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It's all about the power.
Simmons on Simmons
An interesting biography becomes a slam piece
Rock Forth GENE!!
Delusional...

KISS and Make-up
Gene Simmons
Manufacturer: Crown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 060960855X
Release Date: 2001-12-04

Book Description

You wanted the truth, you got the truth—the hottest book in the world!

Fueled by an explosive mix of makeup, costumes, and attitude, KISS burst onto the music scene thirty years ago and has become a rock institution. The band has sold more than eighty million records, has broken every concert attendance record set by Elvis Presley and the Beatles, stands behind the Beatles alone in number of gold records from any group in history, and has spawned more than 2,500 licenses.

There would have been no KISS without Gene Simmons, the outrageous star whose superlong tongue, legendary sexual exploits, and demonic makeup have made him a rock icon. KISS and Make-Up is the wild, shocking, unbelievable story, from the man himself, about how an immigrant boy from Israel studied to be a rabbi, was saved by rock and roll, and became one of the most notorious rock stars the world has ever seen.
Before Gene Simmons there was Chaim Witz, a boy from Haifa, Israel, who had no inkling of the life that lay ahead of him. In vivid detail Gene recounts his childhood growing up in Haifa under the watchful eye of his beloved, strong-willed mother, a concentration camp survivor; his adolescent years attending a Jewish theological center for rabbinical studies in Brooklyn; his love of all things American, including comic books, superheroes, and cowboys; and his early fascination with girls and sex, which prompted him to start a rock band in school after he saw the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show.

KISS and Make-Up is not just the classic story of achieving the American dream through the eyes of an immigrant boy making good, but a juicy, rollicking rock and roll read that takes you along for the ride of your life with KISS, from the 1970s, when they were the biggest band in the world, through the ’80s, when they took off their world-famous war paint, and into the ’90s, when they came back bigger and badder than ever to become the number one touring band in the world.

In his own irreverent, unapologetic voice, Gene talks about the girls (4,600 of them and counting); his tight bond with KISS cofounder Paul Stanley; the struggles he and Paul had with Ace Frehley and Peter Criss and their departures from the group; the new band members and Eric Carr’s untimely death; the enormous love and affection he has for the people who put him there in the first place—the KISS Army and the ever-loyal KISS fans around the world; his love life, including stories about his relationships with Cher and Diana Ross and with Shannon Tweed, Playmate of the Year, mother of his son and daughter, and his companion of eighteen years; and much more.

Full of dozens of photographs, many never-before-seen pictures from Gene’s private collection, KISS and Make-Up is a surprising, intimate look at the man behind the mask. For the first time Gene reveals all the facets of his complex personality—son, rock star, actor, record producer, businessman, ladies’ man, devoted father, and now author.

Customer Reviews:

It's all about the power........2007-01-10

I've never heard Kiss music; I first learned about Gene Simmons from his "Family Jewels" TV show, which I liked. It showed him to be a loving family man and I was curious to know more, so I listened to his audio book, "Kiss and Make-up." It was fascinating. One needn't be a fan to appreciate his strong hard work and unprecedented success. He was born in Israel and came with his mother to America at age 9. As a lonely boy he loved superhero comic books, because superheros were powerful, and that is what he wanted to be. He had the boundless love and encouragement of his mother and started playing in bands as a teenager. One thing led to another and his Kiss band became a worldwide phenomenon.

He devotes much of the book to his legendary conquests of women, from groupies to Cher and Diana Ross. His relationships with bandmates is also discussed at length. His reading voice is a monotone, but the story is so interesting that one hangs on his every word. A shrewd businessman and tireless entertainer, Simmons has truly acquired the power he always wanted. This is a must for Gene's old fans and for new fans, like me.

Simmons on Simmons.......2006-12-02

Gene's book isn't just his side of the KISS story, but it's an attempt at an honest autobiography. Honest is a relative term here, as Gene's entire life has been about bluster and bluff and the art of deception, and so one approaches this book a little warily but hoping for the best, taking a shot at wading through the giant swamp of ego and self-congratulation that is the Simmons style in quest of some real knowledge.

