QUICK TAKES - Sept. 26, 2009

Pop star Michael Jackson feared the ravages of old age, sought the company of sycophants and appeared to be abusing prescription drugs and cosmetic surgery nearly a decade before his death, according to a new book by a former advisor.

“The Michael Jackson Tapes” breaks little in the way of new ground, but the book by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, based on 30 hours of taped interviews, provides firsthand detail about the performer’s excesses and obsessions. “I don’t want to be seen now,” Jackson confessed. “Because I am like a lizard. It is horrible.” Jackson died June 25 at age 50.