Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious, Honest, and Totally Inappropriate
Review: Dan Savage has given the world a delightfully wicked tale of his trip across America, as he takes the reader through his attempt to commit the Seven Deadly Sins: Greed; Lust; Sloth; Gluttony; Envy; Pride; and Anger. For each sin, Dan introduces the reader to people who have embraced the sin wholeheartedly. Or more appropriately, shows the reader people who don't think the sin is really a sin. To the sensitive reader, BEWARE, as some if not all of the tales are quite shocking. To everyone else, be prepared to double up with laughter at Dan's totally inappropriate, insensitive, and awful sense of humor. [Despite being appalled at some of the stories, I often had to bite my tongue and wipe my tears away as I was laughing so hard on the Metro. Doesn't say much for me being the sensitive guy most folks take me for!]In all honesty, I did not run out to get this book, and probably never would have read it except that my boyfriend recommended it to me. Let's face it . . . a book that flaunts the fact that the author purposefully decided to indulge in sin (whether or not you believe they are sins) just has a bad ring to it. [Although that's also a big draw to those of us who are a little upset with the religious establishment.] Before you judge it, however, you should realize it is much more than that. Mr. Savage provides facts about each sin, how it has been and is treated in society and politics, and the groups who "celebrate" the sin, including gays, gamblers, swingers, rich folks, and the National Association for the Advancement of Fat Acceptance. He provides commentary to dispel or just counter myths and information promulgated by right-wing virtuecrats as well as some liberals. It's truly a wonderful read, whether as pure entertainment or as a commentary on certain aspects of American society that most folks try to ignore. This is definitely a book I will NOT recommend to my family. Even those that are almost as liberal in their thinking as I am would have a hard time swallowing this much honesty. But to those out there who don't mind being shocked and offended by honest humor about touchy subjects, I would say pick it up and give it a go. It's definitely a wild read!!
Rating:
Summary: OH I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH
Review: this is one of the best books I've ever read, very smart and hugely funny. the few negative reviews on here either split hairs or miss it altogether. I especially like the misspelled one that says he didn't even read it. I won't add much else, so many other reviewers say more than I could, and better
even just read the intro; Scalia and Bork literally think "the pursuit of happiness" isn't really meant to be taken literally
and there's a bill to repeal the 22nd amendment, limiting presidential terms to two.
This planet needs this book, there's not a minute to spare Try Ken Smith's Guide to the Bible for additional fun
Rating:
Summary: Bad-Boy Savage Tells It Like It Is!
Review: Dan Savage has made a name for himself with his weekly column, "Savage Love" by answering endless questions about sex, love and relationships. He's created a vast following with so many people because he listens with an open mind and then replies with honesty, intelligence, common sense, humor, and at times a fatherly voice. This book will come as no surprise to most of his familiar readers; it's a sort of travelogue that sticks it to the likes of Bill Bennett and Dr. Laura and others, who have labeled most of the things he talks about in this book, evil and degenerate. It's all about what Savage calls the seven deadly sins, and he pursues them with a vengeance in these seven chapters. He takes ecstasy at a gay Pride parade, gets Gluttonous at a fat groups buffet, learns lessons in Lust from a swinging couple, and learns Envy when he meets the rich and beautiful at an ultra-spa. That's just four of the seven deadly sins, wait to you read about Greed, Sloth, and Anger.
Savage writes, "One man's moral and aesthetic pollution may be central to another man's pursuit of happiness". How right he is. And maybe he's right when he argues that this country would save a lot of money and aggravation if they authorized and regulated certain vices instead of outlawing them. Savage makes a lot of good points. You can't help but agree with a lot he has to say. If you're tired of listening to all the nagging, proper, "Virtue" people out there who want to control every personal move you make, give this book a listen, and hear what the other side of logic has to say for a change! Highly Recommended! Joe Hanssen
Rating: 
Summary: Disgusting Beyond Belief!
Review: As all of us watch the frightening state of current world affairs and ponder its effect on our personal lives, surely any thinking individual would also think upon how the human race ever arrived at this state. It did not happen in a vacuum, but rather with the consent, spoken or unspoken, of every man, woman and child on this planet, both past and present. While it may sound very "uncool", the reason is so simple that it escapes the average Mountain Dew-remote control addicted American. We have simply failed to follow our Creator's laws. Quite frankly, it makes me sick to see a man who obviously considers himself to be intelligent and witty extolling the virtues of wretched excess. It is no laughing matter. Mr. Savage is clearly off the scale in terms of spiritual development, and the use he makes of his God-given talents is nothing short of diabolical. Witty? BREEZY?!! I DON'T THINK SO!! Exploitation of our current degraded culture and saying what people want to hear to turn a buck is more like it. Am I a "virueist"? Absolutely, with no apologies. May God have mercy on his soul and on the soul of anyone who thinks that this piece of trash is great reading. I would not even honor this junk with space in my garbage can. Freedom of speech and of the press are very precious commodities, but they also come with responsibilities. Mr. Savage has clearly stepped over the line into the realm of social irresponsibility, and anybody with a brain in their heads needs to think twice before ordering this item, even if only for curiousity's sake. To put a single dollar into the hands of this author and his publisher is to enable him. I choose to vote with my feet/modem and my wallet. While the title was enticing and I had full intentions of ordering it, after reading the reviews, I was thoroughly disgusted. So, sinners of America, sin on - it is your right and I would not dream of attempting to curtail your pursuit of pleasure.
Rating:
Summary: Let Freedom Reign!
