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title: "The Michael Jackson Tapes: A Tragic Icon Reveals His Soul in Intimate Conversation"
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# The Michael Jackson Tapes: A Tragic Icon Reveals His Soul in Intimate Conversation

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The Michael Jackson Tapes: A Tragic Icon Reveals His Soul in Intimate Conversation [Rabbi Shmuley Boteach] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Michael Jackson Tapes: A Tragic Icon Reveals His Soul in Intimate Conversation

Review: Worth It - I was skeptical about this book after reading many of the low-rated reviews so far posted. However, I wanted to know about who Michael Jackson was as a person. So despite the warnings and low ratings, I ordered the book. I realized Rabbi Shmuley was on Michael's hit list, and that is somewhat disturbing because I didn't want to buy a book contributing to that scenario. But it seemed to be one of the few ways to learn about Michael as a person and he DID at one point plan to make all this public. And despite everything else, it IS stuff straight from Michael's mouth. It was not something someone made up. The truth speaks. SO, I have given this book five stars because it is definitely in the words of Michael. It is heartbreaking in places and uplifting in places and confusing in places. The bottom line for me is that if you read this book, you have to be aware of a few things. As much as you might love Michael, the truth is that he had dysfunction in areas of his life and that for the most part, it was delivered upon him before he could even be aware of it or do anything about it. Also, the truth is that Michael turned to drugs to dull his pain, and as anyone who has come up against any kind of dysfunction, be it alcohol, drugs or anything else, knows, it can be very difficult to curb that behavior, whether it is a person trying to shake things himself or friends or family trying to influence behavior. The last thing to be aware of is that Rabbi Shmuley is a religious personage and you have to remember that his job is to counsel and lead. The book is a wonderful insight into Michael's brain and it begins to form a picture of Michael as a person. He comes across as very intelligent, very kind and caring, yet at times it seems as if he did not quite know himself, as when he said he would like to go out with Katie Couric. To the rest of the world, I am guessing this seems like a poor match. My belief is that Michael may not have had enough experience with women to understand what was best for him or what he really wanted. So there are those moments. There is some dysfunction apparent. But I am not sure it is of the magnitude that would impact anyone much other than himself. I would like to address some of the comments about Rabbi Shmuley. He DOES spend pages somewhat analyzing stuff but he is a Rabbi and that is what he does. I did not feel he was being arrogant but i DID feel that you have to take some of that with a grain of salt. He is a religious personage and to me it was classic rhetoric. I did not feel he was attacking Michael. Rather, I felt that he was speaking only of the dysfunction he saw, which was the truth. It was there. I have a feeling that if a person has not perhaps experienced a lot of life or has not dealt with personal dysfunction, what the Rabbi is saying in places may have seemed as if it was arrogant or an attack and this is why I think some of the ratings are low. If a person HAS experienced dysfunction, then I believe it will be more apparent that the Rabbi is coming to the only conclusions that one can come to a lot of times in the face of dysfunction. Parts of this book are very heartbreaking and sad, and if you can't take that, don't buy it. But probably the majority of it is a fascinating insight into who Michael Jackson was as a person, as much as he could be truthful. There were times that I wasn't sure he was completely truthful, but I'm not