As regards his take on KISS, I had hoped for a lot more road stories, stuff on the songs themselves, and some kind of honesty about the relative levels of success at various times. He does gripe about Peter Criss and Ace Frehley, as who wouldn't?, but there's not a whole lot of credit for much of the stuff Ace did right. Ace's contribution to the band's sound is brick-on-the-head obvious if you compare the early LPs with anything from the 80s. How sad. But anyhow, Gene's relationship with Paul Stanley, which is now at 40 years and counting, gets very little ink. There is no acknowledgement of just how far financially things had gone south by the late 80s, and nothing about the switching of management and agents. Gene has trouble dealing with people as actual people and not merely tools to be manipulated on his way to his idea of success. So the stuff on KISS was, to me, an incomplete and very shallow treatment, a disappointment.

Gene's writing about his family, on the other hand, was often touching and came off as thoughtful and sincere. Yes, there's the bluster about how no woman will tie him down, yada yada yada, but his love and respect for his mother is noble (but his being raised an only child to a single mother with little money and having to learn a new language in his youth goes a long way to explaining everything since then). Likewise, he treats Cher and Diana Ross and now Shannon Tweed with tact and discretion. Finally, his love for his children, which apparently surprised even him, is uplifting and positive.

There is a bit of self-help advice about work, living soberly andfrugally, taking care of business yourself, and keeping one's eye on the ball at all times. None of this is bad advice. The way Gene dispenses it can be annoying sometimes.

The stuff on the girls over the years is just what one would expect; if anything, Gene takes himself less seriously here than elsewhere, as there are funny stories about the truly ugly or superannuated that often shared his bed or couch or breakfast table or car.

The book was worth reading but frankly could have been much better. Those looking for the definitive story of KISS should look elsewhere.

An interesting biography becomes a slam piece.......2006-11-13

Gene Simmons' autobiography, Kiss and Make-up, starts out as an interesting read but then becomes very frustrating. Anyone familiar with Simmons knows he has a tremendous ego and that ego is in full force here. Born Chaim Witz in Israel, Simmons was born in poverty and was raised primarily by his mother, a strong willed woman who survived the concentration camps that claimed most of her family's lives. Based on this, you could see where Simmons obtained his will to succeed. Simmons, along with Paul Stanley, saw a vision for Kiss and their work ethic, business savvy, and determination are to be commended. Fortunately, Gene doesn't take all the credit as he gives much respect to those who helped them achieve their goal such as Bill Aucoin, Sean Delaney, Neil and Joyce Bogart, Bob Ezrin, and many others. However, the more you read the book, the more it becomes a slam piece against original Kiss members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. As noted in the book, the band was a democracy as the quartet shared the profits equally. Sure, Gene and Paul carried the load and probably deserved profits more suited to their contributions. However, the continuous slamming of Frehley and Criss makes Simmons sound like a bitter man. He's also off on a couple facts about the band such as Bon Jovi being the opening act on Kiss' 1980 European tour (Bon Jovi didn't form until 1983) and the fact that they followed the hair metal trend of the early 1980's when, in reality, hair metal didn't really take hold until a couple years later. The book certainly is not without merit as the chapters chronicling his childhood, Kiss' early years, his relationships with Cher and Diana Ross, the making of their Destroyer album, and the death of Eric Carr, are very intriguing. All told, Kiss and Make-up is a decent read that would have been better if not for the constant criticism of Frehley and Criss.

Rock Forth GENE!!.......2006-10-19

KISS was the type of band (is the type of band) that you don't simply flirt with, you either completely buy into their majesty or call it schlock and walk on past. I chose the majesty and I have never regretted it. Great songs, with hooks, both vocal and musical. I am one of those fans who appreciated their later incarnations but found the original four talents my favorite. Gene's book allowed me backstage into the world of the actual acrimony that hung over the band. Although I learned alot about the not-so-swell side of the band, I still loved reading about it because, that's life folks, it's not all glitter and hi-fives. Sometimes it's ugly and I am happy that Gene was willing to be (I'll assume) honest. He doesn't seem eager to tell us any failures that he has produced, instead it is more complimentary when it comes to him. I honestly think however, after reading this book, that there might have been a KISS if Gene wasn't so savvy, but they wouldn't have hit it as big as they did. Love ya Demon ,

Curtis Earth

Delusional..........2006-08-27

Entertaining "self-pat" reading of a narcissist celebrity who knows how to live life his way, to the limit... a chock-full of sex, money, power and more sex (what else is new in the history of mankind!). Of course Simmons' life has the merit of writing an autobiography, and as fan (back to when I was a child/teenager) I enjoyed much of the book. Yet it gets annoying half-way through after his repeated rants against Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. Quite frankly, despite his fame and wealth, Simmons' is nothing more than a cartoon-like hero in the rock'n'roll world.

