Rating: 
Summary: Will to Power
Review: Reading Mr. Simmons' "Kiss and Make-Up," even the most churlish reader cannot but immediately grasp that he is the Baudelaire of his generation. Though never so despairing as his 19th century counterpart, Simmons nonetheless explores and exposes with refreshing candor the darkest impulses of the human spirit while affirming the life force of pure carnality.While the less perceptive observer may dismiss Simmons' work as masturbatory egoism, it instead reveals the realization of Nietzsche's Ubermensch. Maligned and misunderstood, the true Nietzschean "Over-Man" rejects conventional behavioral norms and aspires to self-authentication, self-affirmation. This man is Gene Simmons - Bohemian visionary, fearless poet, nimble entrepreneur, and voracious lover of life and women. Part Byronic hero and part Le Petomaine, Simmons, in "Kiss and Make-Up," offers the reader a glimpse of the redemptive power of debauchery.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but not informative
Review: As a Kiss fan since 1975, I've looked forward to a Gene Simmons autobiography for a long time. What I got was typical Gene, doing his ritualistic carnival barking with the help of a ghost writer. A shameless self-promoter, Gene is very good at making it seem as though he's in complete control, when in actuality, what I see in this book is someone trying desparately to impress the masses. Regardless of his posturing, Gene has always been a slave to the style of the day and I think a close examination of Kiss' history - along with his personal account - prove this. There's precious little in the way of "new" or "juicy" information in the book -- mostly just pro-Gene propoganda. The contiunous attacks against Ace Frehley and Peter Criss are so scathing, their validity becomes more and more questionable. Without a doubt, there are some entertaining moments and despite his obnoxious self-absorption I believe Gene to be a good role model as a rock star who neither drinks nor does drugs. However, the book reads more like a compilation of every Gene Simmons interview you've already read. He tries to negate Ace and Peter's obvious contributions to Kiss, boasts of his liasons, tells a bit about Diana Ross and Cher and - without really trying - reminds us over and over that a little bit of persistance and a whole lot of ego can take you a long way. That said, I recommend the book with the warning that what you'll read is a decidedly watered-down slant to what I'm sure is a far more interesting story.
Rating: 
Summary: Quick and entertaining read
Review: It's not often I read a book cover to cover in one day, this was one of the exceptions. Sure it may not be completely true, but Gene does come across as being very sincere & intelligent. It's hard to believe he's slept with so many women, in fact I think to be a rock star, a writer and composer, a businessman and an actor you would think Gene would have a problem with premature ejaculation and is using numbers to cover it up. Also another problem, to read the book you would think Kiss is the most important thing to happen to music history, sure they made some great albums in the 70s and a couple of good ones in the 80s. But they seem to have just taken their cue from Alice Cooper. Paul Stanley comes off as very intelligent as well, but Ace and Peter are pretty much depicted as useless, incompetant substance abusers. It seems very true. Just look at the later photos of them in the book, they look very ravaged, especially Ace. Anyway this is a good book, but Mr Simmons, though he seems like a good enough person suffers from megalomania nearly as severe as Barbara Striesand...Read it, enjoy it but don't accept it as the truth. So Gene swears it's true in the intro...
Rating:
Summary: More than I expected.
Review: I was expecting to see more of the same Gene Simmons that I have seen and heard in countless interviews and documentaries. Vain. Arrogant. Condesending. If you've seen Gene in print or video, you probably know what I'm talking about. The book however, is a very candid autobiography of not just Kiss the rock group, but Gene Simmons himself. I am an admitted Kiss fan, but there were things in the book that I had never heard before, little things about Genes life that you probably won't find anywhere else. Plus he spells out in no uncertain terms what the reasoning was behind the departure of Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, Mark St. John, and Vinnie Vincent. Also, refrefreshingly enough, he admits that he is in the Business (yes with a capitol B) of Rock and Roll. Yes, Kiss is a rock band, and in my opinion, a very good one. But it didn't happen by accident, and it didn't happen overnight, and Gene lays it all out, for good or ill. I was happily surprised and impressed with the candor in which he relates his story, as well as his discretion. He gives you enough information about what was going on without giving you the blow-by-blow account. Considering some of the subject matter, that was a classy touch. I'm refering to his relationships with Cher, Diana Ross, and Liza Minelli, and his current partner, the lovely Shannon Tweed. Some of his claims seem outlandish, and some seem as if he was just the right guy at the right place at the right time. Remember, this is an autobiography, and he tells his story well, in an almost conversational way. I reccomend this book for any Kiss fan, old or new. if you are just curious about Kiss and it's popularity, this book will explain it all.
