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Loading... The O'Reilly Factor: The Good, the Bad, and the Completely Ridiculous in…by Bill O'Reilly
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. Sort of like the show, except without the occasional interesting guest (read: Dennis Miller) or the fun of watching O'Reilly shout over somebody. It's mostly a bunch of variations on "Why, back when I was a kid...!" It is interesting to note that at this point, O'Reilly despised Al Sharpton; that changed by the time the next book rolled out, and now he's pretty much a Factor regular. (  )1   badgenome | Oct 21, 2007 |  Sigh, it is books like this that really challenge my desire to write at least a brief review of everything I've read. This reads like a comic book, though perhaps one gussied up to an eighth grade level of literacy. The funny thing is, I agree with O'Reilly on a great many things (though far from everything!) but there's just nothing here. It is part biography, part rant, part morality play, and completely nothing. There were some cute anecdotes about his time in the media, and him growing up, but that's about it. I didn't hate it, but just kept wondering if there was any sort of point to all of this. And concluded there wasn't, not really. ( )1 worldsedge | Oct 10, 2007 | I listened to O'Reilly's book because I hated him on TV. Needless to say, he makes more sense in his book than when he's trying for ratings. I actually appreciated some of his ideas and didn't think he was quite the jerk he makes himself out to be on his show. (  ) readerspeak | Aug 2, 2007 | I lean strongly toward Libertarianism and because I'm a fiscally conservative guy, I thought O'Reilly would be a decent guy to watch and read. I've learned much to my regret, that he's a complete neocon who pushes the far right, religious agenda just as agressively as the far left pushes theirs. He's more than willing to lie, omit the truth, or just spin it wildly to his liking and to please his Republican paymasters. He's pushing a strong war mentality and he's wrong on just about any issue. I encourage you to read his material and listen to him, and then go read any 10 other pieces of journalism on the same subject. There's certainly a left slant in most media (witness the willingness to lick Hillary and Bill's boots), but he's just as far to the right. With these folks there is no middle ground, and that only means more government, more big brother, less money and power for us, and more authoritariansm. The book itself is a fairly hamfisted attempt at telling you how you should live your life and why you are wrong for not doing it his way. Nice huh? (  )1 thassler | Jan 31, 2007 | Although I don't agree with all of O'Reilly views, he makes some compelling arguments. Best of all, he backs up his discussions with facts. You can debate the type of solution to a problem, but he'll have you agreeing that there IS a problem. I love his TV show (The O'Relly Factor), and his book is written in much the same vein. This book is very easy to read. He writes about various "factors" that affect our country and it's inhabitants. His topics (chapters) include Class, Money, Sex, Media, Success, Celebrity, Politics, Race, and Religion. But by far his best chapters are the Good, the Bad, and the Ridiculous. Here he discusses specific people and minces no words in outlining why he feels they are good, bad, or completely ridiculous. (  ) kkirkhoff | Jul 20, 2006 |  no reviews | add a review
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This is not a subtle book, and its bombastic approach would be even more grating if it weren't for several flashes of self-deprecation, such as when the author shares a negative piece of viewer mail, or when he writes, "In case you haven't noticed, I'm a cocky bastard." Sometimes O'Reilly's put-downs are creative and funny: "If God has a sense of humor, as I believe he does, [Al Sharpton and David Duke] will be sharing a sauna in the netherworld. With one thermostat." And he's good at illustrating his points with outrageous details. In criticizing the bloated federal budget, for instance, he points to these shockers: $230,000 for a study of housefly sex habits, $27,000 for an analysis of why prisoners want to escape, and $100,000 to find out why Americans don't like beets. (To which he replies: "Houseflies mate when no one is looking. Prisoners don't like prison. Beets don't taste good.") O'Reilly is often considered something of a conservative, but he can also play the blue-collar populist: "The rich want us to believe that anyone can make the quantum leap from bowling league to country club by just working a little harder. That's supposed to keep us motivated and quiet." Fans of his TV show will probably appreciate this cantankerous book. --John J. Miller
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:05 -0400)
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