Who's Looking Out for You?

Rating:
Summary: Look Out for Yourself, Your Family and Your Friends
Review: The major theme of this work is that you had better take responsibility for your own life . . . because no one other than your family and you will . . . unless you develop a few friends along the way who want to help you.

If you already understand and accept that point, you will wonder why you should read the book. Well, you shouldn't. The book isn't aimed at you.

The book is aimed at those who believe that the powers that be (government officials, your religious leaders, corporation CEOs, celebrities, protestors, the media, leaders of minority groups and the legal system) are primarily looking out for you and that all will be well because of their care. Mr. O'Reilly uses lots of individual examples based on experiences from his reporting to show that not to be the case. If you have read either of Mr. O'Reilly's other books or watched his television show, you will be familiar with most of the examples.

I was somewhat unpersuaded by evidence drawn almost exclusively from the worst behavior of "responsible" people and organizations. Of course, there are bad apples. And of course, no one is perfect. And the larger the organization, the bigger mess it will probably make of what it is doing. But the world also has a lot of decent people who will go the extra mile to help . . . much as Mr. O'Reilly does with his reporting on outrageous situations. I suspect that most people would agree with Mr. O'Reilly's point if it were couched in more of a "question authority" perspective.

Of more interest to most readers will be the sections of the book where Mr. O'Reilly talks about his father (who trusted no one, and let that distrust get in the way of accomplishing his potential), his own youthful and career experiences, and his mea culpas for the mistakes in judgment he made along the way. If the whole book had had that autobiographical focus, this would have been a four or five star book.

As a book for helping the average person be more successful, the book would have been improved by shifting its focus a little more from hammering the usual suspects to providing detailed advice for fulfilling the key principles in the book. Also, his subject is usually treated by professionals like Dr. Phil, so you shouldn't put your hopes too high for Mr. O'Reilly's advice for self-realization.

Here are the key points from the early chapters: Beware of toxic people (people who are bad apples and are willing to hurt you); realize that your family will help you (but may not know how) no matter what you do; and you will greatly benefit from timely help from loyal friends whom you are willing to help as well.

In the tenth chapter, he raises the key points for you to act on:

1. Rely on honest self-examination because most people won't tell you what you are doing wrong.

2. Cut down on your mistakes.

3. Forgive yourself when you do make a mistake.

4. Work on your health (especially avoid smoking, heavy drinking, and drugs) by watching your weight, keeping clean, going to the dentist and act on the lessons of good nutrition and exercise.

5. Be willing to take independent action to get what you want . . . as long as it is an appropriate end to pursue.

6. Be tolerant of others.

7. Engage in becoming friends with people you respect.

8. Have spontaneous fun.

The points are not developed in much detail. You'll have to work out the details mostly for yourself.

The writing comes across as relatively unpolished and often seems like a transcription of thoughts poured out onto a tape recording rather than as formal prose. As a result, the book did not work nearly as well as The No Spin Zone to get his points across. In fact, by refocusing on many of the same individuals, the book comes across as a little redundant.

As a side point, Mr. O'Reilly clearly dislikes being characterized as a conservative, and spends time explaining his views to counter that perception. Based on what he said here and in the other two books, I would describe him instead as an outspoken advocate of his personal principles. I found myself disagreeing with few of those principles (the primary exception in our mutual agreements is his view that the U.S. doesn't need to consider what any other country thinks if any foreign citizens is involved in terrorist attacks on any American). If Mr. O'Reilly is thought by some to be a conservative, it is only because he believes that character counts . . . rather because he thinks we should move back into the 19th century (which he doesn't think).

As a final observation, Mr. O'Reilly seems willing to listen to opposing views . . . which is a fine quality in a journalist. He is also quick to acknowledge his own errors (such as believing too readily in the huge amounts of weapons of mass destruction in Saddam Hussein's arsenal). Although not always graceful in his way of expressing himself, we are fortunate to have Mr. Reilly out there trying to unearth injustices so that they can be corrected. I hope he finds a lot of them . . . because they do exist . . . and need to be corrected. I also hope that more people with informed opinions who disagree with him will appear on his show. We can all learn more when that happens.

