Bought this on a whim and really ended up enjoying it. Lowe is funny, witty, and at times even eloquent (mostly when he talks about lessons learned from fatherhood, or being a recovering alcoholic). You can tell why he called this "Stories I only tell my friends," since much of the book is: "One day, I was walking down the street, and I met this girl, and she was really pretty, and really nice, and she told me she was into acting, and I said I was too. Oh and by the way, she was [insert famous name here]". After about the 30th time this scenario plays out, you start to think "if this guy wasn't Rob Lowe, I probably would never believe this." But it IS Rob Lowe, and he really did grow up next door to Martin Sheen and shoot home movies with Sean Penn and Sean Penn's brother. He really did talk his way into Liza Minelli's hotel suite in Ohio when he was five and act with a very young Janet Jackson in a short lived TV series. And of course, he really was Sam Seaborn on the West Wing. So you can't help but belive it all and surrender to the hilarious anecdotes of a life in show business.

What's great about the book is that it doesn't feel like he's dropping names for the sake of it. He grew up in film, and this is his community. Just as you might write about someone at your job (assuming you want to get fired...) he writes about the people in his industry. His friends and confidants. Only his have enormous mansions and make million dollar incomes (where do I get me some of those friends?)

Mainly he manages to pull of the "Celebrities are people too" thing, without being annoying. His self deferential, accepting of the absurdities of Hollywood, serious about his craft, surprisingly lacking in ego when talking about the ups and downs of his career, and yes, he has some funny stories to impart. Final word: definitely better than your run of the mill celebrity story. Funny, down to earth, and really entertaining. Also, c'mon, it's Sam Seaborn!