Who's Looking Out for You? (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "IT IS BRUTALLY unfair to the children involved, but there are almost 12 million one-parent families in the U.S.A. Single mothers run the majority of..." (more)
Key Phrases: The Factor, Bill Clinton, Bill O'Reilly (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

As he did in his bestselling books The O'Reilly Factor and The No Spin Zone, TV and radio host Bill O'Reilly again blasts a host of selfish and corrupt individuals and institutions for threatening the nation's well-being--no surprise there. What is surprising is the personal tone of Who's Looking Out For You, which is as much self-help as social or political commentary. Is O'Reilly getting soft? Hardly. He still packs a punch, but this time he mixes tales of outrage with practical advice gleaned from his own experiences and mistakes. The underlying theme of the book is trust. If you can identify and associate with those that deserve your trust, he argues, you will get along well in both your personal and professional life. Among those external forces undeserving of trust, according to O'Reilly, are the media (particularly harmful to children, he warns), the legal system, and the government: "Our federal government is not good at helping real people who have real problems, and it doesn't care about the money you give it as long as that revenue train keeps chugging along," he writes. He also hammers the INS for their lax stance on illegal immigrants and the damage it has caused the country, irresponsible parents, secularists, network news executives, ideologues, and minority leaders who foster hatred in order to serve their own interests, to name just a few offenders. Though some of his advice tends toward the obvious, it is hard to argue with his emphasis on self-reliance, especially at a time when the answer to the question posed in his title seems to be "just me." It's a good bet that many readers will also add Bill O'Reilly to this list. --Shawn Carkonen

From Publishers Weekly

The tough-talking, no-spin anchor of The O'Reilly Factor offers his many fans another no-holds-barred excoriation of the usual suspects-but also, surprisingly, some others. In his latest, the bestselling author (The No-Spin Zone) scrutinizes the forces at play in the lives of ordinary Americans, seeking to answer the question in the title. His conclusion: not the U.S. government; not the media; not the Catholic bishops ("elderly white men who have spent their lives playing politics and currying favor with the conservative zealots in the Vatican"). Other offenders include "antipolice minority `leaders' "; Hollywood moguls who put profit before public morality; lawyers eager to make a buck on the back of taxpayers and the justice system itself- and the list goes on. But this is not an exercise in complaint; in fact, it is the opposite. This surprisingly personal book gets even more personal in the last two chapters where O'Reilly provides examples of his own blunders and vulnerabilities on his path to success. In the last chapter, entitled "Here's to You," O'Reilly counsels his readers: take care of your mind and your body; read books; exercise; forgive yourself; be independent and practice tolerance. While he at times falls into cliche and overly simplistic analysis, he manages to pull off an inspirational guide to life's most basic quandaries. O'Reilly has found a niche and continues to capitalize successfully on it. He is able to package conservative ideas so that they are palatable to a broader audience, and despite his confrontational, some might say merciless, style, he makes his readers and viewers feel that he is looking out for them.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Broadway; Book Club (BCE/BOMC) edition (September 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767913795
• ISBN-13: 978-0767913799
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (542 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #74,285 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, not inspiring either, February 4, 2005

By	Jeffrey Demers - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Bill O'Reilly

Who's Looking Out for You?

This book is Bill O'Reilly's self help guide for American citizens. Its not particularly insightful, but it is interesting. If you like his show it will give you some good biographical information and some insights into who he is and why. His main argument on the need to be cautious before crediting someone with looking out for you is well written and quite persuasive. People in power are not looking out for you; they are looking out for themselves, their image, their wallet, their friends and then maybe you (in descending order).

The book does have its moments. O'Reilly uses a great quote to open his assault on the decadence of government from Scottish historian Alexander Tyler: "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largess from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over a loose fiscal policy." (p. 68)

Obviously, democracy can not survive a massive redistribution of wealth. Essentially, most in government (particularly liberals O'Reilly mentions) are not looking out for you! That being said individuals need to take personal responsibility for all of their actions and live their life accordingly. They need to look out for themselves! In this regard the book fulfills its main objective: it is truly fools gold to think that anyone (especially the government) but good friends and family will ever look out for you.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as interesting as his tv show, September 26, 2003

By	Johnny D. Goode (Athens, Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews

It frustrates me that so many of the reviews on here are either 1 star or 5 stars - there is a middle ground, you know! While I don't agree with many of O'Reilly's views, I do believe his television show is usually worth watching: he makes expert use of television as a medium, and is pushing 'news talk shows' in a new direction. Whether those who follow his model will do with such energy and passion is doubtful, but still...

I've not read any previous books by O'Reilly, but thought I'd give this one a try. While his voice comes through strongly at times, the book doesn't have the same visceral kick as the tv show - at times, the book is a little pedestrian and lame. Does anyone else have anything to say about O'Reilly's effectiveness as a writer? I just don't think he's very good at it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Who's Looking Out For You, December 4, 2003

By	L. Hobson (Palmdale California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Who's Looking Out For You

Well I hate to say it, but what Bill O'Reilly writes about in his book is what every one of us already knew or should have known. Nothing new in what he is writing about, if you didn't know the best person to watch out for you is yourself then maybe you do need to read Mr. O'Reilly's book. You should also know the people that you can trust to help out should be the people that are the closest to you, but then again sometimes even close people will turn their back on you if you your not watching out for number one. Like Mr. O'Reilly's TV show Mr. O'Reilly has set himself up as a know it all, on just about everything. I do agree with Mr. O'Reilly on most of what he says and writes about but do like to hear both sides and not just Bill O'Reilly one sided way of doing his business. I think for most people the book is a good read and the rest should already know who's looking out for you with out reading. Larry Hobson- Author "The Day Of The Rose"