Private Conversations in Neverland with Michael Jackson

This is a very slim volume.. 95 pages in all, and rather pricey.. so my first impressions were not favourable.. but I realise it's the content that matters as I was about to discover. I received the book this morning and have been dipping into it thoughout the day, and have just finished reading it. If I could, I would have read it in one session.. It is written in a very matter of fact way , without any embellishment or any sense of betrayal of confidences. It is simply a brief record of some of the times the author and Michael spent together.. sometimes alone, sometimes with their respective families, and the mutual enjoyment their friendship brought. To me it is successful because it doesn't go into great detail and doesn't need to , but it effortlessly gets the message across that Michael Jackson was a kind and decent man..( somewhat different from the cariacture as portrayed by an out of control media) I think true MJ fans would like this book, and once read completely,to dip into from time to time. If you want a kiss and tell, or to read gossip then this is not the book for you. To me it is a little gem and it's success lies in it's simplicity. I get the impression that the author just wanted to tell us about this special friendship so that we could share a little bit of it too. ( For once I don't believe money was the motive ). 20 July 2013.. Hi Barney... I just wanted to add a little bit to this review ( Amazon will not let me add a comment to my own review) I just want to say I am so pleased that you wrote this book for us, and I'm sure at the time you had no idea of the impact it would have. I have read it at least 4 times , and particularly now at this difficult time for Michael, his family and his true friends, it is so comforting as an admirer who never knew him, to be able to read a few chapters and smile again. I have just ordered another copy as a Birthday present (I'll probably have to buy a pot of face-cream to go with it!)

洋書の日本語版、何よりマイケルを大切に書いてくれていそうなので取り寄せました。 届いてみるとこれが薄い！でもその内容は最初から心を奪われっぱなし。 そこには普通のお医者さんバーニー医師とその家族が、超スーパースターマイケルと過ごした宝石のような5年の日々が綴られています。 一般人の想像を遥かに超える豪華なマイケルの生活、普通の暮らしに憧れるマイケル、子供達をきちんと育てるマイケル、ビジネスをちゃんと考えているマイケル、友達を大切にもてなすマイケル。バーニー医師がその思い出をキラキラと綴っていきます。マイケルが車を運転するシーン！なんて本当に微笑ましい。 人々の裏切りに苦悩するマイケルの姿もほんの少し語られますが、そこからはそれでも静かに耐えるマイケルの優しさと強さだけが伝わってきます。 いかなる時もマイケルを温かく見つめ、一緒に楽しく過ごしたバーニー医師。あなたにずっと彼の主治医でいて欲しかった。 なおマイケルの写真は1枚もありません。読んでいると彼の笑顔が見たくなるので、お気に入りのショットを横に置いて読むと2倍楽しめます。 表紙のネバーランドのゲートの写真が美しい。この向こうにマイケルが暮らしていたんだなぁ…ファンにも、マイケルを誤解している人にもぜひおすすめしたい１冊です。

Quel magnifique livre sur MJ! J'aurais tellement voulu qu'il soit plus long car les histoires sont juste incroyables. J'ai adoré!! J'ai eu l'impression de pouvoir vivre ces moments comme l'auteur les a vécu grâce à sa façon de raconter ces histoires. J'ai aussi appris beaucoup d'anecdotes sur MJ et à quel point il était une personne incroyable. Le dernier chapitre m'a donné la chair de poule spécialement la dernière partie au sujet de la chanson du fils de l'auteur pour MJ... Je recommande absolument ce livre à tous les fans de MJ parce que c'est une magnifique découverte et j'ai eu énormément de plaisir à lire ces histoires. Vous allez l'adoré de A à Z!!

Adorei o livre, realmente para quem eh fa do Michael vai gostar do conteudo , pois mostra o MJ fora do holofotes , com atividades cotiadianas em Neverland e fora dela . O preco da fama eh realmente muito alto. Vou ler de novo !

This book is a must read. The stories are insightful, the commentary loving and the author, true blue. William Van Valin (Doc Barney) had a close friendship with Michael Jackson for 5 years (they lost touch after Michael's 2005 trial when Michael left the US), but during those 5 years, Barney and Michael either saw one another or, spoke on the phone, every single week unless one or the other was traveling. This was a close and authentic friendship. If you want to know somebody, speak with them directly. If you are unable to do that, the next best thing is to speak to people who loved and respected and truly cared about them. Barney Van Valin and his family truly cared about Michael Jackson. There are a lot of books out there about Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, but few share the true Michael, behind the scenes, as he truly was. Because what many forget is that Michael could not relax and just be himself without the pressures of media, paparazzi and the public all wanting something from him. He found that comfort, normalcy and the ability to relax a bit, when he was surrounded by good friends who wanted to be just that, a friend. Michael was used to people always wanting something from him, always demanding, taking, jockeying for position. Doc Barney and his family GAVE something TO Michael. Michael of course was generous and giving to everyone he knew, but Barney Van Valin, his wife and his children gave Michael a peace that he most often didn't otherwise have, a safe haven. There were only a few people/families that he had this with. A few weeks ago, I was introduced to this book via my friend Pat. She had just started reading it and was feeding me some excerpts from the book via email. Having been a long time advocate for truth, I was really interested in reading the book the minute I started seeing some of the content. It was beautifully written and the stories were shared from the heart. The content of this book is wonderful. True stories shared in a way that only a close friend could share. You start reading it and you can't stop. I read the book in one night and plan on reading it again. I laughed out loud at the beautiful humor and smiled at the tender-hearted stories of two friends and their families, simply enjoying one another's company and having adventures. You feel as if you are sitting on their shoulders as the stories unfold, getting a window into their times together. You feel like you are along for the ride, immersed in the journey, and it's a beautiful journey to share. When I was first alerted to this book, I sent a quick email to the author. I run a website dedicated to telling the truth about Michael Jackson, the Michael the media never showed you. I wanted to find out more about the book and the author. Since then I have had the opportunity to speak to Doc Barney via phone and text/email and I have to say that Michael Jackson was very fortunate to have this man and his family, in his life. Doc Barney, the author of this book, is honestly true blue. A truly nice, humble, giving spirit who only wants the truth to be known about his friend. I will soon be interviewing Doc Barney for my website because I feel that his stories are very important to share in showing who the true Michael Jackson, was. If you want to see the beautiful man you missed by the media's slanted coverage, if you want to see what Michael Jackson was really like...the kind of person he was, his true character, and you'd like to spend some warm, tenderhearted moments witnessing a friendship that lasted 5 years and always remained a heart connection, I highly recommend reading this book. Highly recommended for truth. Debbie Kunesh Creator of the Reflections on the Dance website tribute to Michael Jackson