Ladies of the Night: An Historical and Personal Perspective of the Oldest Profession »

Known as the fire breathing, blood splitting and larger than life co-founders of hard rock super group KISS, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley founded the band in the early 1970s. Since then, KISS has gone on to sell over 80 million albums and to perform over 2,000 shows around the world. Currently preparing their new album, the band is still touring and performing today. Gene Simmons also stars in A&E's hit reality show, Family Jewels.

Beautifully illustrated in lush, one-of-a-kind binding, Ladies of the Night offers a fresh look at the history of the "world's oldest profession" as seen through the eyes of rock legend - and renowned ladies' man - Gene Simmons. A man who proudly boasts experiencing more than 4,800 sexual encounters in his lifetime, Simmons is perfectly suited to document the one profession that has been embroiled in controversy throughout history as we know it. "In good times and in bad times," Simmons writes, "ladies of the night will always do well."

Publishers Weekly

Simmons, the fire-breathing leader of rock icon Kiss-who once bragged that he had bedded more than a thousand women-delivers an entertaining if sometimes simplistic short overview of prostitution. Simmons (Kiss and Make-up) manages to work into his narrative both the Greek philosopher Diogenes and Nevada's Moonlight Bunny Ranch brothel. Other than the occasional sex joke, Simmons is serious about giving his subject its historical due, stating upfront, "I am not here to judge women's personal choices or how they choose to empower themselves." The book doesn't cover what Simmons admits is "the dark side of prostitution," focusing primarily on one of his favorite issues: money. Since "throughout history, women have never had access to power," Simmons argues that prostitution has been a way for women to "monetize" the "only thing that women have ever owned." Using numerous famous illustrations (e.g., William Hogarth's 18th-century painting A Harlot's Progress), Simmons and coauthor McCarron support this argument by adroitly exploring a range of topics: Sumerian goddess of sexuality Ishtar; the adulterous "jara and jatini" of ancient India; legal prostitution in Amsterdam's "toleration zones"; and Theodora, wife of Roman emperor Justinian, who Simmons considers "the very first prostitution reformer." All this from the man who once wrote a song on the Kiss album Love Gun titled "Got Love for Sale." (July)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.