Keep It Pithy: Useful Observations in a Tough World

Bill O’Reilly, anchor of the country’s highest rated cable news show, The O’Reilly Factor, and a New York Times bestselling author, has produced a “literary highlight reel” of his most memorable works and interviews. Keep it Pithy conveniently compiles snippets of his previous interviews and writings into a mere 140 pages – pithy, if you will.

Throughout the book, O’Reilly touches on many of the modern political issues of our time, from gay marriage to Benghazi, police brutality to media bias. As America prepares to face a monumental election, O’Reilly hopes to educate the American public to ensure that the “sane people” don’t lose.

The book begins by referencing one of O’Reilly’s earlier books, Culture Warrior, and the accuracy of his predictions for the future of America. The book predicted the election of a fictional president, Gloria Hernandez, and the development of a “society that places individual self-expression and rights over self-sacrifice and adult responsibility.” Even O’Reilly, however, had anticipated this platform from a president elected in 2020, rather than merely two years after the book’s publication. Throughout the book, O’Reilly continues to validate his predictions regarding the Obama administration, in addition to the timelessness of his former works.

The compilation of works in Keep It Pithy work together to support O’Reilly’s early predictions regarding the current administration, but also about the larger cultural shift America faces. He reflects extensively on the role, or lack thereof, of religion in modern day America.  Conservatives will be thrilled as, especially in this section, O’Reilly calls upon the Founding Fathers and the Constitution to critique today’s debates over the separation of church and state, calling this issue one of the “biggest frauds ever foisted on the American people.” He evaluates the state of religious freedom in the country, blaming secularism for erasing religious expression in the public arena.

O’Reilly also compiles his unchanged opinions on race and police brutality, another timely issue on which his views still resonate. He admits, “There will always be corrupt and racist cops because there will always be corrupt and racist people. But police officers on the street get up every day knowing they might not come home at night. And for this they should be given the benefit of any doubt.” This insight leads into a deep evaluation of the real crises within America’s black communities, from high numbers of children out of wedlock to crime and abuse. Again pulling from Culture Warrior, O’Reilly revisits an important conservative question: why are African Americans leaning left when they are largely in the traditional camp, especially on social issues?

For those who are big O’Reilly fans, or those who are unfamiliar with his show and previous works, Keep it Pithy is a thorough overview of his views. The book will help provide a bit of insight into a wide range of political issues, providing an elevator pitch on each of them.

Original CBC book review by Katherine Telford.

Tags: Bill O'Reilly, Keep It Pithy: Useful Observations in a Tough World