And what friends they are. We opened the cover of the book with a pretty picture of Lowe on the cover – and what other kind of picture is there, judging also by his recent cover pose in Vanity Fair?

Perhaps not expecting much, we were immediately riveted by Lowe’s description of growing up in Malibu in the 1970s in a dysfunctional family with neighbors and friends like brothers Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen and their legendary father Martin Sheen–and Sean Penn.

Lowe and his family had moved out from Ohio, grounded in Midwestern values, where he had initiated his dreams of acting with some work in school plays and local theater productions.

Still a high school student and a self-described nerd who has trouble getting girls to pay him any attention, he gets an agent, auditions, and then some television roles that start him off on the path to stardom.

Early on, it’s obvious that he’s a chick magnet, as he describes sometimes frightening episodes of teenage girls physically attacking him during promotional tours for his first network shows and the mixed feelings he had about becoming famous and reconciling that with the person inside.

Soon, Lowe finds himself auditioning for one of the greatest directors of our time, Francis Ford Coppola, along with another relatively unknown actor, Tom Cruise, who even pre “Risky Business” was a force to be reckoned with. (Like calling his manager and complaining about hotel accomodations when no one knew who he was.)

Both booked Coppola’s “The Outsiders” and Lowe chronicles the long days and nights on set and the equally intense partying. Although he doesn’t say so, this is where his alcoholism began.

It was also the birth of the modern youth movement in the entertainment industry, soon to be described as the “Brat Pack,” of which Lowe, Demi Moore, Estevez and Judd Nelson, among others, were charter members as their films like “St. Elmo’s Fire,” “Dirty Dancing” and “About Last Night” became touchstones of 1980s pop culture.

As Lowe describes a lifestyle that includes collaborations with everyone from Patrick Swayze to Roman Polanski to Mike Myers, the reader gets much insight into what’s beneath the actor’s pretty boy exterior. With humor, grace and intelligence, Lowe details several life-changing ephiphanies, including the ones that sent him into the arms of his true love, wife Sheryl, and into rehab, as a result of initially losing her due to his hard-partying lifestyle.

One thing Lowe does not discuss in detail is the videotape scandal of him having sex in a hotel room during the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta in 1988, while alluding to overcoming the challenges that came from the toxicity brought to his career.  (Years later, he pretty much proclaims himself the celebrity sex tape pioneer.)

The actor was a political junkie from early on, traveling with the Dukakis campaign, and as he describes the beginnings of the hit show “The West Wing,” and his beloved role of Sam Seaborn, you are right there with him–and outraged that even the late, great manager Bernie Brillstein couldn’t get him a raise, thus forcing him to leave the show after for successful seasons and a passel of awards.

Can you say “Austin Powers”? “Wayne’s World”? Lowe has been anything but idle since the West Wing days with his neighbor, Martin Sheen.

You’ll have to read his book to find out all the details, but there’s already a new chapter yet to be written. It’s just been announced that Lowe will play Drew Peterson, the Chicago area police officer accused of killing fourth wife Stacy in a case that’s garnered huge media attention.

No stranger to scandal or scrutiny, it sounds right up Lowe’s alley.

Stories I Only Tell My Friends, An Autobiography by Rob Lowe, Henry Holt and Company, $26