Rating: 
Summary: Funniest and smartest book I've read all year
Review: This book is side-splittingly hilarious yet has some serious and fairly original points to make too. It has just as many guffaws per page as David Sedaris's and Al Franken's and Christopher Buckley's books, but Dan Savage is more than just a comedian (not that there's anything wrong with being "just a comedian").The gist of Savage's book is that the concept of the "pursuit of happiness," far from being just a throwaway phrase in the Declaration of Independence that was too frivolous to make it into our Constitution's Bill of Rights, is something that really, really matters. And beneath his veil of crude humor and great wordplay, he's furious at the Borks and Bennetts and "junior varsity scolds" like Joe Lieberman who would legislate personal, private morality. He views attempts to legislate personal morality as fundamentally anti-American, and I find him persuasive on that point. The book also seems to be pretty well researched as these things go. Unlike some of his contemporaries on the left (say, Michael Moore or erstwhile leftist Christopher Hitchens), Savage has a healthy respect for the truth, and does not take left-wing urban legends as gospel. I especially recommend reading Savage's great new book in tandem with Joseph Epstein's SNOBBERY: THE AMERICAN VERSION, which hilariously dissects snobbery from about a dozen different angles, albeit from a somewhat right-of-center political point of view. These two books are great enough on their own, but together they are downright dynamite.
Rating:
Summary: Let's hear it for the REALIST majority! Yay!
Review: If fundamentalists all over the globe would just get over their own deadly sins and stop projecting them and the rest of their insanity onto the rest of us, perhaps we could all laugh together and "love our neighbor." Bah humbug! I personally don't believe that God created us NOT in His image... but IN it, which means that we are just as perfect as He, and I think the Catholics or some other control-hungry things [desecrated] the true meaning of sin by lying about its true meaning (that we, as humans, don't feel "up to" seeing ourselves as powerful as God, so therefore we can't be made in His image, right? Phooey. Just look at what George W. tries to do...enough said.) Well, this author sets us all straight...but not narrow. A "must-read" for all those angry conservatives and fundamentalists (who should read this book to review what the heck those fundamentals truly are...LIKE LOVE and that's all because it's enough). This is a definite "no hate zone" book and a wonderful thing to make you laugh (i.e.: the quote "God is joy" IS in the bible in case conservatives have forgotten what "their" book claims to be the most important part...hint: it's not that we sin!). This book at LEAST has some non-sin goodness in it. Read it and laugh. Ignore it and suffer towards Gomorrah!
Rating:
Summary: the reviews are even funnier than the book
Review: The negative reviews here are even funnier than the book! But then I'm not a homosexual so I can't really take offense at people recoiling in moral shock from Savage's politics. On the other hand I suppose if you are gay, the negative reviews on this site are a depressing reminder that people like Savage are judged for their sexuality and not for their ideas. But still, the reviews make me laugh even more than the book.
Rating: 
Summary: He just needed another book...
Review: Dan Savage had a fun idea with the deady sins theme and ways to break them, but I felt like he didn't evenly distribute his energy on each sin. The chapter on gambling gave wonderful insight to the addiction and is his best effort in the book.
The rest was just so-so. For someone with a strong message of "life without excuses" he seems to backtrack and validate a lot (examples with the rich gay couple). There are some entertaining antics, but it was too forced for me to enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: the reviews are even funnier than the book
Review: The negative reviews here are even funnier than the book! But then I'm not a homosexual so I can't really take offense at people recoiling in moral shock from Savage's politics. On the other hand I suppose if you are gay, the negative reviews on this site are a depressing reminder that people like Savage are judged for their sexuality and not for their ideas. But still, the reviews make me laugh even more than the book.
Rating:
Summary: It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive?
