On August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, Michael Jackson was born, a Black child who would become one of the most successful artists in the history of music.

On June 25, 2009, in Los Angeles, Michael Jackson passed away, the global idol who transformed into a legend. The life of the controversial Peter Pan of pop was filled with contradictions: Was he the child prodigy who had his childhood stolen from him? The Black icon who broke down racial barriers in music charts and television stations, but lightened his skin to the point of destruction? The fifty-year-old who refused to grow up? A man whose music could be as soft as his voice or as dark as the horror films he obsessively watched?

Whatever perspective one adopts, one cannot help but agree that the story of Michael Jackson - the story of an astonishing pioneering talent - is a captivating fairy tale of our time.

(. . .) [Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]