Rating:
Summary: Well-written, but holes you could drive a truck through.
Review: Certainly an interesting book, but you really do notice the gaps where he left out explanations of things. For example, at the MTV Unplugged reunion, he says that their drummer and guitarist were very understanding and gracious about Ace and Peter coming back for an appearance, and he does say it came back to hurt them, but next thing you know, a page or two later, Ace and Peter are asked to come back, with no more explanation about why he and Paul turfed those two terrific team players Eric and Bruce, other than to say that it felt like 1974 again when Ace was with them. Probably the painful truth is that Kiss had nothing left as one of many technically competent, unpainted rock group in the 1990s, and their only salvation was re-inventing themselves as a 1970s tribute (to themselves) band, tapping into that huge market for Baby Boomers to remember the good old days and bring their kids along too. Why not, it works for the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, the Who, the Guess Who (in Canada anyway) and a lot of other bands. His comments on his childhood, his serious relationships, and on being a new father were well-written, but it'd be interesting to hear more about the music itself, inspiration behind songs, their decision to bring back Peter and Ace etc. From other peoples comments, it sounds like there was a lot more to the Eric Carr death (bills, replacing him etc.) than he wrote. He could cut out 20 pages by dropping a few hundred of the repetitive Ace/Peter-bashes and one-hour stands. It'd be interesting to hear rebuttals from Ace and Peter; I did hear a clip on the internet from a radio interview with Ace where he (in a very incoherent slur) cut down Gene, said he was sick of all the franchising, especially the Kiss Kasket coffins, and said the truth will come out when they all write their own books. I'm sure the truth lies somewhere in between, but he sure sounds like a selfish jerk in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Lord, will you just shut up already?
Review: If Gene's mission is to destroy Kiss . ..Nice Goin' Pal! Mission accomplished! No matter how many times this ego-driven lunkhead slams Ace & Peter (and no matter how ignorant he seems to be to the fact that the true Kiss fans he claims to serve are sickened each time he does so), the rest of us know a simple truth that continues to elude ol' Cod Piece himself: Ace, Peter, Paul and Gene are Kiss. Very simple equation. Only these four parts equal the whole. Learn it, Gene, or just shut up already, will ya?
Rating:
Summary: Here's what's missing...
Review: Peter Criss played on only one song on "Psycho Circus" which was not a group effort by any stretch. Mainly a cash cow for Gene & Paul. How about what another reviewer mentioned...abandoning Eric Carr in his final weeks. The only real winner is Gene's bank account.
Rating:
Summary: More to come..and come..and come!
Review: It figures that Gene Simmons has another book all ready to come out. Kiss:The Early Years. In typical Gene fashion instead of combining the two books into one GREAT tome he's putting out two sub-par books and making twice as much money. And let's face it, money is ALL he cares about.
Rating:
Summary: Not A Tell All...
Review: Hum...this book does not mention how Gene & Paul abandon Eric Carr and refused to pay his medical bills? Or how the screwed over Bruce Kulick? How Ace played alot of Gene's bass parts on the earlier albums? Ask any rock fan, Ace's guitar is KISS.
Rating:
Summary: Salient.
Review: I couldn't have a more salient feeling of aversion when I came to the festivities. It's nothing like a roller coaster. It is more akin to the feeling of intense extremes. I couldn't verbalize a clearer impression if I were to meet the author face to face. This thing makes me feel good in my loins; it makes me wonder whether thinking is possible. Everyone has been duped haven't they?
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