Despite any achievement KISS, Mr. Simmons, Gene Klein, Chaim Witz, the Demon, the God of Thunder or whomever may have had accomplished, any person who keeps on repeating himself that his rock band was at least as good as The Beatles is frankly delusional, if not plain stupid.

Furthermore, Simmons doesn't do his credibility any favors when he says that their '75 Alive! album had almost no overdubs... especially when the entire world saw otherwise in that old VH1 Classic show, "the Making of Kiss' Alive!" album. $immon$ writes so self confidently, yet he can't deal with the fact that Ace's solo album was much superior than his, and that it also proved that the Space Ace was the real musical power behind Kiss.

Following the tradition of Simmons' life-motto, I bought a dirt-cheap copy of his book, as he strongly advices us that "only losers would spend money on something they don't need". Thanks Gene!

Kiss and Make Up (Diary of a Crush, Book 2)

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Good!
Loved it
Read this book in a day, thats how good it is!

Kiss and Make Up (Diary of a Crush, Book 2)
Sarra Manning
Manufacturer: Puffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0142406422

Book Description

It's sizzling summertime, and Edie can't wait for the partying to start. Trying to forget about the dastardly Dylan, Edie's taking her new squeeze Carter to the Glastonbury music festival to have some fun. But guess who's there already, looking totally gorgeous? That's right . . .

Customer Reviews:

Good!.......2007-03-07

It is the continuing story of Dylan and Edde. They are constantly fighting and then making up. I am glad with what happens in the end. I am excited for this story to continue.

Loved it.......2006-07-27

I've read all 3 books in the Diary of a Crush series. With number 1 & 3 being my favorite ones. This is the second one and I still love it even though it's my least favorite in the series. (WARNING: Don't read this part if you haven't read the first book in the series: French Kiss)

Even though everything seems ok at the end of the 1st book, things don't stay that way. Edie and Dylan are having major relationship problems and then it comes down to the point where something major happens and Dylan & Edie break up.

But that is just only the beginning. Later, when she returns from a summer apart from Dylan, she finds out that everything had changed. Dylan is now dating the queen of evil Veronique, Shona gets closer to Veronique and stops hanging out w/ Edie,and Edie is trying to get through life. Even though Dylan is with someone else, he still wants Edie as a friend and Edie accepts but of course it can't be that easy! More conflict occurs.

I'm not giving the whole thing away so go read it!! I have to admit that I really did like this one but it's just not as strong as the 1 & 2 of the DOAC series.

Read this book in a day, thats how good it is!.......2006-06-23

After reading the first book (French Kiss) I ran right out and bought this book. I read this whole book in one day because I couldn't put it down. The romance of Edie and Dylan just sucks you in and you have to know which direction they are going to go in next.

$Bootcamp: Kiss And Make Up\Sugar And Spikes\Flirting With An Old Flame (Harlequin Signature Select)$
Average customer rating:

Not Enough Bootcamp
three lighthearted fast-paced romps

Bootcamp: Kiss And Make Up\Sugar And Spikes\Flirting With An Old Flame (Harlequin Signature Select)
Leslie Kelly , Heather Macallister , and Cindi Myers
Manufacturer: Harlequin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0373836880

Book Description

Warfield Bootcamp: A two-week cure for a love life gone AWOL . . .

Trainee #1: Poor Little Heiress
There's no way Cassandra Devane can get her love life to stand at attention. She just keeps dating the wrong guys. Her only chance is to face her enemy -- er, make that ex-husband -- head-on. And she'll get right on that . . . once she's out of his bed.

Trainee #2: The "Iron Lady"
Rebecca Ironwood is a successful businesswoman who's lost touch with men. And everyone else, for that matter. What she needs is just a teeny bit of softening up and some reconnaissance work. And maybe a little extra nudge-nudge with a certain employee . . .

Trainee #3: From Country Bumpkin to Urban Sophisticate
Barbara Powers knows all about image. She's her own best example. But when she returns to her hometown, all she can think about -- and scope out -- is the one guy who didn't want to be fixed.

