Who's Looking Out for You [Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Bill O'Reilly (Author, Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 23, 2003

Media powerhouse and expert critic Bill O'Reilly's most comprehensive book yet offers new insight into the current state of life in America. In examining the social, political, and economic aspects of our daily lives, O'Reilly exhausts every bureaucratic system to see what our higher-ups are doing to take care of us, and points out the people and institutions who are failing the average American. At the same time, he makes one of his most profound and daring journeys yet, as he ventures to question how much genuine altruism is left in a society that thrives on a competitive, increasingly self-indulgent ethos. With thoughtfulness and candor, O'Reilly targets our biggest problems, and offers sage advice on how to regain control and trust in these troubled times.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bill O'Reilly is a twenty-year veteran of the television industry and has won two Emmy Awards for excellence in reporting. He served as a national correspondent for ABC News and as an anchor for the nationally syndicated Inside Edition and holds two master's degrees, one in public administration from Harvard and another in broadcast journalism from Boston University. He lives on Long Island with his wife and their daughter.

From AudioFile

O'Reilly says it took him a long time to get the hang of on-air journalism, but he definitely gets it now. Following on the success of "The O'Reilly Factor" and "The No-Spin Zone," he tackles all the people and institutions that ought to have your well-being at heart but probably don't. Parents (if you're lucky), government (forget it), church (has lost its way), the media (are you kidding?) all come in for scrutiny. He has many constructive solutions--for example, pick associates carefully--and puts them forth forcefully. He sounds by turn exuberant, cautionary, defensive, and, above all, persuasive. He concludes that you need to watch out for yourself, and, despite missteps, he has. Above all, he's a superb salesman of ideas. J.B.G. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Random House Audio; Unabridged edition (September 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0739306499
• ISBN-13: 978-0739306499
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 4.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #354,829 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A little boring., December 7, 2003

By 

Vulpix (Lincoln, NE) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who's Looking Out for You (Audio CD)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What You Would Expect, February 14, 2004

By 

Wayne Lucas "Popeye" (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Who's Looking Out for You (Audio CD)

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.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth the time, December 22, 2004

By 

General Pete (SC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Who's Looking Out for You (Audio CD)

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.