Culture Warrior by Bill O'Reilly
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Book Reviews of Culture Warrior
Book Review: Great Book
Summary: 5 Stars
I also have the CD version and the book with the new chapter is good to follow on when listing to the CDBook Review: Charge!
Summary: 4 Stars
Bill polarizes. So anyone who reads this book already has an opinion about the generalities, just not the details of the book. I will review the latter.
More than anything else, this book is a trumpet sounding "reveille," and then "charge!" O'Reilly focuses on tactical issues, as opposed to Mark Levin's Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto, which is a strategic book, or Ravi Zacharias's Deliver Us From Evil, which is a moral and religious book. All three should be read as a serendipitous trilogy.
As with most of O'Reilly's books, it is a mixture of journalism and journaling. We get the specifics of his battles, the wounds and scars he has suffered in standing for traditionalism. So it is slight on theory, except for the last chapter.
This book has great photos: Calvin Coolidge's Christmas greeting, George Clooney's face frozen mid-shout. My favorites are the archival photos of O'Reilly with vintage 1970s hair. Nixon was right when he said burn the tapes!
I do have a question of nomenclature. The opposite of a Secular-Progressive is not a Traditionalist, but a Spiritual-Traditionalist. O'Reilly makes the case for an atheistic-agnostic dynamic among the traditionalists, but can you show me a traditionalist society that was secular?
One scholar noted, "When the history of human thought shall be written from the point of view of temple worship, it may well be found that temples and the work done in them have been the dominating influence in shaping human thought from the beginning of the race."
Furthermore, there is no hope in secularism. Or more pointedly, there is no progress in Progressivism. Peter Kreeft observed that modernists (roughly equivalent to the S-P) put their faith in the one thing that cannot progress: matter (C.S. Lewis for the Third Millennium : Six Essays on the Abolition of Man).
Think about it--S-P reduces everything to matter, which is locked in the prison cell of thermodynamics and entropy. Secular-Progressivism is really Self-Contradictoryism.
Two end points. His fictions President Hernandez in 2020 is really Obama, just 10 years earlier. This is a benchmark as to the rate of change in the culture war--things are rushing quicker than anticipated.
His last chapter on the code of the traditional warrior should be photocopied and memorized. Hopefully some anthology a century from now will include it for required reading in history classes when this era is finally studied impartially.
Book Review: Culture Warrior: At Times You Have to Fight
Summary: 4 Stars
"Culture Warrior," by Bill O'Reilly, published in 2006, was 5th on the best-seller list in the category "hardcover nonfiction" in 2006. O'Reilly is a syndicated columnist, has written eight books, and is the host of his own show, "The O'Reilly Factor," which airs every weekday on the Fox News Channel.
"At times you have to fight" (1) is O'Reilly's powerful first sentence of the book. O'Reilly notes that the American public, traditionalists (mostly Christians) in particular, are being attacked by socialists, coined "secular-progressives" (S-P for short) by O'Reilly.
O'Reilly notes many of the key leaders in the S-P movement, putting The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) at the top of the list. Others include George Lakoff, George Soros, and Peter Lewis. O'Reilly is basically saying that these organizations or individuals are mostly in line with the S-P movement and should be regarded with much caution.
So, what does this all mean for Christians? The S-P movement is attacking some of our core beliefs. Some of the ways that the S-P movement wages war are as follows: the war on Christmas, opposing the War on Terror, failing to bring justice for children, fighting for the teaching of evolution in schools, and polluting media and newscasts with their liberal agendas.
O'Reilly discusses the deteriorating morality of American culture and how we should fight to save it. At times, however, O'Reilly is too judgmental of others and makes offensive, personal jabs at others. While it is important to be critical of the actions of others on the basis that we should be careful what we allow to influence us, we also have to be careful what we say about them in order to use to not alienate them from ourselves. Colossians 4:6 says "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." Even if we do confront others, we need to "speak the truth in love," as Ephesians 4:15 tells us.
All in all, Bill O'Reilly's "Culture Warrior" is a pretty convincing book which effectively points out the urgency with which we should fight the S-P movement. We need to do what we can in the fight against the negative influences in our culture today. We have to stand up for our beliefs. As 1 Corinthians 16:13 says, "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong." Sometimes, we do have to fight for what's right.
Book Review: Not "literary nonfiction," but surprisingly good
Summary: 4 Stars
Of course "Culture Warrior" is not literary nonfiction. Bill O'Reilly writes this book the way he speaks, in a populist style and with straightforward language. Beneath the common-person appeal lies his rock-hard backing for the individual over the group or "collective." Granted, he uses the more emotional terms like "collective" from time to time to make the reader react more strongly. Readers should not be fooled, though, by all the side stories of people, insults, compliments, and sundry soap-box philosophies written in "Culture Warrior." O'Reilly's core support always comes back to the honest citizen who works to improve himself and his colleagues, even those who disagree on various of his tactics.
Critics will say, with justifiable point, that the author spends too much time bashing particular personages (e.g., especially lightweights like Al Franken and George Clooney). This unfortunate fact tends to blunt the importance of his bashing on the more seriously undermining personages (e.g., George Lakeoff, George Soros - lots of "Georges"!). Mr. O'Reilly would have done better to allocate his criticism better. It should be noted that he speaks more kindly about some of his critics than one might expect, and likewise speaks surprisingly sternly to some conservatives (Rush Limbaugh, for example).
At the end, Bill O'Reilly boldly asserts, a couple times, the tenets of his take on the effective culture warrior. Readers will almost surely find some of these not to their liking regardless of their general opinion of the author (this reviewer cannot agree with three of these tenets!). Nevertheless, the underlying core of this book still has to be the primacy of the honest individual, and his willingness to work with other honest individuals. Get the book.
Book Review: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow?
Summary: 4 Stars
In this book, written in 2006, Bill O'Reilly invites the reader to join in a culture war between traditional thinking American citizens and secular progressives. O'Reilly clearly spells out the differences while pointing out he is a traditionalist and taking aim at the progressives. He makes some excellent points so the book is worth the read, especially part three.
Don't expect a "good news" book. There are dire predictions for America if the progressives are allowed to dominate, in his opinion. The author challenges us to think about how we vote and to consider ways in which we can make a difference by being informed voters as well as activists.
I enjoyed the author's "Bold Fresh" book as well as his book for kids so I didn't need a refresher course on who Bill O'Reilly is and his take on those who disagree with him. Folks who cannot view cable news and the "Factor" on Fox News in which O'Reilly spars with his guests on his "no-spin" zone, will be introduced to him in "Culture Warrior". He reminds us in no uncertain terms that he is 6ft.4" tall, weighs 200 lbs. and is afraid of no one! He is also Irish Catholic and you better say Merry Christmas instead of happy holidays when the season comes around!