Rating:
Summary: Well done
Review: If you are a fan of O'Reilly you will enjoy his book. I have watched "The Factor" for a few years now and much of his book is analysis of things seen in his program. I consider myself a middle of the road citizen when it comes to politics. I've read Michael Moore, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and Hillary Clinton's books. The reason I do this is because politically, you have the left, the right, and somewhere between them is the truth. In my opinion, Bill is the best at what he does, news analysis. If your extremely conservative you won't like this book. If your extremely liberal you will not like this book. If your like most americans (middle of the road) you will enjoy this read. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Disrespectful to veterans
Review: A veteran myself, I did not appreciate Mr. O'Reilly's jab in one of the sections on defense that, quote, "anyone who has been in the military and fought in a war is a Republican. A veteran who proclaims to be a Democrat should not have come back alive."

Very arrogant and insensitive from someone who purports to support the military.

Rating:
Summary: What Say Me
Review: As a semi-regular viewer of The O'Rielly Factor for a number of years now, I find myself agreeing about 75% or so with Mr O'Rielly, and his views on how the world works. While I have never read any of his other books before, I decided to give Who's Looking Out for You?, a look, just the same. Rather than make this review all about the author, and what I think of him personally, I am going to attempt to actually review the book. The good, the bad, and the in-between.

Anyone who watches The Factor, even as I do, will note the book is written in much the same way the author that he speaks on his television (and I guess) and radio shows. Mr. O gets right to the point in diseminating his opinions. Taking some of the most controversial stories he's followed on T.V., he ties them together, and offers "self help" type advice on how to get through life. I put self help in quotes because I think that's not the book's true intention. Most of the tips he offers is your average common sense advice. He targets are the usual suspects--Former President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary, The INS, The Hollywood activist community, Jesse Jackson, The Catholic church and how they handled the Priest scandals, folks on the right, left and so on. Since I have seen his show before, most of this stuff was familiar territory. Indeed, the most iteresting part of book for me though, was reading about his life growing up and his early career in the media. The stuff that went on while he anchored Inside Edition was a real eye opener, as a former news intern in college, I could see that stuff happening...

The 224 page book is an easy read. Love him or hate him, if you watch the Factor, a lot of it is already out there. He just expands a bit more on his subjects *** and a half stars

Rating:
Summary: Easy and Straight Foward to Read
Review: Bill presents a lot of good information about journalism, 9-11-01, politicians, personal attacks against him (by members of the elite media, Hollywood, and politicians), and his own struggle to get where he is today. Bill also talks in detail about issues facing America in a critical way backed up by personal accounts and media domination. It is easy reading and straight to the point. Recommended to anyone who enjoys watching his television news talk show on cable, "The Factor."

Rating:
Summary: Would you trust a man named Bill O'LIE-lly?
Review: After reading Al Franken's "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them," I thought it was only fair to read just what Bill O'Reilly (one of the book's many targets)was all about. After the 200th page (yes, you can actually read 200 pages of this book in an hour-it's that thin!), I abruptly closed to book, returned it to the humor section (since it was so laughable), and drove back to work, angry that I had wasted an entirely lunch hour. For a man that decries the use of "spin" in politics, he sure uses a lot of it in his book. There is not one shred of proof he uses to back up his claims. Not even a footnote. Instead, he tries to bludgeon the poor reader in the head until he or she either believes him or not. And if you don't, then you're simply an idiot. That's basically the crux of Billy Boy's writing style. The only value this book can possibly have is a door stop or a paper weight.

Rating:
Summary: Would you trust a man named Bill O'LIE-lly?
Review: After reading Al Franken's "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them," I thought it was only fair to see just what Bill O'Reilly (one of the book's many targets) was all about. So during my lunch hour, I cruised over to the nearest book store and settled myself in a nice, cozy chair, a cup of mocha in one hand and Bill O'Reilly's book in the other. After the 200th page (yes, you can actually read 200 pages of this book in an hour-it's that thin!), I abruptly closed to book, returned it to the humor section, and drove back to work, angry that I had wasted an entire lunch hour. For a man that decries the use of "spin" in politics, he sure uses a lot of it in his book. There is not one shred of proof, not even a footnote, he uses to back up his claims. Instead, he tries to bludgeon the poor reader in the head until he or she either believes him or not. And if you don't, then you're simply an idiot. That's basically the crux of O'Reilly's writing style. For shame, Billy Boy!

