Chinese writers pen Michael Jackson book in 48 hours
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Two Chinese writers locked themselves up with coffee and cigarettes, no cellphones and no sleep for 48 hours -- and emerged with a finished Michael Jackson biography. ‘Moonwalk in Paradise’ hit shelves this weekend, fewer than 10 days after the pop star’s death. The newspaper China Daily reported:
The 130,000-word book, titled ‘Moonwalk in Paradise -- the Michael Jackson biography,’ written by Jiang Xiaoyu and Xing Han, and published by Chinese publishing house Xiandai was available for pre-order sales online on Friday and on bookshelves Saturday. ...
A report in China Youth Daily said the writers never met or interviewed Jackson and simply wrote the story from their ‘accumulated knowledge about the king of pop.’...
[co-author Jiang Xiaoyu said] ‘I am not only a music critic but also a fan of the King of Pop, so I understand what fans really need.... fans cannot wait for months.’
Jiang Zengpei, a Chinese publisher, expressed concern about ‘instant books’ like this one, which have begin making regular appearances in China. ‘Many instant books have been fabricated with information from other books or the Internet. Publishing, an important part of the culture industry, should be creative work.’
Although U.S. publishers may be trying to rush Jackson products to shelves, domestic efforts are hardly instant. The earliest Jackson books will include an updated version of J. Randy Taraborrelli’s 1991 biography ‘Michael Jackson: The Magic and the Madness,’ coming out as ‘Michael Jackson: The Magic, the Madness, the Whole Story: 1958-2009’ on Aug. 5 from Hachette, and ‘Life Commemorative: Michael Jackson’ due Aug. 18.
Here in L.A., Jacksonmania continues: Over the weekend, 1.6 million people signed up for a lottery for the memorial to be held at the Staples Center, and the winners queued up this morning -- radios blaring Jackson music, of course -- to pick up their tickets.
-- Carolyn Kellogg
