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

Michael Musto should write his memoirs next. This man has been mingling with a pantheon of celebs, from Kitt to Pitt, for over twenty years and this book only hints at the dirt this guy could dish. He doesn't talk much about himself in this book -- I would've liked to have heard about him younger, you know, hanging out on the stoop in Brooklyn -- but he does provide a short biographical sketch, albeit in the third person: "She's an omnipresent party girl with beet-red hair, bulbous lips, and the winningly woozy demeanor of an inflatable doll who only comes to life when a camera's in the room. Floating from soiree to soiree with a silicon smile . . . exuding a good-natured alien appeal, like a top-heavy escapee from a sci-fi porn comedy." Wait! That's Musto's description of Amanda LePore. Sorry This is himself: "I couldn't exactly pass for straight. And so I gayed it up like crazy, mocking all the bold-faced liars, screaming at anyone who held back the fight against AIDS, and relentlessly promoting gay talent, from drag queens to porn stars, while wearing a fetching assortment of my own braids and boas. I was stunned that the queer community didn't instantly crown me queen." Well, persistence has paid off, and Musto is butcher than he thinks he is. In my humble opinion, nobody does irony better on television. Musto is the only reason I watch MSNBC (Keith Olberman, great show) and his self-effacing remarks do nothing to alter the fact that he is, and has been, considered one of the top gossip columnists in NYC, alongside Liz Smith, Cindy Adams and Page Six, for years now. Musto is the best thing in the Voice too. These columns will have you laughing out loud, guaranteed. Five Stars. Get the book!

VERY funny man. Got this as a travel gift for my wife, & we'lll test "drive" it on the flight to NYC this Friday. Good price, fast delivery. Thanks!

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.

La Dolce Musto is a book which obviously cries out for its successor yet it still stands on its own, which is a remarkable achievement. Each section has its own appeal but the parts which really blew me away were the ripe dishy columns which covered the celeb/club scene from the 80s and early 90s. Musto caught Brad Pitt just starting out, Madonna when she still bantered in her own voice to the audience from the stage, the mid-90s Paris Hilton who was Bijoux Phillips -does anyone even remember her now for all her antics so admirably described by Musto. And what a supporting cast! It was such a memory lane to read about Andy Anderson -whatever happened to him? or Marc Berkeley? and the magazines like Seven Days, and so many clubs like Tilt etc that I had forgotten about even though they had ripped me off. I had almost forgotten Rosie O'Donnell's infatuation with Tom Cruise too. Musto's prose fits it all perfectly too, quick and sharp, often about himself but not distracting from others somehow. It is hard to believe that those columns could stand the test of time but actually I think they have gained somehow which is extraordinary. It would be great if there were an internet site where selected additional columns could be read. Great job here!!!

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!