"Michael Jackson Tapes" Details Excesses

A new book by Michael Jackson's former spiritual adviser says the pop superstar feared the ravages of old age and appeared to be abusing prescription drugs and cosmetic surgery nearly a decade before his death.

"The Michael Jackson Tapes" doesn't break much new ground, but its author, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, provides firsthand detail in Jackson's voice about the excesses and obsessions the world glimpsed through the entertainer's public facade.

"The Michael Jackson Tapes: A Tragic Icon
Reveals His Soul in Intimate Conversation" (Vanguard Press)

Boteach says the book is based on 30 hours of taped interviews with the entertainer.

In it, Jackson is portrayed as an aging superstar, addicted to fame and drugs, who lacks the willpower to make changes needed to give his life new meaning.

Jackson died June 25. His death is being treated as a homicide.