Books published by Renaissance Books

Aerosmith. Elvis Presley. Michael Jackson. Nine Inch Nails. Ozzy Osbourne. U2. What do all of these artists have in common? They're rich and rowdy rock 'n' roll renegades whose wild stunts, dumb quotes, and out-of-control lifestyles are featured in Rock Stars Do the Dumbest Things.--Where else will you find an explanation (goodness knows, we need one) of the Spice Girls' fourteen and one-half minutes of fame straight from the mouths of babes--Baby Spice, that is? "We're like a religious cult."--Or where will you learn Izzy Stradlin's (of Guns N' Roses) deep thoughts on the virtues of vomiting out of a bus going sixty-five miles an hour?--And how live octopuses end up in a bathtub with Led Zepplin's female playmates?Whether you're a Metallica or Madonna fan, you'll get plenty of jaw-dropping facts and anecdotes, along with biographical and career highlights of over eighty-eight raunchy rock 'n' rollers.From current starts like Marilyn Manson and Courtney Love, to classic rockers like the Rolling Stones and the Eagles, Rock Stars Do the Dumbest Things is proof that rock music is still crazy after all these years.

Meet the Mertzes is an expansive dual biography chronicling the lives of two of America''s most popular situation-comedy actors, William Frawley and Vivian Vance, who portrayed Fred and Ethel Mertz on I Love Lucy. This meticulously researched book contains interviews with Frawley''s and Vance''s colleagues, friends, and relatives, and explores their personal and professional lives before, during, and after I Love Lucy. With a complete filmography and videography of each, Meet the Mertzes finally sets the record straight on the lives and legacies of these compelling stars who detested one another.You''ll learn about:-Vance''s successful Broadway career prior to I Love Lucy-Frawley''s vaudevillian roots and his passion for baseball-Vance''s nervous breakdown after the collapse of her first marriage-Frawley''s drinking and carousing-Lucille Ball''s caustic relationship with both of her costars-Vance''s hatred of being known to the world as Ethel Mertz