Hated Authors, Beloved Books - Bill O'Reilly

Great books sometimes brings out people who judge the book by the author. This week is about those authors and examples of their books.

Today, it's about political views or mannerisms of a certain author, Bill O’Reilly and his Killing books.

My review of Killing Jesus. Initially, I didn't intend to buy this book. I read and enjoyed the other books by this duo, Killing Lincoln and Killing Kennedy, but the title of this one made me squirm. Still, I was intrigued after reading the first chapter.

Killing Jesus is historical. Not a religious book. It gives

context and sensory texture to the background to the life of Christ, pulling eyewitness accounts from the Bible but also from sources of the day. Historian Josephus and Roman accounts of the times painted a rich scene. The authors used the dust of the roads, taste of the olives, and heat from the sun to give the reader a flavor of the world of Jesus. I learned about the harsh worlds of a soldier, the Roman Senate, and of treachery. The historical accounts of the deaths of the Disciples, of Pontius Pilate, and the high priests provided a satisfactory closure.

This book comes from the point of view of a man, his angers and fears. Insight into his emotion and possibly his thoughts caused me to consider the attributes of Jesus long after I read the last page. It is up to the individual's faith as to whether the man, Jesus, was also the Son of God. That conclusion is left up to the reader. The authors do not try to sway the reader one way or the other. Again, this is a historical accounting not religious.

Five stars. And put me in the column of Son of God.

Some comments/reviews for this book wasn’t about the contents or readability. Hordes of people commented about the author and what a POS they think he is, about his politics or mannerisms. 

Yeah, but...what do ya think about the book?

Now I can’t say that O’Reilly is one of my favorite humans either, but his books give facts and let the reader decide for themselves. 

Do you vet an author before reading their book? How about after?

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Huntress aka CD Coffelt, author of The Magic Withheld series