Untouchable - by Randall Sullivan (Paperback)

About the Book

"The first deep-dive narrative by a veteran journalist covering the King of Pop's convoluted final years on earth . . . ["Untouchable"] helps cast Jackson in a new light."--"Los Angeles Times"
"A dishy Michael Jackson biography that makes the exhaustively covered King of Pop fascinating all over again."--"People"
"A tale of family, fame, lost childhood, and startling accusations never heard before."--ABC Nightline
Delivering exclusive information and a compelling psychological portrait, "Untouchable" is the story of Michael Jackson from his boy idol childhood to the final four-year odyssey of his tumultuous adult life. Beginning with his last departure from Neverland, Sullivan captures Jackson's final years shuttling around the world, and plans to recapture his wealth and reputation with a comeback album and planned series of fifty mega-concerts. Sullivan delves deep into Jackson's past, depicting a man both naive and deeply cunning, a devoted father whose parenting decisions created international outcry, a shrewd businessman whose failures nearly brought down a megacorporation, and an inveterate narcissist who desperately wanted a quiet, normal life. Sullivan has never-before-reported information about Jackson's business dealings, the pedophilia allegations that besmirched his reputation, and the fate of his billion-dollar-plus estate, and exclusive access to inner-circle figures including Jackson's former attorneys and managers. "Untouchable" is a remarkable portrait of the man who still reigns as King of Pop.
"Randall Sullivan more than tells the story of Michael Jackson--he relives it. . . . Sullivan leaves few stones unturned."--The Daily Beast

Book Synopsis

The investigative biography of Michael Jackson's final years: "A tale of family, fame, lost childhood, and startling accusations never heard before" (ABC Nightline).

When Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, millions of fans around the world were shocked. But the outpouring of emotion that followed his loss was bittersweet. Dogged by scandal for years and undone by financial mismanagement, Jackson had become untouchable in many quarters.

Untouchable pulls back the curtain Jackson's public person to introduce a man who, despite his immense fame, spent his entire life utterly alone; who, in the wake of a criminal trial that left him briefly hospitalized, abandoned Neverland to wander the globe before making one final--and fatal--attempt to recover his wealth and reputation. The Jackson that emerges in these pages is both naïve and cunning, a devoted father whose parenting became an international scandal, a shrewd businessman whose failures nearly brought down a megacorporation, and an inveterate narcissist who craved a quiet, normal life.

Randall Sullivan delivers never-before-reported information about Jackson's business dealings, his relationship with his family, and the pedophilia allegations that derailed his life and mar his legacy today, as well as the suspicious nature of his death. Based on exclusive access to Jackson's inner circle, Untouchable is an intimate, unflinching portrait of the man who continues to reign as the King of Pop.

"A dishy Michael Jackson biography that makes the exhaustively covered King of Pop fascinating all over again." --People

Review Quotes

Praise for Untouchable

"A dishy Michael Jackson biography that makes the exhaustively covered King of Pop fascinating all over again." --People

"The first deep-dive narrative by a veteran journalist covering the King of Pop's convoluted final years on earth . . . [Untouchable] helps cast Jackson in a new light." --Los Angeles Times

"A tale of family, fame, lost childhood, and startling accusations never heard before." --ABC Nightline

"Sullivan reveals a man who was not the pedophilic, transgendered, transracial freak the media thought he was, but a highly intelligent and sensitive perfectionist, more self-aware--and ashamed--of his surgically altered looks than the public ever knew. . . . Sullivan's sensitive portrait of [Jackson] is a good start toward explaining and rehabilitating a lonely genius who was poorly understood in his lifetime."--Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Randall Sullivan

"Like its title, this book has something miraculous in it. Imagine, if you can, a book . . . that will interest, and satisfy, both the pious and skeptical. That book is this one. Mr. Sullivan's cast of unlikely characters recalls the inhabitants of other mountains, Thomas Mann's Magic Mountain or Thomas Merton's The Seven Storey Mountain." --The Washington Times on The Miracle Detective

"An intrepid Portland journalist crafts a fascinating exploration of how the Catholic Church investigates purported sightings of the Virgin Mary; a globe-trotting, first-person spiritual odyssey that took him to northeastern Oregon, Arizona, Bosnia, the Vatican and beyond." --Seattle Post-Intelligencer on The Miracle Detective

"[An] engrossing, damning tale of widespread unchecked corruption in one of the nation's largest police departments, one that deserves attention. . . . Exhaustively researched, the book methodically weaves a disturbing story of corruption, intimidation, and murder." --Boston Globe on LAbyrinth

About the Author

Randall Sullivan was a contributing editor to Rolling Stone for over twenty years. He is the author of Graveyard of the Pacific, Dead Wrong, The Price of Experience, LAbyrinth, The Miracle Detective, and Untouchable. His work has been published in, among many other places, Wired, Esquire, Outside, Men's Journal, Washington Post, and the Guardian. He lives in Oregon.