Review: Who knew that the 7 Deadly Sins could be so much fun? Well, actually, they're NOT always so much fun, at least not the way Dan Savage describes them. And that's one of the things I really liked about this book: it's brutally honest about these "sins," the motivations behind them, and the people who pursue them in hopes of finding...fun? happiness? friendship? excitement? meaning in life? None or all of the above? Perhaps these "sins" are more complex and less, well, "sinful" than some might think. Perhaps it's not that eating or sex or gambling are good or bad in and of themselves, despite what the preachy moralists like Robert Bork (author of "Slouching Towards Gomorrah," which Savage's title plays off of) and William J. Bennett (he of the not-so-little gambling problem himself) would have us believe. Perhaps, Dan Savage suggests, it's more that any one of these activities has the potential to be good, bad, or indifferent. It all depends. Take gluttony, for instance. What, you might ask, could possibly be wrong about eating a giant piece of chocolate cake? Sounds great to me, chocolate lover that I am! But as the culmination of a humongous meal at a chain restaurant called "Claim Jumper," the two huge hunks of greasy, gritty, cheap chocolate cake that Dan Savage and a friend each scarf down can only be described as surreal, bizarre, and worst of all, not much fun. Actually, I would say that there's something pathetic and sad about the whole experience -- giant onion rings, giant glasses of water, giant roast chicken, giant order of ribs, etc. Maybe this "sin" stuff ain't all it's cracked up to be? A couple of chapters are truly memorable, including the one on "anger," which centers on guns. The title of the chapter, "My Piece, My Unit," alludes to the strange, semi-sexual appeal that guns apparently have for some (many?) people. Now THAT should be a sin! But the funniest thing about the chapter is that Dan Savage turns out to be quite a shot. Who knew that a liberal skinny gay guy from Seattle could be so good with guns, someone with a "gift" who could "learn to be a real marksman" with some practice (according to his instructor, Paul)? So much for stereotypes! Personally, I found the chapter on Greed ("The Thrill of Losing Money") to be one of the most interesting and insightful. Are people who gamble sick, depraved sinners? Are they greedy? Or are they just out to have a good time? How about "none of the above" or "it depends?" In just one of the insights that Dan Savage arrives at in his explorations, in this case he comes to the conclusion that "it's not about money, it's about risk and danger...and feeling alive." And to quote Bruce Springsteen (a bit out of context, but what the hell?), "it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive!" Besides gluttony, anger, and greed, Dan Savage's other chapters cover the rest of the deadly sins ("lust," "sloth," "envy," and "pride") more or less effectively and entertainingly. And all throughout the book, Savage manages to, well, SAVAGE the finger-wagging hypocritical ultra-moralists out there in a bitingly funny way. So funny, that you may commit the sin of Envy by the end of the book -- wishing you had Dan Savage's writing, journalistic and story-telling talents, that is. On the other hand, if you are a finger-wagging hypocritical ultra-moralist, you might want to avoid reading this book altogether, because it will probably just make you angry. And since we all know that anger's a sin, we certainly wouldn't want that! Personally, I enjoyed spending a nice weekend reading Savage's book and not doing many of the chores I was supposed to be doing. I believe that's called "sloth," and that it's a sin. Whoops!
Rating:
Summary: Savage Socks It to the Self Righteous
Review: If anything disappoints about "Skipping Toward Gomorrah", it's the fact that Dan Savage really could have stretched two books from this material. On the one hand, it's a disarming travelogue through America's heartland (Texas, Iowa, Illinois) and introducing us to a cheerfully diverse group of American citizens celebrating their pursuit of happiness. On the other hand, Savage is trying to write a great liberal memoir, to counter the suffocating glut of right-wing manifestos by every low-end-of-the-AM-bandwidth pundit with a book deal. So what's wrong with putting those two ideas together? Nothing! As it turns out, squeaky-voiced radio rightist Glenn Beck just did a similar book from the opposite perspective. Now, if only Savage had his own radio show... we could call it... "The Savage Nation"! Oh, wait. "Gomorrah" (titled after a dreary Robert Bork volume from the Regnery Press-happy mid '90s) loosely follows the Seven Deadly Sins, and shows how well-adjusted, law abiding Americans can live at what's considered the "edge" of decency and still live productive lives. To demonstrate how Savage truly has his finger on the pulse of our culture, two issues in this book exploded into the national consciousness after it was published: Bill Bennett's gambling (his name features heavily in the "Greed" chapter), and gay marriage. As is appropriate for this kind of book, the chapters are written so that they can be read separately. I was most amused by "Envy", a trip to a Zan-themed weight-loss-for-the-rich boot camp in the hills overlooking Cher's house, and "Greed", a visit to a Z-grade casino in Iowa, reminiscent of an unexpected encounter with a slots machine I had in Shreveport last spring. Less amusing were "Sloth", perhaps because I don't share Dan's enthusiasm for the weed, and "Anger", the chapter set in the gun store. Downright horrifying, however, was the "Sloth" chapter. Even the thinnest among us will want to diet after reading about the wheelchair-bound 40 year-olds at the NAAFA convention, who are proud of the fact that they're too heavy to walk anymore. The amusing coda is set in Manhattan, where Savage rents a call girl for $3000 just to interview her... and turns around the next day to rent her boyfriend, who's in the same line of work. Along the way, Bork, Bennett and Ann Coulter are happily dismantled. The so-called culture war that imploded the Republican convention in Houston in 1992, has returned with a vengeance in 2004, with the only difference that this time, no-one's standing up against it. Voices like Dan's are an oasis in the wilderness. When he's not busy obsessing over VCR-player-sized wedges of chocolate cake, that is.
