The No Spin Zone

If you’ve not heard of Bill O’Reilly by now, you wouldn’t be interested in The No Spin Zone. It isn’t for those who’ve been unconscious all their life. Though if you are the least bit concerned with the world around you, then by all means, continue.

Bill O’Reilly is a well-known (and to some, infamous) figure on the Fox News network. His show is the "O’Reilly Factor," a news/talk show rooted in a conservative base but gives all sides of the coin a fair deal. And it is this show that The No Spin Zone both draws its name and is concerned with.

The No Spin Zone is the segment of the O’Reilly factor that most guests dread and try to avoid being booked to. In Bill’s own words: "In the No Spin Zone rationalizations are scorned, lies are rejected, and equivocations are mocked. It’s a place where quite a few smirks have turned to frowns." In other words, there’s no wool to be pulled over people’s eyes. And it’s this type of reporting that shows O’Reilly has a good head on his shoulders.

The book, The No Spin Zone, is a collection of excerpts from the aforementioned segment and deal with the major issues of out times – from the corruption of children in various ways to tax evasion. And to do so, Bill interviews a wide array of characters, from the Rev. Al Sharpton to Dan Rather to George W. Bush. Of course, many of the celebrity guests have stand-ins like lawyers and publicists and the like to bear the brunt. And O’Reilly pulls no punches with them either.

The goal of the book is to present both sides of the argument via these excerpts and let the reader sort out who’s got it right. However, O’Reilly sprinkles in his own thoughts and commentaries throughout the interviews, which tends to bias the case somewhat. But if he didn’t, why buy the book? Right? It should come as no surprise though as he says clearly in the beginning, "…but hey, it is my book."

The commentaries in each chapter are often backed up by facts and figures. Those facts though tend to lose credit, as O’Reilly often fails to cite his sources in the articles or a bibliography. Still, it makes for compelling rhetoric that could make even anarchists step back and say "gee."

The final chapter is an afterward from journalist/novelist James Ellroy about how he "found" O’Reilly, and merely states his feeling on Bill in a character building manner. Interesting as it is, it’s just "there" in the book – neither really out of place nor really belonging there. It basically sums up the 3 versions of the O’Reilly factor – the show, the book (published previous to The No Spin Zone) and the man himself.

All in all a good read. Quick too. On the arbitrary NWOt scale of 1-6, I deem this a 5. Well written yes, but loses some points for not adequately citing sources. Not for my sake mind you, but it does give an enemy cannon fodder.

For already existing fans it’s just your everyday O’Reilly. For those averse to Bill O’Reilly – you still need to read this book because it’s always wise to know your opponents point of view… especially those who just hate him because it’s the chic thing to do. For all those just emerging from their caves and/or are interested in the affairs of the world this book is a good place to start. O’Reilly’s views are a tad right of center, but he does share a fair amount of the quote unquote progressive views making him one of the more centered people in the media today; and always it’s better to start conservative and work your way up to radical, therwise you’ll look like a hypocrite going the other way.

The No Spin Zone was first published in 2001 from Broadway Books as a hardcover and is now out in paperback as well.

Other books by Bill O’Reilly include – The O’Reilly Factor, Whose Looking Out For You, and Those Who Tresspass: A Novel of Murder and Television.

For more on O’Reilly, visit BillOreilly.com and/or watch him Monday-Friday at 8EST on Fox News.

Common Nonsense

America’s favorite curmudgeon is at it again with his recent book of essays entitled Common Nonsense. The book was written over a period of five years, complied of 154 writings written in no particular order.

It covers a wide array of topics: Daily Life in America, Food & Drink, Heath and Doctors, Politics, Sports, Entertainment and the Arts, Learning, Work Life and Success, The Writing Life, Home Life, Animals, Travel, Big Issues, Progress, and People and Places. All treated with Rooney’s signature wit. So much so, you’ll hear him narrating as you read.

