On Michael Jackson

Pulitzer Prize-winner Margo Jefferson takes on the legend and legacy of the King of Pop.

Michael Jackson: provocateur, icon, enigma. Who was he really? And how does his spectacular rise and catastrophic fall reflect upon those who made him, those who broke him, and those who loved him? Almost ten years after Jackson's untimely death, here is Margo Jefferson's definitive and dazzling dissection of the King of Pop: a man admired for his music, his flair, his performances; and censured for his skin, his erratic behavior, and, in his final years, for his relationships with children.

The winner of a Pulitzer Prize for criticism, Margo Jefferson is the author of "Negroland," which was shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize, and "On Michael Jackson." She is a professor of writing at Columbia University School of the Arts. She was for years a theatre and book critic for Newsweek and the New York Times. Her writing has appeared in, among other publications, the Guardian, Vogue, New York magazine, and the New Republic.