Rating:
Summary: Required Reading for Voters
Review: I'm highly suspect of anyone who doesn't enjoy this book. After reading the DaVinci Code, which elegantly disassembled the church, I was delighted to discover this gem, which just as elegantly disassembled the confused, arbitrary, and hypocritical dictums of the extreme right wing and the civic and social complacency of who accept their tired rhetoric without challenge. Dan Savage, has a superior wit, which combined with his keen ability to detect irony and hypocrisy, is not only amusing, it's reassuring. After I finished Skipping Towards Gomorrah, I felt better about the world knowing that Pat Robertson, William Bennett, and Ann Coulter aren't the only people whose opinions make it to the publishing dinner table. As a cheerleader for philosophy of the John Stuart Mill oeuvre, I'm thrilled that the marketplace of ideas is still churning and, I say optimistically, facilitating the self-destruction of the virtuecrats and their misconceptions. This is a stunning achievement. More than a challenge to the right wing to step up to the plate, this is a checkmate.
Rating:
Summary: Creative, funny, and irreverent
Review: Dan Savage is a great writer as well as a creative thinker. The book is purposefully wacky and entertaining, but has some very serious points. Whether you agree with his perspective or not, he makes his points skillfully.
I'm perplexed at the reviewers who say that Mr. Savage is a poor writer just because they disagree with his views. It seems to be endemic among right-wing reactionaries to spew vituperative criticisms of books with which they do not agree, and which they probably have not even read. When I read books from differing viewpoints, I try to review them in a balanced, objective fashion. Just because I don't agree with the author's perspective doesn't mean the book is badly written or that there is no value to the book at all. The reviewers who engage in these unbalanced polemics and who can't seem to keep their fanatical views to themselves succeed at nothing other than undermining their own credibility.
Rating: 
Summary: Absolute piece of trash
Review: Terrible, horrible, awful, rotten, embarrassing, dreadful, horrifyingly bad, bad, bad! Even those words do not adequately describe Dan Savage's book. I use the word book with tongue-in-cheek, because calling that piece of rubbish a book is really an insult to books. I'm still trying to figure out what exactly his point was in writing this utter piece of garbage. This book truly gave new meaning to the word fatuity. This book was so poorly written and mindless that I was reduced to eye-rolling laughter was a I read it. Dan Savage must have been doing some of those drugs he seems so found of as he wrote "Skipping Towards Gomorrah." Really, the title should have been "Skipping Towards Bellevue" because that's where anyone who would write something so ludicrous and alien as this book belongs. I felt as though I was reading something from another planet at times. Savage is the worst writer I have ever seen in my life. I can't believe they actually agreed to publish this nonsense. Just when you though you've seen it all, this book comes along, it certainly set a new low. Seriously, an elementary school child could have done a better job writing this book than Savage did, and would probably have more intellect that Savage does. I wouldn't suggest purchasing this book unless you are running low on toilet paper. That is about the only good use for it.
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