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Skipping Towards Gomorrah
by Dan Savage
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$15.00 |
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$10.20 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. |
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$4.80 (32%) |
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Paperback
Publisher: Plume
In Skipping Towards Gomorrah, Dan Savage eviscerates the right-wing conservatives as he commits each of the Seven Deadly Sins himself (or tries to) and finds those everyday Americans who take particular delight in their sinful pursuits. Among them:
Greed: Gamblers reveal secrets behind outrageous fortune.
Lust: "We're swingers!"-you won't believe who's doing it.
Anger: Texans shoot off some rounds and then listen to Dan fire off on his own about guns, gun control, and the Second Amendment.
Combine a unique history of the Seven Deadly Sins, a new interpretation of the biblical stories of Sodom and Gomorrah, and enough Bill Bennett, Robert Bork, Pat Buchanan, Dr. Laura, and Bill O'Reilly bashing to more than make up for their incessant carping, and you've got the most provocative book of the fall.
| Customer Reviews: |
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| Disappointing |
| Customer Rating: 1 out of 5 |
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I had high expectations for Skipping Towards Gomorrah, based upon the reviews of other readers, and based upon other writings of Dan Savage. I expected the book to be very funny.
I found it rarely and only mildly amusing, and I was shocked and very put off by Dan's unqualified enthusiasm for the occupation of Iraq. I learned that Dan and I don't share much common political ground.
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| No new insights |
| Customer Rating: 3 out of 5 |
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Dan savage is not afraid to point out that the emperor has no clothes (and he should certainly get credit for that), but there was nothing particularly clever about this book. It has little educational value. It is a fun book to read but it lacks any new insights. The 7 sins framework was creative.
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| Telling it like it is |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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I would give the book four stars, but I LOVE Dan Savage...so five it is. If you enjoy Dan's witty and urbane brand of humor then I recommend this book!
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| A very thought provoking book |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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I bought this book back in the spring of 2004 after seeing it on the shelves at the local bookstore off and on for months and I'm glad I did as I'm first well familiar with his columns [...] I was familiar with his writing style and his refreshingly honest replies and he certainly doesn't dissapoint here despite his toning down some.
That toning down in many ways keeps the book from being too much of a soap box for his views and thusly less strident to boot, which is a good thing as while it still gets strident at times, it's not objectionable.
And having just read all 56 reviews (as of this review), one that is virtually missed by all of them is that some king actually came up with the seven deadly sins, I think loosely based on the 10 commandments. For starters, sloth (sleep) is something we all need to do, but too much of it is not always good for us. A fellow at my church who teaches theology at a local college said that the 7 deadly sins really should be a take it or leave thing, that is, you can believe in them or not since they do not really follow the teachings of the Bible and it's 10 commandments all that closely.
What I found as I read this book is how Fundamentalist thinking has permeated much of our society and that's sad and on the chapter of gluttony and Dan's trip to San Franciso for a fat acceptance conference revealed just that very well. Example, a nurse seems to be contradictory in her views when she says we've all exercised by moving our arms 3 times that morning! Also, how so many of the fat chicks who were supposidly accepting of their fatness could barely get around and many were wheelchair bound as a result and one group admitted they come for the socializing and nothing more and really do not eat much of the food that is there. "It's the old do as I say, not as I do" mentality that I saw through much of this book as Dan takes us on a journey to discover these so called deadly sins for himself.
And that's just what makes this book so well written is his individual look at each and every one of those 7 sins and reveals them for what they are, hypocritical in many ways, especially in how they are persued by many.
In the chapter on lust where he meets the swingers group, the parents do out and "wife" swap at these events and one thing that I noticed is how they do not discuss this around their children but gladly persue these activities themselves and at these events, I found a discrepency in and of itself. The men are told to dress appropriately, that is, shirt and shorts while the women can be as provocative as they want and in the minds of the organizers, to make women feel as safe as possible. I saw that as hypocritical and it's no wonder that many straight men feel hamstrung, it's this kind of attitude that seems to permeate society in many areas and that's the point Dan ended up uncovering in his quest and in the end, takes a sharp aim squarely in the space between the eyes of the "virtuecrats" as he calls them, the Borks, Buchannans, the Slesengers etc who want us to not have any fun, even if it's not harming others and in the end, exposes the hypocrasy of these activities at the same time.
I will contend some of the chapters could've been a little stronger in his conclusions but in the end, he's very honest about what he saw and experienced and that in and of itself makes it a good read. Definatly not for the faint of heart however.
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| It's best to err on the side of avoiding incestuous handjobs |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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Best quote, among thousands of jewels, from Dan Savage.
A couple of years ago, I went on vacation with a bunch of friends to a beach resort town in South Africa. Clear blue water, white sand, skimpy bathing suits on lovely people of both sexes. Should have been a wild time, right? Well, it wasn't, at least for the first few days, because I brought along Skipping Towards Gomorrah for my beach-book. I already knew I loved Dan, and thought I could just dip into Skipping whenever I felt like a rest. Ha! Once I started, I was way too into it to stop for much of anything. And, of course, all my friends were constantly running back from the ocean to see what the hell I was laughing at. The elevator scene in the Gluttony chapter can still send me into fits. I had to buy a new copy once I got back to the States, as mine "mysteriously" disappeared. I know whoever stole it from me enjoyed it as much as I did, and hope they're passing it round to everyone they know, and even some strangers.
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