Dan Savage indulges in each of the seven deadly sins as a celebration of America's love affair with personal liberty.

I was excited to read another book by Dan Savage after I came out of an initially-tentative read of The Kid with a rare five-star read, but Skipping Toward Gomorrah fell more like confirmation of my low expectations. It's more ribald, more dated, more political, while also being less human and less enlightening. That doesn't mean a total waste of time (I actually learned a bit about fat admirers, swingers, guns, and escorts, and I giggled a bunch of times). But on the whole, Skipping Toward Gomorrah was about as shallow as I was expecting, and the "we're America, f*** yeah, we're special because everyone believes Americans have a right to do whatever the f*** they want" politics don't quite sit right with me these days.

Recommended for Dan Savage completists only. ( )

His sex expert columns are abrasive yet humorous so I was curious to see how a whole book of essays would be. Somewhat less abrasive and I did giggle many times. I was a little taken aback when he expressed his support for the war, but it was written in 2001 and at least he referred to W. as "Ol' Cokehead." Anyway, there's an essay for each of the 7 deadly sins and then some. (April 23, 2005) ( )

It seems a damning indictment on my psyche that my first recollection of "Skipping towards Gomorroh", some years after reading it, is not Savage's discussions about gun control or gay rights but rather his reference to his hiking stint that left him with such a groin rash he had to pull his meat and two veg out and cup them in his hand as he walked along.

That aside, I found Savage's main argument; that Americans should be all about the pursuit of happiness, so why are all these conservative writers opposed to so many avenues of happiness?, to be quite convincing, although I still have concerns about his support for gun ownership.

All in all, a valuable addition to the American debate over individual rights. ( )

Savage decides to explore the seven deadly sins and take stock of current American morality as being scolded by the right wing virtuecrats

Though I agree with Dan politically, I found myself skipping the political portions of the book. The parts that stood out for me were his conversations with the people and the amazingly "average" portrayal of the people he encountered.
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