Palmer is a full-time freelance writer who runs his own consulting business. He has earned an undergraduate degree in journalism. In this essay, he considers Berg's book with regard to the double-edged sword of success and the ways in which the recipients of success sometimes react to the spotlight's constant glow.

Throughout modern history, certain individuals have captured the hearts and minds of vast populations. For whatever reason, the minutest of details pertaining to persons such as Princess Diana, John F. Kennedy, and Tupac Shakur have been fodder for newspaper articles, magazine features, radio clips, and television documentaries. Not even death has robbed these demigods of their cult status. Indeed, their lights still burn as when they were among the living. These were human beings with inherent failings and shortcomings, prejudices and preconceptions, hang ups and pet peeves. But obvious faults and blemishes of character seldom deter...