La Dolce Musto: Writings by the World's Most Outrageous Columnist (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Revealing as much about himself as he does his subjects, the out, proud and flamboyantly gay Musto mixes frivolity and furor in the gossip columns collected under the same title as his weekly Village Voice column dating back to 1984. The pieces range from firsthand observation of a 1985 Reagan presidential inaugural ball to scathing commentary on Mel Gibson's recent DUI arrest ("I had no idea that an open bar is all it takes to turn Mother Teresa into a hair-plugged Hitler"). Musto's strongest pieces include "The AIDS era: life during wartime" (1990), his urgent thoughts on the epidemic; "Rosie's b.s. isn't cutie patootie" (1997), in which he outs Rosie O'Donnell; and "Did I blow my chances with Anderson Cooper?" (2005), his persuasive argument for writing about celebrities' sexuality. His travelogues in Bangkok and Moscow, coupled with interviews with stars including Liberace ("pianist envy") epitomize his style: full of adulation, cattiness and sexual innuendo. Musto's snarky, dishy tales of New York nightlife will speak most to those who know the players, but when his topics are more accessible, (e.g., his blow-by-blow coverage of the 2006 Academy Awards in "Oscar flirts with the gays"), Musto's witty ridicule is pithy. (Jan.)
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Product Description

For over 20 years, Michael Musto ("the Hunter S. Thompson of snark") has written the popular entertainment column La Dolce Musto. The outrageous weekly column has pioneered gay issues in celebrity news and politics and has long been a mainstay of pop culture as well as a cutting edge chronicle of the hip and hopeful.

In this fabulous collection, Musto includes a sampling of his star romps, from a hilarious column describing his night out with the Kids in the Hall to a scathing catch-up session with onetime Fellini beauty Anita Ekberg. Along the way, celebs like Sandra Bernhard, Madonna, Lindsay Lohan, and Anderson Cooper provide much juice and dazzle. Also included are biggies, from Brad Pitt to the Hiltons.

The first openly gay gossip columnist, Musto encouraged closeted celebrities to come out for years before it became okay to address performers' sexuality in the daily columns. He was reviled, called a "gay Nazi" by Rosie O'Donnell, but ultimately vindicated. Included are his views against then-closeted Rosie, and Ellen DeGeneres.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (January 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078671879X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786718795
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #578,529 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Queen of Dish, December 24, 2006

By	Amos Lassen (Little Rock, Arkansas) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

THE QUEEN OF DISH


Musto, Michael, "La Dolce Musto: The Zaniest Writings by the World's Most Outrageous Columnist", Carroll & Graf, 2007


Amos Lassen and Literary Pride

Michael Musto is a guy who seems to be everywhere these days. He is a columnist for "The Village Voice" newspaper and "Out" Magazine. He is on television on channels as different as can be--MSNBC, E! Entertainment and VH 1 and he seems to always have the best dirt. He is the kind of guy whom you love to hate and hate to love. Not much happens in the world of celebrities without hearing a "Musto moment" and his comments are biting and funny, endearing and brutal. He is openly gay and never ever shies from the public and pubic eye. He is both delicious and caustic and mean and wonderful. Now he has a new book due to be released in January, 2007. I was lucky enough to receive an unpublished proof from his publicity agent and I can tell you this--you will be hearing a lot about him come January.
Musto has been one of the leaders reporting on gay issues among celebrities and politicians. The "Toronto Star" dubs him "the Hunter S. Thompson of snark". He is opinionated and doesn't seem to care whose toes he steps on. He is a regular on the pop culture scene and always seems to know what is happening among the "hip and hopeful".
This book is a collection of some of his columns, all of which have something to say about the world in which we live. You may agree with him and you may not but you have to give him credit for speaking his mind. He admits about himself that he is "devilishly nasty and dubious" and feels he has the right to "dissect" the sexuality of public figures. His gayness is way out there and he revels in it rather than hide like so many do. He can taunt Clay Aiken for not being out and not care that he has done so and can fight with those who turned a blind eye to the devastation of the AIDS epidemic. He has ceaselessly promoted his talented gay brothers and sisters and he defines himself by the use of the word "rage". He outed Ellen DeGeneres long before she made her own move and he taunted Rosie O'Donnell to stop pretending that her sex life was ambiguous.
Musto was way ahead of his time. He was snarking before anyone knew what the word meant and he was an out gay man when the rest of us hid. He, himself, says he is somewhere between "legendary" and "verging on obsolete". Regardless of how one may feel about him, we have to admire him for having the guts to always be who he is and never pretend otherwise. I am not sure he is my own personal role model but he did forge the way so many of us can love openly and at peace with American society.
The book is divided into sections and undoubtedly the ones which we will read first are the ones that deal with our community: "Stars and Bars", "Twitter and Be Gay", and "24 Hour Party Peephole". As clever as the section names are, they do not come close to the cleverness of the chapter titles: "A Man, duh?", "Hair Piece: the Wigstock Drag Festival", Act Up! Fight Back, Book a Hotel!" and "Rosie's b.s. isn't a cutie patootie" to name a few. But the book is not all gay. There is a night out with the Kids in the Hall and a session with Anita Ekberg, as well as a column about Miss Buttah--"La Streisand". John Waters says of Musto, "...smart, funny, and his use of sexual policitics make him the best social columnist in New York. Now I realize we are in Arkansas and not in the Big Apple but we hear what is going on. For a new and wonderful take on those goings on, have a look at "La Dolce Musto". You will not be sorry.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Musto a Must: the thinking person's gossip, January 4, 2007

By	Helene Hertzlinger (New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Village Voice's longtime chronicler of New York's demimonde appears here between two covers in a sort of Best of.... compilation. Musto's gift for verbal wordplay, over-the-top observations, and risque puns makes him fun and interesting to read, even for those with little interest in the nightlife "scene." My favorites, some of which appear here, have to do with Blind Items, brainteasers wherein he drops tidbits about the various doings of the rich and infamous, and you're supposed to guess who it is. The trouble is, he'll never tell you when you're right! I guarantee you will love reading and rereading this book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun to Read, February 2, 2007

By	lori a (ohio) - See all my reviews

I love Musto's appearances on Keith Olberman's show, which is what lead me to purchase this book. Each "chapter" is one of his pieces written for the Village Voice over the years, which makes a chapter the perfect size for reading over your coffee in the morning to start your day off laughing. But, of course, he is not just funny, he is also very clever and a master of the pun.