<b >The instant <i >New York Times</i> bestseller: the lead singer of the Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver delivers an exhilarating memoir of scaling the pinnacle of rock stardom, plunging into the chasm of addiction and incarceration, and then clawing his way back to the top again and again.</b><P>In the early 1990s, Stone Temple Pilots—not U2, not Nirvana, not Pearl Jam—was the hottest band in the world. STP surpassed such megabands as Aerosmith and Motley Crue on MTV and the Billboard charts. Lead singer Scott Weiland became an iconic frontman in the tradition of Mick Jagger, Ozzy Osbourne, and Robert Plant.<P>     Then, when the band imploded, it was Weiland who emerged as the emblem of rock star excess, with his well-publicized drug busts and trips to rehab. Weiland has since made a series of stunning comebacks, leading the Velvet Revolver, releasing solo work, and, most recently, reuniting with Stone Temple Pilots. He still struggles with addiction, but he has prevailed as a loving, dedicated father, as well as a business-savvy artist whose well of creativity is far from empty.<P>     Weiland's memoir explores his early years as an altar boy right along with his first experiences with sex and drugs. Weiland discusses his complex relationships with his parents, stepfather, siblings, and the love of his life, Mary Forsberg Weiland. Readers learn the fascinating stories behind his most wellknown songs and what it was like to come of age musically in the grunge phenomenon. <I>Not Dead & Not for Sale</i> is a hard rock memoir to be reckoned with—a passionate, insightful, and at times humorous book that reads with extraordinary narrative force.