I downloaded the Kindle edition of 'Behind the Mask' when it was offered free for a limited period of time in honour of Michael Jackson's birthday, 29 August 2013. My expectations were not particularly high, despite knowing it was a positive look at MJ, but I had read another fan's review which was mostly critical of the interviews chosen for examination by its author, body language specialist Craig James Baxter.
However, I was pleasantly surprised and pleased at the 'revelations' Baxter proposed on watching Michael's reactions in a handful of interviews - most of which are well known to fans. I found my own observations (made without any expertise, I must admit) to be reinforced by Baxter's analysis of Michael's behaviour, attitudes and actions on these specific occasions.
In particular I found myself agreeing with Baxter's summation of the interviewers themselves as well as their subject. Michael showed refreshingly natural behaviour in response to some unexpected and unsettling questions from some less than honest interviewers! It's certainly true that any interview tells us as much about the person asking the questions as it does about the one answering them.
Certainly, as that other fan had complained, there are other significant interviews which could have been examined... in particular those by Barbara Walters and Geraldo Rivera, but what is most revealing about those Baxter chose is Michael's reaction to the interviewers who were, at times, rude, abrupt and even deceitful.
I appreciated the opportunity to read this book, and I certainly appreciate the generosity of the author in offering it for Michael's fan's on our idol's birthday.