sure this was conscious. Mainly, there seemed to be a disconnect between some of the things Michael was believing in and his ability to apply those beliefs and values to himself in order to straighten his life out. I only hope Rabbi Shmuley gives us all of the transcripts. The kindness and caring and love that Michael believed in are lessons to be learned for everyone. The sad story is that despite that, he couldn't save himself. But the rest of us can learn from this gentle man and this comes across throughout the book. Michael's ability to perform is completely disconcerting because the private Michael, as much as we are allowed to see, is at complete odds with that. He comes across as a very sensitive, caring, loving person, with a dysfunction that perhaps would have been no more severe than that many Americans are walking around with, except for the fact that he had enough money to isolate himself and was not forced to take many steps to heal himself. He did not seem like the freak he has been portrayed as. I believe Lisa Marie said it best in Randy Taraborelli's book where she said, and I am paraphrasing here, that it was too bad Michael didn't let the world see him because he was so normal and then people wouldn't think she was such a freak for being into him. That he drank, that he cussed, that he sat on the couch and was normal. The Rabbi explains their parting as his inability to help Michael anymore and I found it completely plausible. If you are part of dysfunction then you will be destroyed along with it if you don't withdraw and I believe this was behind Michael's divorce from Lisa Marie as well. Anyone who has been involved in a dysfunction will tell you that. He seems mystified about why she agreed to have children and then once they were married she went back on her word. My guess would be that Lisa Marie did not go back on her word. She came to see the dysfunction in Michael and made a conscious decision that she did not want to bring children into that life when she realized she could not save him and that they would have to part. Michael even said in the book that he would not be easy to live with. In the book, he talks about women, Lisa, their marriage, Madonna, children, his love of play, the perfect woman, and much philosophy of life. One thing I would like to point out is that the Rabbi was of the belief that Michael had a Messiah complex at times. I did not see it that way; I believe Michael believed in the power of love and that that is what was operational, not that he was a be all and end all messiah come to save humanity. I think he truly believed that love was strength and power and that that power was tremendous. How could he not think that? That is what he never had as a child and as an adult, it was at the forefront of his existence. He talks about innocence, his children and lots of stuff. So, if you can read the book and be aware of these things, then you will get a lot from it. If you cannot see the structure of Rabbi Shmuley's approach, then you will believe he is attacking at times when he is merely pointing out the truth of Michael's dysfunction. If you accept that Michael was not perfect and was a HUMAN BEING then I think you will love this book as much as I did.
Review: Absolutely insufferable - This book is very hard to get through, and it reveals a tremendous amount about the character of Michael Jackson that he was able to endure such a buffoon for so long. What becomes abundantly clear is that the Great Schmoozy Boleech goes into every situation thinking he's the "mentor", a beacon of absolute wisdom and knowledge. If you come into his presence and aren't looking up at him beckoning for advice, he gets upset. If you don't take his advice and start living your life how HE wants you to live it, he gets even more upset, and judges you... harshly. You see, this is what he does best - acting superior, and judging people. Even the people around Michael, like his aid Frank, were at the mercy of Boleech's relentless proselytization and I-know-best attitude. Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears went to meet MJ, and Schmoozy schmoozed his way in there and started preaching to them, and they (rightfully) weren't interested. He was not happy. How dare someone not be in awe of the wise words of Schmoozy Boleech! He was in fact so bitter over this single encounter that he felt the need to highlight it in this book to get some digs in... so imagine what he does when you shun him entirely after a period of his "mentoring". Well, we don't have to imagine - we have this book. In the first 50 pages he rips Michael (his "friend") to shreds, and demonstrates his two-faced vindictive nature. In one sentence he'll say he never saw anything remotely indicative that Michael did anything inappropriate with children, but a few sentences later he'll dance around the subject creating doubt, even giving his own subjective interpretation as to why MJ might in fact be guilty. What a great friend, this Schmoozy! He also clearly tries to cover his a** in case the allegations ended up true with a blatant fabrication, claiming he convinced Michael to never be alone with children. Anyone who has ever seen an interview with MJ would know that he'd never agree to such a ridiculous and accusatory proposition, but he includes this in the book so that the Great Schmoozy can keep his name clean with the notion that he tried to stop any potential misdeeds from happening. Boleech presents himself as the ultimate arbiter of knowledge and dictator of how you should live your life. You see, when Michael was listening to Schmoozy, he was doing great! But then he stopped, and he was doing badly! Don't dare deviate from his wise, wise, WISE words of advice and live your life how you choose to. That's a big no-no. If you do, he might write a book taking credit for your successes and lamenting you for your failures, whether they're real or not. And your words? Boleech is there to put his spin on them, injecting his nonsense every chance he gets. He even continually plugs his other crappy books, and narcissistically makes sure to mention which ones were bestsellers! Because we certainly are going to go out and buy more of his dreck after reading this... not. It's actually disturbing how blatantly nasty this book gets. For instance, Boleech was not happy that Michael refused to be dragged around on a leash, forced to meet whoever he wanted like Cory Booker. So he just comes out and says "how ironic than Michael is dead and Cory Booker is now hailed as the greatest thing since sliced bread". It's disgusting, and overtly hostile. At the end of the day, as much as Boleech tried to drag Michael through the mud, he himself ironically comes off much worse. Prancing around with his holier-than-thou attitude, pushing his beliefs onto others, and then judging them harshly if they didn't follow his specific advice in all its infinite wisdom. Michael's words have absolutely been tainted here, and this book is bursting with bitter vindictiveness. Schmoozy Boleech does in fact want to schmooze and leech off Michael's fame, as he is doing with this book... but he's oh-so-mad that Michael hit the ejector seat on his a**, and is unable to hide it. The only way to read this travesty (if you must) is to ignore as much vomitus from the Great Schmoozy as possible, but overall I'd probably just avoid it entirely.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #1,483,023 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #2,518 in Rock Band Biographies #7,348 in Actor & Entertainer Biographies |
| Customer Reviews | 3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars (357) |
| Dimensions  | 6.5 x 1 x 9.5 inches |
| Edition  | First Edition |
| ISBN-10  | 1593156022 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-1593156022 |
| Item Weight  | 1.2 pounds |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 299 pages |
| Publication date  | September 25, 2009 |
| Publisher  | Vanguard Press |

