I've been a huge Kiss fan since 1976. Like most fans, the original band line-up is my favorite. This is the best book about Kiss I have ever read, and I've read several. I like that it consists mainly of interviews and quotes from the band members, producers, studio musicians, management, and others very close to the band. Extremely in-depth with the people who were there at the time, a lot of facts--but you have to check who is saying it so you get the proper perspective. The first section of the book is an extensive interview from 1979, and it is very interesting to read, especially in hindsight. The third and final section is a comprehensive album-by-album track-by-track analysis, again by the band themselves, contributing song writers and musicians, producers, and engineers. In between, the second section gives a nice overview of the period between the break up (when Ace and Peter left) in the early 1980s through the reunion in 1996. I liked this book enough to re-read section 3 twice back-to-back. It's THAT good. I found the comments throughout the book from Peter Criss particularly compelling, because I didn't know he was so arrogant and had the biggest ego in the band (yes even more than Gene Simmons if that's possible)! Highly recommended book for Kiss fans.

I purchased a used hardcover copy here on Amazon at a very low price.

I'll have to admit that it was with great trepidation that I started this book because often the term "authorized biography" is code for simply a white wash hagiography. And given Gene Simmons' iron-fisted control over the group's image and rep, I was prepared for the worst.

Amazingly, it turned out completely opposite. It is an honest, warts-and-all look at the band, their personalities, and their music bouyed by the fact that many, many voices (including all four original members) get their fair say. Even if they contradict each other.

The structures is fascinating. The first portion is an untouched and unpublished KISS bio from the late '70s, the second an oral history bringing the story up to date, and the third an album-by-album, song-by-song overview of the catalog.

Lots of stories and information I never knew before, written well and with the true eye to detail that a hardcore fan would appreciate. I learned so much about the band, their personalities, the business side, the inspiration behind the music...I can't recommend this book enough.

KISS:behind the mask is by far the most detailed KISS biography made up to this point.The first part written by David Leaf was originaly written years ago but was never released until not too long ago as co-author Ken Sharp read the original script and wanted to have it released so KISS fan could read this biography.

The book is the most detailed book ever made on KISS all you need to know is here.From the beggening to the reunion,its all covered.You get to know things like what happened at Ace and Peter`s auditions how they meet , the hard way to make a record,the wicked lester era ,ratings on albums and much,much more.

You think you know everithing of course but this book has imformation you dont have.They go behind each records they made and tell the stories behind each song wrote and what happened during the records.They have the members talk about the records the production and more and its really cool to know what are their toughts about the albums as they give ratings.

What i like is the first chapters focusing on one member ex:chap 1 is gene.They talk about their childhood what interrested them in the musical scene their background where they lived.I like when Peter talks about him,how he was badly treated at catholic school that he was in a gang,he took drum lessons from gene krupa ect.Thats a really interresting part the first chapters alone are great.

There is also places where rock stars talk about KISS and give commentaries on them and stuff for exemple the ramones gave comentaries about them,the who and many others.Also they really go to the early days like the first show,first demo and the makeup begening.Also they talk about effects such as the smoking guitar and such.

The book is long as it has about 400 pages but is worth reading for all the imformation it has and is a great reading as it is the hotest book in the world about the hotest band in the world.

Overral:5 stars easyly the best KISS book out there if you wanna buy a KISS book then buy this one there are a lot out there but this one is a great one.It has everithing a KISS fan needs to know and more overral this is highly recommended.

