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The O'Reilly Factor: The Good, the Bad, and
the Completely Ridiculous in American Life
by Bill O'Reilly (Author) |
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- Hardcover: 224 pages ; Dimensions
(in inches): 0.99 x 9.59 x 6.41
- Publisher: Broadway; (September 12,
2000)
- ISBN: 0767905288
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Book Description
An irreverent, straight-talking look at American politics and
culture from the iconoclastic anchor of one of the highest-rated
TV news programs in the country.
Bill O'Reilly has the hottest cable news program on the air. "The
O'Reilly Factor," seen nightly on the Fox News Channel, boosted
its ratings by more than six times in 1998, and has kept soaring.
His blunt, ironic, no-holds-barred style has earned O'Reilly a
devoted audience of viewers--friends and foes alike--who send him
five thousand letters every week. Now, with the wit and
intelligence that have made him one of the most talked-about stars
in television, Bill O'Reilly identifies what's right, what's
wrong, and what's absurd in the political, social, economic, and
cultural life of America:
*The media: why what you see is decided upon by morons
*Politics: why most politicians are obsolete
*Sex: why Americans would declare war on Denmark if they knew what
was going on there
As the nation prepares for another presidential race, O'Reilly's
provocative opinions are sure to add fire to the ongoing debates.
THE O'REILLY FACTOR is poised to follow in the footsteps of
bestsellers such as Rush Limbaugh's The Way Things Ought to Be
and Jesse Ventura'sI
Ain't Got Time to Bleed.
From the Back Cover
What they say about Bill
O'Reilly:
"The O'Reilly Factor is a straight, serious, no-nonsense show. Bill
O'Reilly has a firm graspof the issues, and he asks the tough
questions other hosts won't."
-- William J. Bennett
"I may be damaging Bill O'Reilly's reputation by praising him in
public. Nonetheless, even though he is wrong about most things,
politically speaking, he is invariably fair and encourages debates.
His program is always worth watching."
-- Lanny Davis, Former Special Counsel to the President (1996-1998)
"I just returned from a trip to Vietnam, and one of the reasons I
went was to prepare myself for being back on The O'Reilly Factor
because Bill O'Reilly uses some of their old interrogation
techniques."
-- Senator John McCain
"The O'Reilly Factor is a consistently informative, entertaining
program that deals with important, contemporary issues. I appreciate
Bill O'Reilly's 'no shtick' and 'take no prisoners' approach. The
passion, sincerity, and voracity with which he handles his work are
refreshing."
-- Dr. Laura C. Schlessinger
"It's hard to pin a label on Bill O'Reilly. Is he a liberal
conservative or a conservative liberal? But whatever his political
leanings, his show is a hard-hitting, fast-moving discussion of
events at the top of the news. No one walks away from it, guest or
viewer, without admiration for The O'Reilly Factor."
-- Geraldine A. Ferraro
"Bill O'Reilly overpowers . . . with his direct, take-no-prisoners
point of view. How a Gentile could be the greatest talk show host in
history is something I will never be able to figure out."
-- Jackie Mason
The O'Reilly Factor isn't just the name of
Bill O'Reilly's popular talk show on the Fox News Channel
anymore--it's also the title of his book, which, appropriately
enough, actually reads like a TV show. The narrative rarely proceeds
for more than a few paragraphs before a bold-faced "This Just In" or
"Bulletin" pops up on the page and breaks the stream of
thought--sort of like a commercial interruption. This provides an
ideal forum for O'Reilly to sound off on any number of topics with
lots of verve but not too much depth.
There
are breezy chapters here on money, media, religion, race, and sex,
among others. O'Reilly dislikes many things, and he isn't shy about
sharing his opinions: "SUVs should be immediately outlawed," he
rants. Here's O'Reilly on President Clinton: "What a ridiculous
waste!" Attorney General Janet Reno is a "ridiculous, incompetent
woman" and President Clinton's "primary 'enabler.'"
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
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