The O'Reilly Factor

Rating:
Summary: Left, right, or middle, this book is poorly written
Review: O'Reilly is reaching for breezy and common-sense witticisms about the state of the country, but he comes off as whiny and unintelligent. Consider the following passage, which he ticks off after implying that a key component of the good ol' days was when a parent could put their kid "in traction" for publicly disobeying their parents:

"...Hillary Rodham Clinton wrote that `it takes a village' to raise children. My parents and their friends thought that it takes parents. They were sorry that some of my friends had maniacs for parents, but they didn't interfere. And they didn't want anyone poking their nose in our house, either."

Aside from the fact that the quote "it takes a village to raise a child" is actually a venerable folk saying, and can't conceivably have originated with Clinton, the idea that it's incompatible with parents raising their own children is a complete misdirection. The book is full of this basic pattern: pull something that someone said, or a statistic or something like that, refute it with a one-liner that must have sounded funny in O'Reilly's head, and then move on to the next topic.

The complete lack of journalistic integrity might have been acceptable if the book were funny, or entertaining, or even light-hearted. But it's not any of those things. O'Reilly panders to the type of ignorant thinking that leads to a lot of anger and violence in this country, and he does it shamelessly.

Despite his insistence that he can't be correctly labeled politically, he is pretty much 90% conservative, and 10% wacky independent.

Also, the book gives repeated plugs for O'Reilly's television show, and offer's his own self-congratulatory autobiographical stories. An autobiography is always suspect; after all, no one has more reason to lie about your life than you. O'Reilly proves that fact by trotting out a series of chestnuts that all portray him as a hero, even dating back to his courageous stance against a nun when he was six years old, taken because he couldn't stomach the lies that an illustration of happy children doing math exercises represented.

I know that because of its political nature, the reviewers on here are just giving voice to their own political agendas. As someone who is always looking for thoughtful books that bear out the ideas of people on both sides of the aisle, I can tell you that this book is trash. The only way this country will be improved upon is by getting beyond the junior high thinking level that this book propagates.


Rating:
Summary: How Bill O'Reilly can afford his penthouse.
Review: This is the best book ever written, that is if you like a man who can not even take care of him self telling you how to live your life. If you read this book you will feel better about your self, because it shows you haw much smarter you are than one of Americas top journalists. However if you do not wish to spend money that will help pay for Big Bills penthouse, just read the comics in your news paper, I'm thinking it will be easier for you Bill O'Reilly fans to read too. Do not spend money on this.

Rating:
Summary: Telling it (Mostly) Like it Is
Review: O'Reilly isn't shy about giving his thoughts; thankfully, he's a straight shooter with a brilliant mind and a strong moral compass. His recent controversial difficulties do not change the content of this book. O'Reilly is what O'Reilly is, and love him or hate him, it's tough to deny his effectiveness as a communicator. You know where he stands on issues, and generally, why he takes the views he takes. I do not always agree with him, but I do respect him and believe that in this book, his fearless willingness to take on "taboo" subjects is a public service. He leavens his attacking style with humor, especially his willingness to poke fun at himself. An elitist O'Reilly is not...you get the sense that he may not get invited to many high profile cocktail parties, and you get the sense that he could care less. For an increasingly powerful media force, he still retains his "common man" touch. This book isn't the deepest political tome, but more often than note, you may find yourself saying, "Yeah! How come nobody else is saying that?"

Rating:
Summary: A True Patriot
Review: Every American patriot should buy a copy of this book and give them to their family members before the elections. You must make sure they read it, too. It is a great book! No one in your family will want to be a liberal after reading this book. He tells the truth in a way that no one can argue with. Also don't believe the sex lies that the liberals are putting in the news to ruin O'Reilly's reputation. If you watch his shows and read books like this then you will know that he is deeply religious and that he values his faith above all and because of this it is IMPOSSIBLE that any of these liberal sex lies are true. It is just a bunch of lies from the Kerry people who are a bunch of stupid idiots who want to destroy our freedoms and ruin the United States of A merica. Do yourself a favor and watch FOX only and boycott all the other channels. O'Reilly is a true Patriot.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining--Especially When It's Ridiculous
Review: Sometimes it is really instructive to read a best-seller after the bloom is off of the rose. I read The O'Reilly Factor: The Good, the Bad, and the Completely Ridiculous in American Life just before the current sex scandal broke. Actually, I listened to it as I picked grapes. I found the first part of the book where O'Reilly talks about his youth endearingly honest. He paints himself as a wild kid with an authoritarian father. Unfortunately, Bill O'Reilly has reached the age where he has become his father. What a pity. It was that restless youth that lends him his lovability as a personality. You can almost hear the strains of "Luke, I am your father; come to the dark side."

I was fortunate to be in Scranton (if one is ever fortunate to be in Scranton) when O'Reilly was starting his writing career on Uncle Ted's Ghoul School. Funny stuff. Now, nearly 30 years later, reading the behind the scenes stories has particular richness and meaning. Yes, Bill I was one of those people up late nights watching those "moronic monster movies". It was the priceless schtick during the breaks that made the show worth watching.

After going through the various factors of life in general such as class, money, sex, dating, parents, etc., O'Reilly gets into his opinion chapters highlighting the bad, the ridiculous, and the good. It is interesting to note that on the same page under "The Bad" he listed abortion and onion-flavored potato chips, but not in that order.

However, it is in the chapters of "The Ridiculous" and "The Good" where vintage really pays its dividend. I leave you with passages from these respectively to ponder:

"PRESIDENT WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON. What a ridiculous waste! Full of promise, intelligence, and charisma, this man will go down in history alongside Warren Harding and Richard Nixon as the most corrupt presidents of the twentieth century. What a legacy for an Arkansas boy with a modest background who made it to the most powerful office in the world. It's not only ridiculous, it's pathetic...
Bill Clinton is sentenced to be the butt of jokes for the rest of his life. This is poetic justice, but I'm still furious: It is not enough justice for this man...
No matter what political philosophy you hold, you cannot question that Bill Clinton was awarded the greatest honor in the world-and then he blew it. No pun intended. The next time you see the President, please tell him he is ridiculous-and always will be. I know it, and you know it. Behind that display of self-confidence, he knows it, too. I guarantee you."

"JANET JACKSON. Don't know why, but I like her. It's time for her brother Michael to be installed in Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. I mean now. But Janet is a lively performer who seems to understand the meaning of the word "melody." This, of course, separates her from most of the other top rock performers of the day."

Now, how's that for ridiculious?
Priceless!

Rating:
Summary: SURPISE, SURPRISE!
Review: Another moralist is found to have a second life, much different than the one he presents in the media.

But like Dick Morris, Clinton and Rush many will forgive and forget.

As long as these people continue to tell us what we want to hear, nothing else really matters...does it?

Rating:
Summary: O'Reilly got it about right.!
Review:
O'Reilly has written a good book outlining what are the good principles in getting through life.He particularly warns us to avoid hate at all costs.Past Presidents have been subjected to the same stuff that is being hurled at President Bush today.
O'Reilly reminds us of the chant from the 60's:
"LBJ how many kids did you kill today?"
Too bad we don't get FOX News and O'Reilly here in Canada.Maybe then we wouldn't get an elected politician spewing:
"Those damn Americans,I hate the bastards."
She didn't just go after Bush and O'Reilly,she included all Americans.