American Savage: Insights, Slights, and Fights on Faith, Sex, Love, and Politics
Published by Penguin Random House Audio
4/5
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Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
On the heels of his Emmy-winning It Gets Better campaign, Dan Savage delivers "powerful messages for both the head and heart" (Entertainment Weekly)
From the moment he began writing his syndicated sex-advice column, Savage Love, Dan Savage has never been shy about expressing his opinion on controversial topics-political or otherwise. Now, he addresses issues ranging from parenting and the gay agenda to the Catholic Church and health care. Among them:
- Why straight people should have straight "pride" parades, too
- Why Obamacare, as good as it is, is "still kinda evil"
- Why what passes for sex-ed in America is more like "sex dread"
- Why the Bible is "only as good and decent as the person reading it"
Speaking to a broad range of subjects with brutal honesty and irreverent humor, American Savage cements Dan Savage's place as a provocative and insightful voice in American culture.
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Reviews for American Savage
91 ratings11 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An excellent, thought-provoking, unexpectedly sweet(though not if you pay close attention to Savage's other writings) and often very funny book. I listened to the audiobook, very well narrated by the author.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5fun, on the nose, and right in my wheelhouse.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dan Savage is just that delightful mix of snark, sex advice, and politics, and his book is a satisfying look at an assortment of social and political issues from gay marriage to death with dignity. Now granted, I'm a big liberal, but there were definitely parts of the book that had me laughing out loud and basking in Dan's smart, swift cuts to bigotry, misogyny, and the crazy Christians out there. But whether you agree with him or not, he raises a lot of good points and makes a well-thought out case for his opinions, backed by examples and studies. And if you aren't in tears reading the chapter about his mom, I don't think you have a heart in your body. Thoroughly enjoyable book and it makes me happy to have Dan's activist voice out there sticking it to the Santorums of the world.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I love Dan Savage. I think that about sums this up. He is brilliant and funny and sarcastic and really thinks about everything he talks about. Good read for everybody!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary: In his latest book, sex advice columnist Dan Savage provides readers with a series of essays, providing his trademark pragmatic/sarcastic take on a wide variety of issues. A lot of the essays deal with contemporary issues in politics, religion, and American culture, but there are a few that are substantially more personal. The first essay discusses the death of Savage's mother, and his coming to terms with his faith (or lack thereof), but he goes on from there to cover issues of marriage and being monogamish, the state of sex education, the GGG phenomenon, his challenge to those who think homosexuality is a choice, his adopted son coming out to his fathers as straight, gay stereotypes on TV, the Folsom Street Fair, Halloween, closeted anti-gay legislators, the history of his column and his track record dealing with bisexuality, coming out of the closet now vs. 40 years ago, physician-assisted suicide, the Santorum situation, health insurance, gun violence, and the dinner table debate with Brian Brown.Review: I love Dan Savage. I started reading his column almost 15 years ago, and have been a faithful listener of his podcast since its inception. It's one of the only podcasts that I listen to regularly, so when I got the chance to listen to his new book - narrated by Savage himself - I figured it would be great, and jumped at the chance. I was especially pleased, since I had a big drive coming up, and my backlog of Savage Love podcasts is typical roadtrip listening fare, so Dan Savage and the interstate highway system and me all typically get along splendidly.So how did it work out for me? In truth, it was sort of a mixed bag. To clarify, I did enjoy the book, without question. I listened to it essentially straight through my drive, never switching over to music or another book. It was funny and provocative and touching in turns. I agree with most of what Savage has to say, and he makes his points passionately but eloquently; his level-headed and pragmatic approach to sensitive or taboo issues is a large part of why I've been listening to him all these years.So you might be wondering: if the book was so good, what's the problem? And I think the problem is exactly that: I've been listening all these years. Dan's voice has been yammering in my ear since 2006, and so I've heard him make these same points many times before. The essays that I enjoyed the most were the ones that told stories or addressed topics that I hadn't heard about before. In particular, I really liked "Crazy, Mad, Salacious", about the portrayal of gay characters on TV when he was a teen watching with his father, and how it influenced him both positively and negatively, and how he sees similar things in the TV his own son is now watching. But other essays - for example those on Halloween ("The Straight Pride Parade") or "The Choicer Challenge" - come almost directly from his podcast and/or column, so they weren't telling me much that was new.Further, I've heard him make these points in a much more off-the-cuff, natural sounding way. Dan on the podcast shooting off his mouth sounds a fair bit different than Dan reading his own writing, and I found the latter a bit distracting given that I'm so used to the former. (I totally understand why this is so, of course; most people don't write exactly like they talk, or vice versa, and it's got to be hard to read words that you went over and over during the editing process and make them sound totally fresh - that's just one of the reasons that I thought Kitchen Confidential was such an outstanding audiobook.) Some of the essays fare better than others; the first essay, about his mother, was one of the less successful from an audiobook perspective - it was obviously a very emotional piece for him to have written, and I could hear him flattening out just to get through reading it out loud. (Which, again: completely understandable, but kind of a shame, since it's really a beautiful and very moving piece.) 4 out of 5 stars.Recommendation: Fans of his column and podcast are going to be the most likely to enjoy it, but they should be aware that some of it's going to sound pretty familiar. If you're a lefty-leaning and not-easily-offended person who is interested in contemporary political and social issues, and aren't already a fan of Savage's.... why the heck not?
