edition” book, and this is where Dr. Moriarty copied it almost word for word! The article states that Marlon Jackson was stocking shelves at a supermarket in San Diego, Tito was having to settle for small gigs that paid him several hundred dollars a show, and Randy was doing odd jobs like changing car tires to support himself! For Dr. Moriarty to reprint this garbage is utterly UNCONSCIONABLE! Dr. Moriarty should have tried to verify this information directly from the family so that they could have a chance confirm or deny the story (which they definitely would have denied!), and if she could not do so, then she should not have included this information! Period! If she was even remotely knowledgeable about MJ and the Jackson family, she would have INSTANTLY had recognized this as tabloid garbage! But because it was reprinted in an MJ book, she believed it hook, line, and sinker!
In her chapter “Michael Jackson’s TSUNAMI: The Trial”, which is a rather incomplete summary of the 2005 trial, Dr. Moriarty doesn’t mention AT ALL the testimonies of Blanca and Jason Francia! They were the prosecution’s witnesses who testified as “Prior Bad Acts” witnesses. Blanca was a former Neverland employee who sold a story saying that she saw MJ showering with young boys to Hard Copy for $20k dollars, and her son Jason was pressured by police to say that he had been improperly touched by MJ while playing tickling games. Blanca threatened to file a lawsuit against MJ in late 1994, and MJ reached a settlement of $2.4 million dollars with her to prevent her from filing the lawsuit and further sullying his image, especially with the HIStory album due to be released soon. Jason’s testimony was so terrible that some of the jurors actually laughed at him during a court break! Blanca’s testimony was obviously unconvincing, as the jury acquitted MJ of all charges, but NONE of their testimony was talked about in this chapter! Dr. Moriarty also did NOT explain how Blanca was able to legally extort the $2.4 million from MJ! (As I just did.) This is a COLOSSAL omission of important evidence that CANNOT be overlooked! Dr. Moriarty also left out a lot of the important aspects of the testimony of the Arvizo family, such as Gavin’s lie that MJ told him that he should masturbate or else he’d have to rape a woman (Gavin initially told police that his Grandmother said that). There are so many other lies that she left out, and it makes you wonder did she even bother to read all of their testimony?
I also would have liked to have seen her show how Tom Sneddon completely rearranged the charges and alleged dates of the molestatioins in between the filing of the Initial Complaint in December 2003, and the Grand Jury Indictment in April 2004. If only she had been as detailed about the 2005 trial as she was about the Conrad Murray trial later on in the book!
There were numerous small errors that, in their totality, add up validate how sloppily this book is researched. For example, on numerous occasions throughout the book, Dr. Moriarty refers to MJ’s 1993 settlement as “approximately $20 million dollars”, when in fact it was $15,331,250 dollars! The settlement documents leaked in 2004, and if Dr. Moriarty had properly researched the settlement, instead of relying solely on inaccurate media reports, she would have known that!
On page 86, Dr…
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|A FANTASTIC BOOK about our Beloved Michael!,
I am very grateful to Dr. Moriarty for writing such a detailed book about Sweet Michael! Whether or not you are a fan, this book will give you a much better idea of what His life was like. Dr. Moriarty researched well for this book and provides many glimpes into Michael’s amazing life. There were a few times I had to stop reading and dry my eyes before continuing. I was not surprised by Michael’s generosity and love for His fans, family, and people all over the world. It’s who He was/is. He loved with abandon. He gave with ease. This book is a gift to to our community, and a must read for the entire world. Thank-you so much Dr. Moriarty. You are definately a soldier of love! peace, light & MichaeLove, E. M. Bx.
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|Fantastic book,
THE BEST book available on Michael Jackson! I have collected shelves of books on & about him through the years & many more since his death, but this one is by far the best! Dr. Moriarty has made him a man, not just a name or a performer & I hope that thousands will buy this book & read it.
EVERY Michael Jackson fan needs to read this fantastic book. It will open your eyes, make you think, make you cry and make you smile.
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