Remember the Time: Protecting Michael Jackson in His Final Days Hardcover – June 3, 2014

I felt many emotions reading this book. I saw Thriller when I was 6 years old and it stuck with me. I have so much respect for the authors and give Michael Jackson justice. And being there for him when they were. Even at a personal cost. That is love.This book made me want to go back in time and give Michael a hug and somehow be there for him and his family as the friend he needed. But I was in high school during this time with my own battles. Michael Jackson was a strong man and didn't deserve any of the bulls hit that came his way or the vultures. He was a good man and it seems so many more people are understanding this. I know I couldn't have handled half of the slander and lies they told about him. Being a younger fan now an adult this was an eye opening read. There are very few celebrities I feel this way for. A mourning of not being able to meet them, an honest desire to just be a friend and talk about books and music.Michael Jackson died from my thoughts from being overworked from those who want to get something from him aka money (they did touch on the publishing rights but not enough which is understandable being they are bodyguards but all of the catalogs he owned which is a big deal in itself and worth billions in today's money. It is a huge motive to go after someone's character, since he refused to sell it back to Sony and would give the Masters away for free back to black artists or their widows. Michael was worked to death and heartbroken from the trial even though he was acquitted on all counts even after the FBI investigated him for at least 10 years and before the trial came out and said no wrong doing happened people turned their back on a innocent man. And underweight, in Moonwalk and other interviews Michael talks about how when upset or sad he wouldn't eat.This book shares how he was putting the weight back on but then the This is it tour came about. If the man would have had time to just heal his whole self he may have been with us today. He was wealthy in his own right, but towards the end it seems his finances were not as organized as they used to be.<b>He thought he had people he could trust. The reason I changed my rating to 4 stars was because the author has the right to his own thoughts and feelings on being his bodyguard. I do not believe Michael wanted to die. He always pushed himself very hard. Examples of this are when his scalp was burned and he still performed shortly after. There are many examples of him doing this in his life, and sadly his body gave out after a lifetime of hard work of being an entertainer. His love for his children and fans and wanting to live the rest as his days as a loving father is very clear.May he rest in peace. He raised wonderful kids and I wish I could read a book on just that. May his music live on in all of us along with his message of helping those in need and the environment.

After much debate, reading reviews, and wondering if I would be doing right by MJ reading this book, I had read enough positive to give it a chance. I am glad I read it. But this was no uplifting, happy-joy-joy read. This was a realistic portrayal of the sadness, disappointment, abandonment, and loneliness Michael went through in his last few years on this earth. And this is only what the body guards saw! You can see from the writing that the body guards loved him, respected him, and have the best intentions writing this book, wanting to show the world what they went through, show how much of things were out of MJs control, and how cruelly the world treated MJ. As bad as these bodyguards had it at times, they stuck by him. But they only had it bad because of the vultures - his own managers and lawyers and family members - that were fooling him, sucking him dry, emotionally and financially. The industry and the lies, the tabloid press, sucked the life out of the biggest talent our world has seen. Anyone who believes the lies about MJ and spreads them has a hand in this man's death. This man died because no one was around to care for him in his final days, days that no one knew were to be final. People say MJ pushed people away. Well, only after he had been hurt by them time and time and TIME again. He gave people one too many chances to fix things, he trusted people at their word, and he didn't check up on what they were doing like he should have, at least not at the end. He was too tired emotionally I think to deal with it, after the trial. Having been taken care of all his life by his dad or other managers, he was just used to people taking care of things for him, also. His father did him a grave disservice by raising Michael to be this great star but not know how to handle his own affairs. Michael I think must have been more hands-on before the trial, (I know he was in the 80s and 90s), but after...he just didn't care anymore, because no one came out to support him after his acquittal. Friends never came back. (the memorial? a sham! read the book) I could go on - the point is, this is a really hard read for a fan. I found myself just bereft at the end, empty and sad, trying to understand how someone the world loved could have been treated so cruelly by the press, his management, and his own damn family. His kids were his only saving grace, and the fact that these kids are stuck with this horrid family as their only family now worries me to no end for them (as a parent myself). I hope they come out of their teen years ok and take back over MJ's estate with a vengeance.So if you are a fan, I think you will find that this is a hard read, but I do recommend it. Not for the faint-hearted. Don't be surprised if you're not bawling or wanting to bawl at the end, or throw something in anger out of how he was treated. It's still sticking with me and and I finished it in less than a day doing a kindle download.I know some have criticized the body guards and author who put this book together for writing this kind of tell-all (and it doesn't tell all - the body guards don't know everything, they only know what they saw, and how they felt about what they saw and experienced with MJ, and that's what they talk about) book, but I think it pays proper homage to the King of Pop and to Michael Jackson as a human being, a man, and a father. Their love for him is quite evident.My assessment - Michael, knowing these things about you makes me love you more, and you were too damn nice for this crummy world. But the strong are supposed to protect the weak, and you, yes you, were weak not cuz of how nice you were, but because of how bad the world beat you down during that last trial in '05. And the people who should have protected you, doctors, managers, and your family, didn't. May karma get their sorry butts.** Tom Sneddon and his DA crew and MJ's false accusers and all those press who didn't report the REAL court proceedings, only seedy stuff that would bring ratings, and took interviews of the lying accusers and broadcast them all over the world but never let Michael have his say... you all deserve to rot in hell or have the kind of bad things happen to them that you only hear about in horror movies. I'd love to live to see the day they were all exposed for the frauds they were.