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5He is simply marvelous.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Good book! Recommended reading for everybody.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5While THE KID is by far my favorite Dan Savage book, AMERICAN SAVAGE is top-notch collection of essays that covers everything from BDSM to assisted suicide to gun control. Savage is irreverent and (mostly) unapologetic about his politics and principles as a well-known sex advice columnist. A pleasure to read.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This was fairly interesting and fairly well written and fairly well read (I listened to it). I learned some new things but, mostly, I think I'd heard Savage say most of it at one time or another. Still it was a good compilation.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dan Savage is my hero.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dan Savage can never be accused of being shy or quiet. One can’t be and make a living as a sex advice columnist, and a gay one at that. Over the years, he has made a name for himself not only for the advice he gives but also for his rabid following and his impact on the equal rights movement, especially the It Gets Better project. In American Savage, Mr. Savage tackles an eclectic range of topics that include his experiences as a parent, his mother’s death, gay pride, the political left, and others. He provides thoughtful insight into each topic while remaining true to his ideals and manages to insert his unique brand of humor as well.One of the best things about American Savage is the care Mr. Savage takes to cite all statistics and quotes he references throughout the book. Not only that, but he takes the time to explain the context of his chosen quote or statistic. As he posits the dangers of taking facts out of context or of the failure of various news media to fact-check, this is reassuring that he practices what he preaches. This is important given how many hot-button topics upon which he expounds throughout the book – national healthcare, doctor-assisted suicide, sex education, and religion, just to name a few. A reader may not agree with his opinions, but one has to appreciate his diligence at providing the full picture of any given argument rather than just a one-sided rant without data to back up his statements.Mr. Savage is not afraid to admit his mistakes, nor does he avoid calling a spade a spade. This can make for an amusing, although somewhat crude, dialogue as he discusses how much he has learned over his twenty years of writing his column and sets the record straight for those who might use some of his columns to skew an issue. Those who follow Mr. Savage, or politics, know about his involvement in Rick Santorum’s Google problem. It was all over the headlines last year. In case you don’t know what the kerfuffle is, be warned before you Google it that it is not for the squeamish, easily offended, or socially conservative. For those who already know, or are not afraid of what they are going to find, the chapter in which Mr. Savage sets the record straight on Santorum’s Google problem is sharp, politically aware, and absolutely hilarious. It is a perfect example of how careful Mr. Savage is to make sure everyone understands both sides of an argument.Mr. Savage not only spends his time writing his column, but he does quite a bit of public speaking as well. This stands him in good stead as narrator for the audiobook. His voice is enjoyable, while his presentation is even more so. He masters the irony and the sarcasm that sneaks its way into the narrative. However, it is when he is discussing his mother’s death and his own son’s “coming out” where his performance truly shines. The emotion he tries to disguise is absolutely heart-breaking and does more to prove how honest and open he is about everything than anything else he could say about his experiences or his opinions. Some books are meant to be read, and some books are meant to be enjoyed as an auditory experience. Given Mr. Savage’s speaking prowess, and the enhanced enjoyment his performance brings to his written word, American Savage is one novel meant to be enjoyed via audiobook.Just like the Rick Santorum issue, American Savage is not necessarily for conservatives given his very progressive opinions. However, while he has no problem ridiculing the conservative left, he does present their viewpoints and does allow readers to form their own opinions. This speaks to his brilliance in remaining relevant, insightful, and – for all his mockery – fair. He uses his own personal experience but backs up his opinions with scientific data and actual quotes from public sources, but most importantly, he cites everything he uses so that a reader can also do his or her own research. The end product is amusing, informative, tremendously thought-provoking, and definite worthwhile reading in our current political chaos.