Customer Reviews:

Not Enough Bootcamp.......2007-03-07

I found this book to be quite predictable. Everyone ends up with the person you know that they are going to. It was pretty boring and I found that I was reading it but not taking it in. All of the stories could be better if they were their own 200 page book instead of 1/3 of that. The title is Bootcamp yet there were probably only 10 pages (at most) that took place at the camp. Overall I didn't like this book and I thought it was pretty predictable and corny.

three lighthearted fast-paced romps .......2006-03-17

Three women attend Warfield Bootcamp on a two-week tour to lean how to deal with relationships since their love life has deserted them.

"Kiss and Make Up" by Leslie Kelly. Heiress Cassandra and her former spouse Wyatt allowed their family to break them apart. Since then Cass has dated losers. She decides that the only way to move on is to do an about face with Wyatt.

"Sugar and Spikes" by Heather MacAllister. Rebecca "Iron Lady" Ironwood has earned her nickname because no one is colder than this armor plated businesswoman. She was fine with that until Cy Benedict entered her life. Now she wonders if she can be a business warrior and a lover too.

"Flirting with an Old Flame" by Cindi Myers. Barbara Powers left Cut and Shoot, Texas to become a successful California CEO. Now she returns home as a sophisticate, but it is local yokel Scott Cadent that makes her want to shed her power suits.

These are three lighthearted fast-paced romps starring strong women needing more in their lives so they become "trainees" in love seeking men who can provide instruction of the heart and accept their beloved are vigorous independent females.

Harriet Klausner

Average customer rating:

Kiss and Make Up
T.P. Turner
Manufacturer: Tandem Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: School & Library Binding

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ASIN: 0785749616

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Make Up and Kiss
Sam Fuller
Manufacturer: Godwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H50BL6

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KISS AND MAKE UP (Loveswept, No 678)
Judy Gill
Manufacturer: Loveswept
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0553442635
Release Date: 1994-03-01

Kiss-or-miss soiree: No doubt about it--you're a social gal. But, just what is up with this whole make-out party thing? (GL Guys).: An article from: Girls' Life

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Kiss-or-miss soiree: No doubt about it--you're a social gal. But, just what is up with this whole make-out party thing? (GL Guys).: An article from: Girls' Life
Sharon Schatz Rosenthal
Manufacturer: Monarch Avalon, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008EPNBO
Release Date: 2005-07-29

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Girls' Life, published by Monarch Avalon, Inc. on February 1, 2002. The length of the article is 1376 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Kiss-or-miss soiree: No doubt about it--you're a social gal. But, just what is up with this whole make-out party thing? (GL Guys).
Author: Sharon Schatz Rosenthal
Publication: Girls' Life (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 1, 2002
Publisher: Monarch Avalon, Inc.
Volume: 8 Issue: 4 Page: 30(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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KISS AND MAKE UP (Seniors No 13)
Eileen Goudge
Manufacturer: Laurel Leaf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0440945143
Release Date: 1985-12-01

Average customer rating:

I felt like I was there - Impulsive reading. Go on, you won't put it down.

Kiss & Make up
Kevin Leslie
Manufacturer: Grosvenor House Publishing Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 190552918X

Book Description

Daniel hasn't seen or spoken to his mother for many years; not since he told her that he was gay. Since then he has had many lovers and almost as many friends but when at the age of 33 he is told that he has only a short time to live, it is to her that he turns. However, when he tries to make contact, fate has a cruel blow to deal him. From the perspective of losing everything that he values, he tries to make sense of the incredible highs and lows of his short life and realises that the love of his mother is very important to him. To see if she loves him too, Daniel asks her to prove it in a very unusual way.

Customer Reviews:

I felt like I was there - Impulsive reading. Go on, you won't put it down........2006-08-16

Gay, public schoolboy discovers that life is not all sequins and light as he moves from experimental boyhood to performing young man. A turbulent relationship with his mother holds you from the first chapter which propells the reader from page to page after realising that he is suffering from an incureable disease. The book encapsulates every emotion from hilarious antics to tears and back again. Follow the hopes and dreams of this exceptional young mans' sexual, professional and emotional exploits culminating in an exeptional twist. Being a 60's boy I instantly connected with the disco, balls (mirror) and drag shows. Great book.

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Kiss or Make up, a Comedy in three Acts
Jack Sharkey
Manufacturer: Samuel French Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HZJTDW

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