83 Minutes

May 30, 2016
In this tiresome account, Richards and Langthorne provide the already well-known details of Jackson's dysfunctional family, his alleged pedophilia, and his descent into drug addiction following the burns he suffered during the filming of a Pepsi commercial. Richards and Langthorne attest that January 27, 1984, was the beginning of the end for Jackson, as he grew more and more dependent on narcotics to ease his pain. After Jackson meets Conrad Murray in 2006, Murray assumes the mantle of the King of Pop's personal physician, and their lives are intertwined forever. The authors ramble on needlessly about Murray's native country of Grenada in addition to pointing out that the debt-ridden Murray was just as much in need of Jackson as Jackson was of easy access to drugs. Sprinkling their allegedly objective chronicle with judgments about "bizarre" nature of the "tragedy," they conclude that Murray was negligent in his care for Jackson and speculate against all evidence that the singer might still be alive if Murray had practiced good medicine. In the end, the authors succeed in illustrating little more than what readers most likely already know. Agent: Carrie-Ann Pitt, Blink.

May 15, 2016
A tabloid-style exploration of the death of Michael Jackson (1958-2009), particularly the role the singer's personal physician may have played in his demise.In their first book, screenwriter and director Richards and music manager Langthorne plod methodically and chronologically through Jackson's life, pausing to zoom in on his final few days as well as the 83 minutes that passed between the time Jackson's physician, Conrad Murray, allegedly discovered him unconscious and the time of his arrival at the hospital. The rehash of the singer's life in the first half of the book treads familiar ground, dutifully recording how high Jackson's records made it on the Billboard charts, detailing his intake of prescription painkillers, describing the lawsuits filed against the singer, and examining the minutiae of his contracts with his various producers. In the second half of the book, the authors rely heavily on court records from the trial of Murray on the charge of involuntary manslaughter, of which he was convicted. The picture that emerges of Jackson's last days is sordid and depressing: Murray appears to have been incompetent and distracted, at best, while his patient comes across as "a frail, deeply insecure, vulnerable, unfit, 50-year-old with a chronic addiction to a wide variety of prescription medicines." The authors raise the question of whether his producers at the time, AEG Live, may have somehow been involved in his death, but they back away from making any firm conclusions. The book's bibliography is heavy on websites, and the extensive notes often contain material that could have been more gracefully added to the text. While the epigraphs from J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan that head each chapter suggest that the authors may have intended a psychological analysis of their subject, their emphasis is strictly on the facts. Those who can't get enough of the details of Jackson's death might relish this account, but those who prefer to appreciate his music should look elsewhere.

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Starred review from April 1, 2016

If Tavis Smiley and David Ritz's Before You Judge Me [reviewed below] is the idealized account of what happened during the final moments of singer/songwriter Michael Jackson's life (1958-2009), then this chronicle by Richards (To Say Goodbye) and Langthorne (CEO, Roland Mouret) is about as close as we are going to get to understanding the facts. Utilizing thousands of court documents, hours of interviews, and dozens of books on Jackson, the authors present an unflinching and disturbing look at the events surrounding the performer's death. They track each individual involved and focus on Conrad Murray, Jackson's personal physician, who administered the lethal cocktail of drugs that killed the artist. All of the details missing from Before You Judge Me are laid bare here, including the bitter legal battle for Jackson's estate. VERDICT Even though we may never know the truth of Jackson's demise, this book brings us pretty close. Utterly engrossing and grotesquely fascinating, it is brilliant investigative writing.--Tyler Hixson, Library Journal

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2016
The anniversary of Michael Jackson's tragic death, on June 25, 2009, at the age of 50, inspired Tavis Smiley and David Ritz's Before You Judge Me (2016) and Richards' and Langthorne's detailed inquiry. They illuminate Jackson's relationship with Dr. Conrad Murray, who was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, for which he served two years in prison, and Jackson's numerous health issues, financial problems, and personal scandals. Injuries sustained while working on a Pepsi commercial in 1984, as well as a back injury during a live show in Germany in 1999, led the singer, say the authors, to become increasingly dependent on prescription painkillers. The authors also discuss Jackson's early years, the devastatingly negative impact of the Living with Michael Jackson documentary, his ever-changing physical appearance, and his complicated personal relationships, including his marriages to Lisa Marie Presley and Debbie Rowe. But most of the book is devoted to the last few weeks in the singer's life and the heartbreaking final hours. A haunting and thoroughly researched account of the untimely death of an immeasurably influential artist.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)