Religion Gone Bad is an interesting read even if I don't agree with the author about many things. Mel White was a name I knew vaguely as someone that had gone from hard religious right to radical religious left. But I picked up the book mostly by chance, only to discover he had some truly fascinating stories to tell.

Mel White worked as a ghost writer for the major leaders of the religious right for many decades. Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and others all hired him to write for them at one point or another. His gives him a very insider view of what they actually believe and how they act.

White is also gay, and this is what catapulted him from the radical right to radical left. The war on homosexuals by the radical right is the point of this book and largely the only thing it focuses on. White remains a committed Christian, and challenges the fundamentalists on doctrinal grounds more then anything. He also goes out of his way to talk about the people he has dealt with that where not anti-gay, even when he has to really reach to make them pro-homosexual.

The core is made up of stories about the writing White did before he changed camps. And his insider position and wide range of work done over the years gives him many interesting stories to tell. This is followed by a more general attack on American fundamentalist Christians and a section on what he believes now and his current work.

The book makes for a very interesting read. White has some interesting stories to tell and a very different set of reasons to attack the religious right then I do. But don't expect the book to stray from GLBT issues at any point, that is what White is writing about here and he never strays far.

Jay