The first portion of this book by David Leaf, who also authored the fine Beach Boys biography "Heroes And Villains", dates from 1979. Unpublished, it wasn't until meeting with Ken Sharp that the two authors created a unique volume of one of rock and roll's most popular and intriquing bands, KISS.
At the foreward, we're warned to put the book down NOW if we aren't fans of the band. That statement explains a lot - very few people straddled the fence concerning KISS, especially in their late '70's heyday. It was love or hate, but with their high visibility, cartoon image that worked very well in pre-MTV America, great rock and roll (which so many critics refused to acknowledge out of embarassment rather than fact) and a live show that was mythical, KISS commanded enough fans to call it an Army. Some of us "Army" veterans still love them, myself included.
It's not possible in a short time to explain how much this band meant to me, a horribly depressed unhappy teenager in a school of rednecks and bullies who treated anybody who wasn't a jock and a native of the little town I lived in like a punching bag.
I was in desperate search of escape wherever I could find it, and after hearing "Double Platinum" I found my heroes, musical and mythical. As a lover of rock, the harder the better, KISS taught the basics of two guitars, bass and drums. I am a guitarist and still love to thrash out "Strutter" or "She" with my college age nephews, who also know great rock when they hear it. Plus, the image helped me to involve myself in another world, which I needed just to survive.
Now, after all these years, at a crusty old 45 years old, I listen to a world of music of all types except rap, country and opera. The four masked men are well represented in my collection, including all four solo albums.
"KISS: Behind The Mask" is for those who loved the band as I did. The members themselves provide tons of anecdotal comments, very honest, sometimes pointed, but overall factual without malice or spin. Others in the inner circle, such as manager Bill Aucoin, Sean Delaney, Anton Fig, who drummed on "Dynasty" with the exception of Peter Criss' "Dirty Living", and all of "Unmasked", and publicist Carol Kaye provide insider's looks at the personalities, the business, and successes, along with failures.
We also get a cut by cut visit with all the KISS albums, classic and later period line-up. The band seems hardest on "Music From The Elder", which really is quite a fine album with the passage of time, fondest of "Destroyer" and "Alive".
It's a must have for KISS fans and a great read for anybody interested in the story of one of rock's greatest bands of all time.

KISS: Behind The Mask (2003.)

INTRODUCTION:
Over the years, KISS has consistently been one of the world's finest rock and roll bands around. With their career spanning several decades, the group has always remained an excellent one, despite numerous style and band formation changes. It really isn't hard to see why the classic rockers are so widely loved by fans all around the world. Over the years, many KISS books have been released, but they are often infamous for their hit and miss reputations. 2003 saw the release of Behind The Mask, the official authorized biography of KISS, written by David Leaf and Ken Sharp. How does the band's official biography measure up? Keep reading to find out!

OVERVIEW:
KISS: Behind The Mask is the authorized biography from KISS. The book was written by David Leaf and Ken Sharp, and released in 2003. It features three main sections - one chronicling the band's rise to power in the seventies, one about their eighties period in which they changed band members and the following era in which they got back the classic members, and one in which the band members give comments on their own musical work, album by album and in many cases, track by track. The three sections are broken into seventeen chapters. As a whole, the book features over four hundred pages, as well as a few color picture pages.

REVIEW:
If you look at the front and back covers of this album, you're going to see some comments that heavily praise the book. And once I gave it a read, it wasn't hard to see where these comments came from. This book gives you everything you ever wanted to know about KISS and then some! In addition to the obvious, mandatory comments from the band members and producers, you get comments from numerous other famous musicians on their feelings about the band - and these are extremely interesting to read. Even Marvel Comics creator Stan Lee has comments on the time he first met Gene Simmons! The first section of the book is the one that is most going to appeal to people who want to see the band's musical beginnings, and the origins of the group. There is a wealth of information being thrown at you from a plethora of sources, and you'll learn pretty much exactly what you want to. The second section will greatly appeal to die-hard fans of the band, chronicling the band's often overlooked eighties and early nineties period. These eras are often forgotten by listeners of the band, but it's great to see this book isn't one of those sources that forgets about this lost age! The interviews and comments on the classic band reunion were also nice. But the part of this book that appealed to be most of all was the third and final section, in which the band goes through every release of theirs, many times track by track, giving comments on the individual songs. It's the music that counts, and it was awesome to read comments on all of the pieces the band did. I have a few minor issues with the book, but nothing serious. My only major complaint is that they didn't include pictures of the album covers. But next to the big picture, that's a little flaw. In the end, Behind The Mask is exactly what the quote from the Washington Post on the cover says it is - "The essential book about KISS."

Overall, this book is extremely satisflying. If you are at all a fan of KISS, you definitely need to pick this one up. Even if you're a die-hard fan already, you're going to learn a few new things here. And if you're into the band but never really heard stories from the band, this book will give you all the stories you could ever want - and a whole lot more. Final verdict? If you like KISS, buy this book. Highly recommended!

EDITION NOTES:
This is the most popular book about KISS on the market these days, and as such, it isn't surprising at all to see that the book remains readily available in just about every major bookstore. If you want this book, chances are you aren't going to have to look too hard for it.