Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #691196 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Customer Reviews

O'Reilly Enhanced Transcript
Bill O'Reilly, a television Commentator, shares his criticism of American society today. In this book he includes sixteen different topics where he shares two sides, his views and those of an individual who is deeply involved with the pertinent issue at hand. Thereby leaving us to decide which side of the debate we agree with. Though he does set up each of the topics with commentary. If you have watched Mr. O'Reilly's television show you will recognize all of these debates. Among the relevant issues debated in this book include or are with George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton, Jesse Jackson, pedophiles, sex, violence, capital punishment, taxes, drugs, and more. Each chapter stands alone, so you do not need to read this book sequentially. Chose a topic that interest you and keep your own score on who won the debate. The book does have some strong language. I bumped it up to 4 stars from three for this is a quick and easy read. So read it and make up your own mind.

Well, it's up to date
If you've lived under a rock for the last few months, I'll bring you up to date: a conservative talking head from Fox News wrote a book, and he's been relentlessly promoting it.

If you've grown up in some weird liberal vacuum, you may not have heard any of the ideas he laid down before. If you're somebody who listens to Rush, don't worry about having any of your views challenged (but still buy it to decorate your shelf, next to "The Way Things Ought to Be" and "Dan Quayle: A True American Hero" (ok, I made that last one up))

If, on the other hand, you're a thinking person who reads books in general, I can't imagine you would find anything among the pithy observations here that you haven't seen somewhere else.

Hey Bill, since I KNOW you read these, here's something you can add to your "Talking Points":

Your show, lately, between your book and all those big celebrities you talked to, has a huge "me" theme going which, besides being completely transparent, is also laughably shameless. And then later I see another Fox guy interviewing you about your "tough-talking no-nonsense approach", as though you yourself were a celebrity. We don't care about Bill O'Reilly - we just want to see news and debate. (I hope my writing this doesn't undercut my arugument ;-)

Digging Up the Facts, Hard Questions and Personal Integrity
Caution: This book contains some coarse language, but not enough to make the book offensive to most people.

Mr. O'Reilly is well known for digging out the truth with investigative reporting. He is also forthright in sharing his views, and why he holds those views. As an interviewer, he seeks candor by using unexpected questions and interruptions to keep his guests away from canned responses. Many of his potential interview guests duck him. Those who appear frequently wish they hadn't.

If you have watched Mr. O'Reilly on his television show for more than a couple of years, you will find little that is new here. It is simply a condensed version of the most dramatic and newsworthy interviews he has done over the years. For those who have not watched his show much but are curious about the show and his journalistic work, this book is a good choice.

If you want to know what Mr. O'Reilly's views are on the subjects in the book, you can go to pages 174-176 and find them neatly summarized.

Each of these points is explored in one of 16 chapters that are mini-essays interspersed with interviews. Each chapter begins with what Mr. O'Reilly's views are, then switches to the background of the interview, then the interview, and the aftermath of the interview. In some cases, there is a second set of backgrounds, a second interview, and a second aftermath section. If you are like me, you will find the chapters with or about Puff Daddy, Eminem, Susan Sarandon, Al Sharpton, George W. Bush, Jesse Jackson, John McCain, and Dan Rather to be the most interesting.

Mr. O'Reilly holds himself to a high standard of personal integrity, and expects others (including national leaders, politicians, government officials, celebrities, educators, and parents) to do the same. He is also blunt, preferring straight talk to euphemisms. Whether you agree with all of his views or not (and I suspect that there is no such person), you will respect him.

The book has a major weakness though. The people who speak for views that Mr. O'Reilly does not agree with are usually not prepared for his questions, not very quick witted, and often poor candidates to debate the point for other reasons. If Mr. O'Reilly really wanted to write a book to explore these topics, he should have found better and more prepared spokespeople to debate him. I suspect that such a book would have made better reading. Perhaps that will happen in a future book. As it is, the prominent people in the book tend to come off primarily as not having much intelligence . . . or being so corrupt that they cannot even tell that they are lying to themselves.

If you know a young person who is interested in journalism, this book could make an inspiring gift.

Call it like you see it . . . and set a good example!