Although the essays are very good and the ideas pretty solid, there is a tendency to repeat thoughts from one essay to the next. Not every essay, but a few sound like rehashings of the one before it. I guess that happens when you compile 5 years of random thoughts into one book. At least it shows that Rooney is consistent with issues.

And, as always, Rooney isn’t afraid to mince words. He goes after just about everybody, including his bosses at CBS and 60 Minutes.

After reading this book, I definitely came away with a smile… and a little wiser to boot. I read it straight through in about two days… but you could also essay hop if you so desire. Everyone is a gem. It shows that Mr. Rooney is far from the retirement center.

Some select snippets from the book:

– You never see old men sitting in rocking chairs on their front porches whittling anymore. Rocking chairs, front porches and whittling all seem to have gone out of style. Old men, on the other hand, are all over the place.

– Everyday thousands of humans gather by the side of lakes and the oceans with poles or they go out in boats to catch fish. They have all sorts of expensive equipment but, more often than not, they fail to catch a fish. The pelicans must laugh.

I give Common Nonsense a 6 out of 6. It’s 350 pages of neat.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (the book)

Quite possibly one of the best literary accomplishments by the "Grand Master of Gonzo Journalism," Fear and Loathing is the saga of the quest for the "American Dream" by one man and his Samoan lawyer. It begins with one Raul Duke on the road to Las Vegas to cover a motorcycle race in Las Vegas (imagine that, it takes place in Las Vegas) in a serious drug stupor. Oddly enough, it ends with Herr Duke in Denver in a serious drug stupor.

In the pages in between, he spends all of about five minutes on the race before going off on a killer bender; trashes his hotel room (attained fraudulently), then goes across town and checks into another; attends a National DA’s Conference on Drugs (or something of similar title); proceeds to go on another bender and destroy his second hotel room; horrify a maid named Alice; harass some locals; and skip town after he learns the people from the first hotel are after him.

This review is admittedly watered down almost completely, but it has nothing to do with me being a lazy useless bastard… this time. At least half of the book was followed highly accurately, almost verbatim, by the movie version. The movie however, ends before Thompson – er – I mean Duke skips town on a plane with a carry-on case filled with illegal drugs and a loaded .357 Magnum revolver. Thus I might or might not cover the story in a more detailed way in the movie review. If not, get off your lazy ass and either buy the book or the movie and quit relying on me to blow the storylines for you on everything.

Anyhow, time to rate it and go back to my drinking. If you’re looking for some sort of inner truth that could possibly be found at the bottom of a bong, you might be able to find it in a few select scattered passages throughout the book. Mostly though, it’s just drug and alcohol fueled insanity, that’s quite funny to read and even funnier to watch (if you get the movie). Therefore, for sheer entertainment value, I’m going to award it 4 bottles of rum and a fresh cooked pizza.

There, now that I’ve once again screened the vast literary wastes for you thankless people, I’m outta here. I’ll be back later for the other two Thompson books I’m supposed to read.

The World’s Great Artillery

“Now, as then, guns are a way of putting serious combat power on the battlefield in a decisive fashion. A thousand years ago, that meant using ‘tension’ artillery to fling into or over the walls of fortifications or into massed formations of infantry. It was an efficient method of killing people and destroying things quickly and in large quantity. That’s what war is about – making things simply too difficult for the other side to operate and imposing you will on them…”

-Hans Halberstadt

And this book is about the development of the weapons systems which do just that, help one side to dominate the battlefield and defeat the opposition.

Beginning with a general overview of what the terms cannon, howitzer, and mortar are, and yes there are differences, Halberstadt covers the past 702 or so years of artillery evolution. One of the first pieces covered is the Bombard, an iron tube with a 7.8inch bore which, was tied to a chassis that looks like it was carved out of 2x4s with all the grace of a lop sided chimp with the hick-ups. It did however, play the role of a howitzer-mortar fairly efficiently for the Italians, hurling 220lb stones approximately 300 yards.

