Moonwalk (book)
| Moon Walk | |
 | |
| Author | Michael Jackson |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Genre(s) | Autobiography |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
| Publication date | 1988 |
| Pages | 283 |
| ISBN | 0-3852-4712-5 |
| Followed by | Dancing the Dream: Poems and Reflections |
Moonwalk is an autobiography written by American musician Michael Jackson. The book was first published in 1988, a year after the release of Jackson's Bad album, and named after Jackson's signature dance move of the same name. The book was edited by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and reached number one on the New York Times Best Seller list.
Origin
The title of Moonwalk was derived from Michael Jackson's signature dance move, the moonwalk. The moonwalk presents the illusion that the dancer is stepping forward while actually moving backward. The dance move gained widespread popularity after being performed by Jackson on the 1983 television special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, and has since become the most well known dance move in the world.
The first manuscript of the book was written by Robert Hillburn, which was refused by the publishers, Doubleday, because it lacked "juicy details". A second manuscript was written by Stephen Davis, which Jackson drastically edited. Jackson finally decided to write the book himself, with help from Shaye Areheart (although there were reports that Areheart later quit after Jackson threw a snake at her). Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis edited the book and wrote a three paragraph introduction.
Due to the public interest in Jackson, Moonwalk was published in secret. Relatives of Doubleday employees were hired as couriers, to deliver portions of the book from the company's head office in Manhattan to the printing plant in Fairfield, Pennsylvania. At the printing plant, the book was given the code name "Neil Armstrong", after the first "moonwalker".
Reception
Moonwalk debuted at number one on both the British newspaper The Times's and the Los Angeles Times's best sellers lists. Reaching number two in its first week on the New York Times Best Seller list, Moonwalk reached number one the following week. Within a few months of it release, Moonwalk had sold 450,000 copies in fourteen different countries.
Ken Tucker, of The New York Times, stated that if the book had been written by anyone else, it would be dismissed as "an assiduously unrevealing, frequently tedious document." However, he adds that "these are precisely the qualities that make it fascinating".
Re-Release
It has been announced that Moonwalk will be re-released in September 2009 as aresult of Michael Jackson's death and will be available now to a more wider audience.
