There is a mysterious aura to Keith Richards that draws people to him out of curiosity. To me he always presented a contradicting persona, often pictured as sullen and aloof, yet feted as the consummate life of the party in rock and roll terms. The disheveled and ragged appearance stereotypically conjures up the image of a junkie managing to survive from one fix to the next. After all, the only survivors of a nuclear holocaust would be cockroaches ... and Keith Richards. Yet the reality of the matter is that Keith Richards is all of the above and then some ... a recovering junkie that is also pure genius (not just musical), a survivor of the most hedonistic days of rock and roll, a family man and more importantly an openly honest man. His book both explains and derails the mystery, providing a refreshingly deep and intimate portrait of an extremely interesting, talented and impressive individual."Life" is more than a simple biography of a Rock and Roller ... it is, arguably, the only definitive history of the Rolling Stones from a somewhat objective point of view (after all, what does he have to gain or lose?). "Keef", in all his rambling glory, spills his guts and gives us a fly on the wall perspective of his life beginning in war-torn Dartford all the way to what seems to be this very moment. His life is also, of course, the life of the Rolling Stones. The reader is taken for a journey that succinctly summarizes most every significant (or insignificant) event pertaining to the band. The personnel changes, the studio sessions, the tours and the drugs. Every step of the way, we are introduced to juicy tidbits of gossip, hilarious stories and personal feelings on just about everyone he knows and everything can remember. There is even a testament or two that debunk decades-old myths about the man himself (like that infamous "blood transfusion" story). But, the bulk of this memoir is dedicated to the soul or life-blood of Richard's existence ... music. The overwhelming passion for music that courses through Richard's veins is evident on almost every page of this bulky 570 page monstrosity. We see an unpretentious and amiable music icon as being just another giddy fan of his blues heroes; as well as someone willing to make music with anyone ... anywhere.Oddly enough, the book starts with Richards being involved in a random drug bust in the deep South (US) during the 1970s and the scenario reads like a scene from "Smokey and the Bandit" (cunning/brazen troublemaker Richards vs. intellectually challenged, local-yokel sheriff). It's this classic back-against-the wall story told in Keith's classic sardonic tone that hooks the reader from the start and effectively generates the desire for Keith to start from the very beginning. Although the book is basically one gigantic ramble, Richard's writing partner (James Fox) seems to have graciously crafted the story into a more readable format. The numbered chapters are evenly spaced throughout and the intro to each chapter includes an italicized paragraph with tantalizing hints of each chapter's contents. After reading the entire book, I sensed that these chapters hinted to three major phases in Keith Richard's life: the meteoric rise of his early years (rise to superstardom to the sudden loss of innocence of Altamont that started a path to oblivion), the dark and blurred decade of the 1970s (where drugs and pure genius seem to function at such an amazingly productive level) and rebirth (a survivor seeing life with a relatively clear head). Each chapter reads like Keith speaks and the stories are somewhat incoherent at times with brief, choppy sentences and a healthy peppering of Brit jargon (I'm still trying to figure out the apparent difference between "mate" and "friend"). But, as the chapters unfold, it becomes harder to dismiss Keith Richards as anything but intelligent, witty and charming.Some pleasant surprises in "Life":1) The story of such an iconic Rock and Roll star in his own words is priceless.2) The book can also be viewed as an ongoing guitar lesson ... Richard's opens up his bag of tricks and tells us how he crafted his historic musical contributions (like the discovery of the 5-string open-G).3) The frank discussion of his addiction and the depravity he experience is somewhat shocking.4) The open honesty and self-deprecating style of Richard's writing is refreshing, frequently humorous and appreciated. His is simply a great storyteller.5) He is definitely an odd character with a somewhat strange point-of-view (reaction to his son Tara's death).6) The dichotomy he reveals between the real Keith Richards and the one we've seen and read about over the decades.I thought that almost 600 pages would be difficult to digest, until I realized that his story could legitimately be a multi-volume affair (think Churchill). While I have nothing but praise for the book, I wished he would have written more on Brian Jones' death and Altamont, as well as more details on his relationship with Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor (who are scarcely mentioned in the book). "Life" has given me a new perspective of Keith Richards ... he is definitely not the deep-fried burnout he appears to be. He has transformed himself over the years to become this almost embarrassingly goofy senior citizen one can imagine mowing grass in plaid shorts, black knee-high socks and loafers ... but he also happens to have a whale of a story to tell.