Further along, an entire chapter is devoted to the U.S. Civil War and the artillery developments of that time. One example would be 14pdr (pdr = pounder; cannons were designated by the weight of their projectiles at this period, not by bore diameter) James Rifle. This was one of the first rifled artillery pieces, and an odd one, being cast of bronze. For those of you not savvy with your metals, the bronze barrels had an annoying habit of eroding, a problem, which cast iron and later steel barreled guns were not as prone to. It did, however manage to fling lead a good 1700 yards with a 12 oz powder charge and 5 degrees of elevation.

Chapters 3-5 cover the more modern weapons systems of the 20th Century. Starting with Chapter 3, which covers from the year 1900 to just after the First World War, the famous names in cannon history start popping up. One example from the early part of the last 100 years if the French 75mm, or the M1897 75mm, as the frogs call it. It was probably the first really modern gun of the era, using a hydro-pneumatic recoil system, instead of just allowing the gun to move rewards several feet and then move it back into battery. The gun had a 2.95″ bore and lobbed shells as far as 9,295 yards.

Chapter 4 examines the weapons systems of World War II, predominantly. This chapter covers the standard artillery concept, as well as other systems, such as the self-propelled artillery systems, rockets and the gargantuan mortars employed by the Soviet Union. One such system was the British Sexton, a 25pdr cannon (with a bore of 3.45″) attached to a Canadian tank chassis. It could lob its projectiles 13,400yds and was finally relegated to obsolescence by the smaller nation of the world in 1980.

Chapter 5 covers the pleasantries, which were devised to be exchanged during the past 60 years of U.S. – Soviet relations. One of the odder self-propelled weapons to come out at the end of that era was the DANA. A wheeled (not tracked) self-propelled howitzer, it made its debut in the former country of Czechoslovakia, in 1980. It was capable of up to 50mph on the open road, and flung the Warsaw Pact standard 152mm (6″) projectile.

The final chapter in the book covers the modern world’s marvels of engineering. Along with the typical big shots (no pun intended) of artillery development (U.S., U.K., Russia, Germany, etc.) some light it also shed on the new comers to the field. South Africa for example, has produced, for its own consumption, forty-three LIW-G6s. The G-6 is another wheeled (no, still not tracked) self-propelled designs. It lobs a 155mm (6.1″) projectile 31 miles, with a rocket-assisted shell design, and is capable of 56mph on paved roadways.

Now, for the review part of this creative writing assignment, the book is easily found at your local Barnes and Noble, which is of course a big plus. Halberstadt is easy to read and digest and sheds light on many weapons designs of both the obsolete and current (state of the art, even). Thus, because of its informative, yet straightforward style I give it the coveted 6 object of some nature out of a total 6 thing-a-ma-bobs attainable. The perfect score, for the perfect bedtime read.

A Bully Father: Theodore Roosevelt’s Letters to His Children

To begin with, the term ‘bully’ in this sense does not equate itself with the schoolyard bully and his band of thugs and cretins who always leaned on you for your milk money. Rather, the term as Roosevelt used it, was reminiscent of such terms as ‘good’, ‘great’, and/or ‘wonderful.’ And indeed, that is what he was: a great president, a great family man, and truly the kind of person you want running your empire.

A Bully Father spends about eighty-three pages giving you all sorts of interesting information about TR, such as the time he shot a hole in the roof of his Long Island house to show his son the new rifle he bought him was real and not just a toy. It also gives some of the rather darker sides to TR’s life, such as his first born, his daughter Alice lived with his sister for a good three years before she was collected and TR decided to settle down from his western adventures and marry again.

At around page ninety-two the letters begin and end on pages two-hundred forty-six. The first one is a letter to home from the Cuban front during the Spanish American War; the last two involve his great safari in 1911 after having lost the election running on his own Bull Moose ticket. The last few pages of the book merely chronicle the demise of each of the Roosevelts, starting with Teddy himself.

On the whole the book made for interesting reading and was pretty informative. Thus, on our worn and shattered Official New World Otter Rating Scale I give it a 6…. 6 what you ask? Why, soulless penguins of course. Get it. Read it. Enjoy.

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