Skipping Towards Gomorrah: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Pursuit of Happiness in America

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 show more 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. show less

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.

Dan Savage may very well be the funniest columnist alive. I think he is at his best in the shorter format of his advice column, but this book was still fabulously entertaining. Savage argues his opinions strongly but never preaches to the reader and never makes a point without injecting some humor.

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)

When I grow up (I am 33), I want to be a straight, female version of Dan Savage. He is the thinking liberal who doesn't just embrace everything, he takes it apart and studies it and decides whetheer it really makes sense. This is his trip through the seven deadly sins (kind of) and why, maybe, they are so "deadly" after all. Thought provoking, intelligent, and, well, liberal. Dan, if you ever come to Cleveland, I will go be a glutton with you!

An interesting read, which probably would have hit harder closer to its original publication date. Still, Savage is a good writer, alternating between being very funny and making some insightful points.

This book was interesting and funny until it turned into a direct rebuttle to Robert Bork's Slouching Towards Gomorrah, which I haven't read. I kind of skimmed those parts. I especially loved the chapters about pride and greed.