In NOT DEAD YET, Phil Collins shares with us the story of his life --- a story filled with music (lots of it), heartbreak and triumph, love and loss, and so much more. From the age of three, when he got his first set of drums, Collins has considered himself a drummer. That's what he wanted to be, and that's what he became. But he has accomplished so much more.

"...a great tell-all, no-holds-barred look at the life of this legendary performer that is sure to please diehard Phil Collins and/or Genesis fans."

During his long career, he not only excelled as a drummer (for small bands and later for the English rock band Genesis), he became a well-known singer and songwriter. He actually started his professional career as a child actor, appearing in commercials and making his stage debut on the set of “Oliver: The Musical” in London's West End as the Artful Dodger. His illustrious role ended when his voice started cracking, and he could no longer sing the high notes required for that role. He enjoyed being on the stage and was good at it, but his real love was the percussion.

The title of the book comes from the fact that Collins almost died following a severe bout with pancreatitis. After the breakup of his third marriage, he started drinking heavily, very heavily. The alcohol damaged his pancreas and heart, nearly killing him. Happily he recovered, and as he says, he is not dead yet.

Collins writes in a chatty manner, with a lot of British-style English and slang, making some words and phrases a bit difficult to decipher. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading his life story and learned a lot about him. I didn't realize that he has a number of TV and movie acting credits to his name (among them “Miami Vice,” And the Band Played On and Hook). I wasn’t aware that he never learned to read music or that he was married three times. By the way, at the time of the book’s writing, Collins was back together with his third ex-wife, although they hadn't remarried.

NOT DEAD YET is a great tell-all, no-holds-barred look at the life of this legendary performer that is sure to please diehard Phil Collins and/or Genesis fans.