## Images

![The Michael Jackson Tapes: A Tragic Icon Reveals His Soul in Intimate Conversation - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81dx8f1+jOL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Worth It
*by C***R on October 6, 2009*

I was skeptical about this book after reading many of the low-rated reviews so far posted. However, I wanted to know about who Michael Jackson was as a person. So despite the warnings and low ratings, I ordered the book. I realized Rabbi Shmuley was on Michael's hit list, and that is somewhat disturbing because I didn't want to buy a book contributing to that scenario. But it seemed to be one of the few ways to learn about Michael as a person and he DID at one point plan to make all this public. And despite everything else, it IS stuff straight from Michael's mouth. It was not something someone made up. The truth speaks. SO, I have given this book five stars because it is definitely in the words of Michael. It is heartbreaking in places and uplifting in places and confusing in places. The bottom line for me is that if you read this book, you have to be aware of a few things. As much as you might love Michael, the truth is that he had dysfunction in areas of his life and that for the most part, it was delivered upon him before he could even be aware of it or do anything about it. Also, the truth is that Michael turned to drugs to dull his pain, and as anyone who has come up against any kind of dysfunction, be it alcohol, drugs or anything else, knows, it can be very difficult to curb that behavior, whether it is a person trying to shake things himself or friends or family trying to influence behavior. The last thing to be aware of is that Rabbi Shmuley is a religious personage and you have to remember that his job is to counsel and lead. The book is a wonderful insight into Michael's brain and it begins to form a picture of Michael as a person. He comes across as very intelligent, very kind and caring, yet at times it seems as if he did not quite know himself, as when he said he would like to go out with Katie Couric. To the rest of the world, I am guessing this seems like a poor match. My belief is that Michael may not have had enough experience with women to understand what was best for him or what he really wanted. So there are those moments. There is some dysfunction apparent. But I am not sure it is of the magnitude that would impact anyone much other than himself. I would like to address some of the comments about Rabbi Shmuley. He DOES spend pages somewhat analyzing stuff but he is a Rabbi and that is what he does. I did not feel he was being arrogant but i DID feel that you have to take some of that with a grain of salt. He is a religious personage and to me it was classic rhetoric. I did not feel he was attacking Michael. Rather, I felt that he was speaking only of the dysfunction he saw, which was the truth. It was there. I have a feeling that if a person has not perhaps experienced a lot of life or has not dealt with personal dysfunction, what the Rabbi is saying in places may have seemed as if it was arrogant or an attack and this is why I think some of the ratings are low. If a person HAS experienced dysfunction, then I believe it will be more apparent that the Rabbi is coming to the only conclusions that one can come to a lot of times in the face of dysfunction. Parts of this book are very heartbreaking and sad, and if you can't take that, don't buy it. But probably the majority of it is a fascinating insight into who Michael Jackson was as a person, as much as he could be truthful. There were times that I wasn't sure he was completely truthful, but I'm not sure this was conscious. Mainly, there seemed to be a disconnect between some of the things Michael was believing in and his ability to apply those beliefs and values to himself in order to straighten his life out. I only hope Rabbi Shmuley gives us all of the transcripts. The kindness and caring and love that Michael believed in are lessons to be learned for everyone. The sad story is that despite that, he couldn't save himself. But the rest of us can learn from this gentle man and this comes across throughout the book. Michael's ability to perform is completely disconcerting because the private Michael, as much as we are allowed to see, is at complete odds with that. He comes across as a very sensitive, caring, loving person, with a dysfunction that perhaps would have been no more severe than that many Americans are walking around with, except for the fact that he had enough money to isolate himself and was not forced to take many steps to heal himself. He did not seem like the freak he has been portrayed as. I believe Lisa Marie said it best in Randy Taraborelli's book where she said, and I am paraphrasing here, that it was too bad Michael didn't let the world see him because he was so normal and then people wouldn't think she was such a freak for being into him. That he drank, that he cussed, that he sat on the couch and was normal. The Rabbi explains their parting as his inability to help Michael anymore and I found it completely plausible. If you are part of dysfunction then you will be destroyed along with it if you don't withdraw and I believe this was behind Michael's divorce from Lisa Marie as well. Anyone who has been involved in a dysfunction will tell you that. He seems mystified about why she agreed to have children and then once they were married she went back on her word. My guess would be that Lisa Marie did not go back on her word. She came to see the dysfunction in Michael and made a conscious decision that she did not want to bring children into that life when she realized she could not save him and that they would have to part. Michael even said in the book that he would not be easy to live with. In the book, he talks about women, Lisa, their marriage, Madonna, children, his love of play, the perfect woman, and much philosophy of life. One thing I would like to point out is that the Rabbi was of the belief that Michael had a Messiah complex at times. I did not see it that way; I believe Michael believed in the power of love and that that is what was operational, not that he was a be all and end all messiah come to save humanity. I think he truly believed that love was strength and power and that that power was tremendous. How could he not think that? That is what he never had as a child and as an adult, it was at the forefront of his existence. He talks about innocence, his children and lots of stuff. So, if you can read the book and be aware of these things, then you will get a lot from it. If you cannot see the structure of Rabbi Shmuley's approach, then you will believe he is attacking at times when he is merely pointing out the truth of Michael's dysfunction. If you accept that Michael was not perfect and was a HUMAN BEING then I think you will love this book as much as I did.