Review: Savage knocks home an important point in this book. We all have a right to be happy as long as we're not hurting anyone in the process (except maybe ourselves). Conservatives are certainly entitled to their opinions on how people should live their lives. But that doesn't mean the rest of us have to listen to them. Funny, interesting stuff from a funny, interesting man.
Two other books with antiestablishment tones you may also enjoy are NO ONE'S EVEN BLEEDING and DELANO
Rating: 
Summary: Live and Let Live
Review: I received this as a Christmas gift and eagerly finished it winthin a day. Having read "Savage Love" often, I was curious to hear Mr. Savage's uptake on the 'virtuecrats'. Although I myself don't choose many of the habits that were mentioned in the book, my choice in lifestyle or past events would be cause for alarm by the Dr. Laura's and yet how does that hurt anyone? That was the point I truly appreciated in this book. Persons who choose the sins that are bringing America to the wasteland the virtuecrats feel it is, don't push them on others, and yet the majority of America has to sit idly by as we are told how to live, what to do in our personal lives. My only cause for concern is the "he says, she says" attitude. If Robert Bork says one thing, Mr. Savage countered with its anti-thesis but didn't provide an alternative. I did take to heart one thing I hope to implement in my personal life and that is to be active in voicing my opinion. The opinions I hear on a daily basis are certainly not ones that I either solicit or agree to. Those who want radical changes have to be the ones to set the wheel in motion and I plan on being behind the wheel and give it a push!
Rating: 
Summary: Funny, but no match for Savage Love
Review: Superlatives quickly come to mind when I think of how to describe Dan Savage's sex advice column "Savage Love." He is by far the funniest, raunchiest, most honest, most daring, and most entertaining of the bunch. For some reason, I assumed that this book would at least loosely resemble the column that he is known and loved for. Not in terms of format, obviously, as this book was not advertised as a compilation of advice columns, but perhaps in substance, style, and humor. Alas, this is not the case. Don't get me wrong - the book is still entertaining. But Savage's talent lends itself much better to the sex advice genre than it does to full-length books. So don't expect to laugh out loud the way you do when you read Savage Love, and don't expect to find a story on every page that you will have to share with your friends. Skipping Towards Gomorrah does have its merits. If you lean towards the left on social policy issues, you will get your fill of Bill Bennett-slamming. And as always, Savage takes no prisoners as he light-heartedly pokes fun at gamblers, fat people, pot-smokers, etc. Some passages are truly inspired - like the description of the Los Angeles gay pride parade, or Savage's experience at the convention of BBWs (big, beautiful women) and FAs (fat admirers). And the author also makes an important and well-reasoned social argument - that individuals should be able to pursue happiness however they choose, not just the way that conservative virtue czars like Bennett and others decide is right.
Rating:
Summary: It's about time someone wrote this book.
Review: I haven't finished this book yet and I already love it. Is it a classic? No. It definitely is not a stand-alone life-changing sort of book, but it creates a wonderful jumping off point for great debate and conversation. Savage's point is not to attack a side (another reviewer needs to read past the statement Savage makes re gun control--the author practices as he suggests and tries an activity he abhors and finds he enjoys it)--but to point out that we are all entitled to do and think and say as we please as long as we are not hurting others. What little attack he does make is on conservatives who intend to create legislation to press their morals on all of American society.
If you are interested in more insight to Savage's intent, I suggest checking the NPR archive for his appearance on The Connection, January 2, 2003.
Rating:
Summary: Prudes and hypocrites
Review: I spent some of my formative years in Saline County, Arkansas. The town I lived in had about 17,000 residents: just a few hundred of them Catholics. I point this out because the remainder were mostly Baptists - you know, those who don't drink, dance, or have a good time - just the folk that Bob Bennett was writing about in his book, "Slouching towards Gomorrah." Every school day as I rode the bus to Little Rock to attend Catholic High, I passed four liquor stores on the county line. It always struck me as funny that those few hundred Catholics, mostly children, had to support four liquor stores - certainly none of the Baptists shopped there! That is the whole point of Dan Savage's book, Skipping towards Gomorrah. The America that we love, the real America is nothing like the one Bill Bennett, Robert Bork or Jerry Falwell want. They want to take us bake to Calvin's Geneva in the 16th Century, where religious police made sure that no one was having a good time. Sort of like the Islamic Fundies that we are currently fighting - fundies are fundies, whether in Afghanistan or America, I guess. Savage is funny, very funny, but he also shows that the real America is a place where anyone would want to live. Hell, just look at how many people are trying to get in, and no one wants to leave. He sums it all up best at the end: "The country worth fighting for is the big, messy, complicated, diverse, fascinating place the United States is right now. What makes the United States the envy of the world (besides Hooters and Krispy Kremes, of course) is that this is a nation where full citizenship has nothing to do with religion, race, sex, political persuasion, or, yes, personal virtue. Good or bad, religious or irreligious, male or female, left or right, of color or washed out -- we're all Americans." Take that, Pat Buchanan! Grab this book for a real treatise on what this land we call America is all about - and find out a whole lot about your neighbors that you really had no idea about at the same time.
Rating:
Summary: Dan Savage is my new hero
Review: Thank you, Dan, for giving people like me (proud but semi-closeted hedonists) a voice! And doing it in such a lucid and entertaining fashion. My refrigerator at home proudly displays a copy of pg. 14, paragraph 3. When that frige dies, it's just getting moved to the new one. Way to go Dan!!!!
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