I have somehow become a Michael Jackson fan since his death. You tube has given me endless info. This book has enlighten me also.A great book to read, that will help fans understand the misery that Michael lived with. He was indeed an angel from God.

The guys who wrote this book are great, it gives some insight into Michael Jackson’s life. They were good to have persevered when the going got tough and they did not receive regular pay cheques, some would have resigned. I felt Michael was insensitive at times and rubbed their noses in it, especially when he went on his spending sprees buying thousands of dollars worth of toys and flying on private jets and staying in top hotels, large suitcases of money, get this, get that, was he truly broke? On the one hand Michael was described as an angel but there appears to be another side to him that appeared unscrupulous. I do think people around Michael caused problems for him but Michael also caused problems for Michael. He would have known he did not have the stamina or strength to do 1 concert let alone 10 then 50. Where were the two women friend and flower when he might have needed a listening ear or words of wisdom? Could no one see this man was not well! The ‘This Is It’ footage shows there was no enthusiasm in his moves and he looked weak and fragile, you could she his mental anguish. He always seemed to be wearing layers of clothes or extremely baggy clothes almost to hide his thin frame. I still fail to understand why he did not sell the Sony catalogue pay his debts and move on to a more quieter, peaceful life out of the public gaze, with his children, which he craved so much and gave himself time heal from his 2005 trial and his other problems, maybe the odd concert for nostalgia. He might have still been with us today. It appeared some did not care for Michael to notice his failing health, what they forgot was that Michael was the money maker and when he died he took the cash machine with him. For all those who started to appear in Michael’s life once he announced his comeback tour, all those people who wanted to get there hands on his money, all those lawsuits, if he had succeeded at his marathon tour what money would have been left for Michael?

Best book I have read in ages. Couldn't put it down and ended up finishing it over 4 days. Beautifully written. Great insight into Michael's life away from the public eye. It was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster though, one minute you are laughing along with the story, next thing you are crying.If you are a Michael Jackson fan this book is a must have. If you aren't it's still a great look into the life of a legend.

Amazing book. I liked it from the first to the last page. This is the story of a man and his children, a father scared for his kids. In this book there is no King of pop, there is only the man, the father, the human being behind the stage.I didn't know many things about his attitude, his private life and I'm glad someone wrote a book like this. I don't know how many people would be interested in reading about the real Michael Jackson. The man who opened the door of his bedroom wearing a pair of reading glasses with the Bible in his hands. The man who spent some nights with his "Friend" Johanna watching a movie in her hotel room because he didn't want his children knew about her coming to town. I certainly do.I've never read a book like this about Michael Jackson.Thank you Bill Whitfield

Wonderful book. Honest throughout and well written first hand account of working with and befriending Michael & his children.Thank you Bill & Javon for writing this.

He was very sad man