<B>This is the official, historical chronicle of Michael Jackson’s thoughts and actions during what was probably the most important period of his life—the years leading to his death.</B><P>One of the greatest pop music stars of all time, Michael Jackson has become a lightning rod of mythology and misinformation, even—and perhaps especially—in death. While many authors who have written on the entertainer’s life and legacy claim to have known him, few truly have—and fewer knew him as well as Raymone Bain, Jackson’s longtime spokesperson. In this vital book, she sets the record straight on the last years of Jackson’s life, from 2005 to 2009, providing the first truly accurate narrative of the icon’s harrowing demise.<P> <P>On June 13, 2005, Michael Jackson walked out of the courthouse in Santa Maria, California, a free man. Though acquitted of all child molestation charges, he was a shattered man. <I>Michael Jackson: The Lost Years</I> chronicles the pop star’s comeback from this devastating chapter of his life, charting his journey of restoration and redemption. Drawing on her intimate proximity to Jackson, Raymone captures these four profoundly significant years—a period when Jackson began laying the groundwork for his personal and professional comeback, undergoing a complete paradigm shift brought on by his struggles and dedicating himself to making his children, fans, and supporters proud. These were the years during which he intended to recover from long-term professional exploitation and make recording history…again.<P> <P>Written with the full intention of countering the circus of distortions, manipulations, speculations, and fabrications that followed Jackson’s sensationalized death, this authoritative book stands as the final word on a legendary entertainer’s final years.