Rating:
Summary: O'Reilly opinionated? Absolutely!
Review: Most of the negative commentary on Bill O'Reilly comes from people who either don't listen to him, don't watch him, or hear reports about him from sources that disagree with him.

This reminds me of when I used to hear about how "offensive" the Howard Stern program was. I heard it so much, that I started to believe it. Though, I had never listened to Stern and at that time refused to because again, I was told he was offensive. When a friend finally sat me down to listen to the show, I found myself laughing hysterically and thoroughly enjoying his program. Point being, don't let others make your opinions for you, make them for yourself.

If you read the book it is clear that O'Reilly doesn't hate Bill or Hillary Clinton, or Al Gore, etc. He IS however very critical of them, and why not? (Note criticism doesn't equal hate.) O'Reilly has one of the most (if not the most) watched programs on Cable television that targets 'republican' voters. If I am Al Gore, or Hillary, etc, what better forum to go on to attempt to change minds and bring the other side to your way of thinking? These people never have appeared on O'Reilly (who also openly criticizes Bush) but bash him whenever they can.

O'Reilly has asked Hillary and Al Gore countless times to appear on the program. He states it openly on his show and in his books. Yet they refuse time and time again, why?

If you form and believe your own opinions based on facts, and not the way you feel about things, then O'Reilly's take on things will either re-enforce your opinions or won't have any impact on them whatsoever. I'll borrow from Covey here, "Seek first to understand, then seek to be understood." Regardless, you should always listen to what the other side has to say, you may actually learn something (I watch CNN, read the NYT, etc.) To shut out or demonize the opposing position (because it is the opposing position) doesn't help anyone, including yourself.

If you can get past the baseless and negative drivel in some of these reviews, you will find that "Who's looking out for you?" is a very worthwhile read.

It's easy to separate in the reviews here who has and who hasn't read the book vs. those who simply hate O'Reilly (1 Star and 1 sentence that has little or nothing to do with the book...), ignore those reviews and read the book yourself and form your own opinion.

Rating:
Summary: *laugh*
Review: Well I wouldn't actually call this a book - it's more like a pamphlet. Laughable content is mercifully short.

Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Self-Help Book!!!
Review: Forget about politics for a minute. Who's Looking Out For You is not a book about politics. This statement is so important, I'm going to repeat it: THIS IS NOT A BOOK ABOUT POLITICS. Yes, author Bill O'Reilly is the supersavy host of the FOX News Channel's news and commentary show No Spin Zone. Yes, the basic premise of this book is that you should be Very Careful whom you trust these days, and he seems especially distrustful of BIG institutions: Big Government, Big Media, Big Religion, etc. In and of itself, saying that Big Is Bad is making a political statement. I agree. But to get the most out of this book (and there are several excellent suggestions for better everyday living), you should view this book in it's proper context. Who's Looking Out...is a SELF HELP book. O'Reilly draws generously from his vast reservoir of life experience (and he's not shy about discussing the numerous mistakes he has made and, more importantly, the lessons he learned from them), so that he, in effect, can most effectively practice what he preaches and become a person whose first thought is to look out for others rather than enriching himself. Bill does this by telling stories from his own experiences with the different news organizations he has been attached to, which colleagues taught him lessons and how, which ones looked after him, and, most important, who hosed him and why. (Hint: Bill O'Reilly has never been a poster boy for shyness!) Chapter Nine is the key chapter of the book; after carefully breaking down America's big, bad institutions in Chapters One through Eight, Bill uses Chapter Nine to outline his plan, which involves (among other things) forging coalitions with like-minded coworkers, finding mentors who will look out for you (as Peter Jennings once looked after Bill at ABC News), and most important, Never, Never talking trash about coworkers at the office. Throughout this pivotal chapter and the next, Bill O'Reilly proves his belief that personal discipline, education, and persistence are the keys to success, and that chaos must be avoided at all costs. (Chaos, says Bill, merely begats more chaos, and is usually caused not by outside factors, but by your own poor decisions.) In sum, Bill O'Reilly does indeed prove his thesis: Chances are excellent that no one will look out for you, so you must learn to look out for yourself. Also, if you look out for others, they can show you true friendship just when you need it most. Cheers for Bill O'Reilly! Forget the politics, and get this wonderful, magical Self Help book right away, before chaos overtakes and controls your life!