### ⭐ Absolutely insufferable
*by M***L on February 19, 2023*

This book is very hard to get through, and it reveals a tremendous amount about the character of Michael Jackson that he was able to endure such a buffoon for so long. What becomes abundantly clear is that the Great Schmoozy Boleech goes into every situation thinking he's the "mentor", a beacon of absolute wisdom and knowledge. If you come into his presence and aren't looking up at him beckoning for advice, he gets upset. If you don't take his advice and start living your life how HE wants you to live it, he gets even more upset, and judges you... harshly. You see, this is what he does best - acting superior, and judging people. Even the people around Michael, like his aid Frank, were at the mercy of Boleech's relentless proselytization and I-know-best attitude. Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears went to meet MJ, and Schmoozy schmoozed his way in there and started preaching to them, and they (rightfully) weren't interested. He was not happy. How dare someone not be in awe of the wise words of Schmoozy Boleech! He was in fact so bitter over this single encounter that he felt the need to highlight it in this book to get some digs in... so imagine what he does when you shun him entirely after a period of his "mentoring". Well, we don't have to imagine - we have this book. In the first 50 pages he rips Michael (his "friend") to shreds, and demonstrates his two-faced vindictive nature. In one sentence he'll say he never saw anything remotely indicative that Michael did anything inappropriate with children, but a few sentences later he'll dance around the subject creating doubt, even giving his own subjective interpretation as to why MJ might in fact be guilty. What a great friend, this Schmoozy! He also clearly tries to cover his a** in case the allegations ended up true with a blatant fabrication, claiming he convinced Michael to never be alone with children. Anyone who has ever seen an interview with MJ would know that he'd never agree to such a ridiculous and accusatory proposition, but he includes this in the book so that the Great Schmoozy can keep his name clean with the notion that he tried to stop any potential misdeeds from happening. Boleech presents himself as the ultimate arbiter of knowledge and dictator of how you should live your life. You see, when Michael was listening to Schmoozy, he was doing great! But then he stopped, and he was doing badly! Don't dare deviate from his wise, wise, WISE words of advice and live your life how you choose to. That's a big no-no. If you do, he might write a book taking credit for your successes and lamenting you for your failures, whether they're real or not. And your words? Boleech is there to put his spin on them, injecting his nonsense every chance he gets. He even continually plugs his other crappy books, and narcissistically makes sure to mention which ones were bestsellers! Because we certainly are going to go out and buy more of his dreck after reading this... not. It's actually disturbing how blatantly nasty this book gets. For instance, Boleech was not happy that Michael refused to be dragged around on a leash, forced to meet whoever he wanted like Cory Booker. So he just comes out and says "how ironic than Michael is dead and Cory Booker is now hailed as the greatest thing since sliced bread". It's disgusting, and overtly hostile. At the end of the day, as much as Boleech tried to drag Michael through the mud, he himself ironically comes off much worse. Prancing around with his holier-than-thou attitude, pushing his beliefs onto others, and then judging them harshly if they didn't follow his specific advice in all its infinite wisdom. Michael's words have absolutely been tainted here, and this book is bursting with bitter vindictiveness. Schmoozy Boleech does in fact want to schmooze and leech off Michael's fame, as he is doing with this book... but he's oh-so-mad that Michael hit the ejector seat on his a**, and is unable to hide it. The only way to read this travesty (if you must) is to ignore as much vomitus from the Great Schmoozy as possible, but overall I'd probably just avoid it entirely.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ For anyone interested in the book, it's important for you to know
*by J***H on May 4, 2025*

I’ve seen quite a few negative reviews about this book, but it’s important to understand that it’s written from a natural and healthy perspective—one that holds sacred the values of family life, loving relationships, and a happy, normal, thriving existence. After all, the author is a rabbi, counselor, and writer whose role is to guide people toward a life grounded in moral values. That’s the opposite of Western culture, which idolizes false gods and tries to turn human beings into myths, into gods—or both. It’s a culture that glorifies attention instead of love, fans instead of family, the body before the soul, and material pleasure over spiritual enlightenment. So for those fanatics who just can’t tolerate even the slightest criticism of Michael—because to them he was at least a god—this book simply isn’t for them. They’re blind to the truth. But for everyone else, this is a fascinating and entirely objective glimpse into a deep conversation between a musical genius—who in his own words was searching for meaning in his life and asked the rabbi for help—and a rabbi who served as his counselor and genuinely tried to help him rebuild his life, so that he could fix what needed fixing and move forward into a life of true meaning.

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