When the sad news broke that pop singer Michael Jackson had died, GalleyCat assembled links to three books the pop legend left behind.

His longest book was “Moonwalk” in 1988, and the jacket copy summarizes his climb to stardom and his struggles: “He recalls a childhood that was both harsh and joyful, the transformation of the Jackson Five into worldwide stardom, his sometimes difficult relationships with his family, and the inspiration and drive behind his music. He also talks about show-business friends such as Diana Ross, Paul McCartney, Fred Astaire and Marlon Brando, and about his decision to have extensive plastic surgery.”

This GalleyCat editor fondly recalls checking out “Moonwalker: The Storybook” at the library around 1988, a book where Jackson fights an evil drug-peddler, Mr. Big. In 1992, Jackson wrote “Dancing the Dream,” a collection of twenty poems and twenty essays about “world hunger, homeless children, and the need for world peace.”