8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A little boring., December 7, 2003
As a fan of O'Reilly's TV series, "The O'Reilly Factor," and as a guy who's been without cable for the past few months, I was looking forward to hearing what O'Reilly had to say in his most recent book, "Who's Looking Out for You?" To my surprise, though, O'Reilly didn't have many new things to say--and what was new wasn't that interesting.
O'Reilly's last two books focused on his TV show, his personal life, and his opinions; both of those books I enjoyed. "Who's Looking Out for You?" takes a different angle; the author attempts to offer life advice. Unfortunately, in my opinion, he's just not very good at that. Now, O'Reilly doesn't give bad advice--he simply gives advice that pretty much everyone reading his book is going to agree with. In the chapter about parenting, for example, he says, "Don't lie to your kids." When it comes to careers, O'Reilly suggests that you "keep your mistakes to a minimum." Although what O'Reilly writes isn't offensive or false, it's--well--boring.
If you're a regular viewer of "The Factor," you won't hear anything new when O'Reilly discusses his opinions about the government, taxes, the war on terror, immigration, the Catholic church, Jesse Jackson, and every other topic O'Reilly's already debated (several times) on his TV series. If you're not a regular, you might find O'Reilly's opinions interesting; but if not, you might find yourself falling asleep as he rehashes what he's already said on "The Factor."
The good news is that it's not at all old material; Bill does recount a few interesting personal stories, including his brief encounter with Bill Clinton. And, to my great surprise, O'Reilly actually discussed the time he was accused of making a racial slur at a fundraising party. (In one memorable episode of "The O'Reilly Factor," O'Reilly's guest, Neal Boortz, mentioned the accusation and suggested that O'Reilly was doing an anti-racism story in an attempt to restore possible damage to public relations, to which O'Reilly quickly responded, "You vicious son of a b----!" The alleged racial slur was never again mentioned on O'Reilly's program, but stunningly, Bill addresses it in his book.)
Unfortunately, those two stories are the highlight; the rest is what you've already seen and heard on "The Factor." If you're a big fan of O'Reilly, maybe a couple of personal anecdotes is worth twenty bucks. For me, it was worth exactly the fifty cents I paid to put the book on hold at the library.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
What You Would Expect, February 14, 2004
If you are a fan of O'Reilly and are interested in his personal anecdotes and their place in his life's journey, then you'll enjoy this book. Don't expect any startling revelations, but do expect a good dose of common sense and a challenge to apply it in your own life.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well worth the time, December 22, 2004
I love O'REILLY
There are aspects of his personality that I do not like but Bill is a voice in the wilderness of cable news today. He yells and screams as much as the next guy but he actually does research to back his ranting points up. This separates him from everyone else cable news (and radio) weather those people are liberal or conservative. I honestly don't know what side of the aisle Bill sits on.
Overall-I think reading this book is worth your time.
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