All the King's Men

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This landmark book is a loosely fictionalized account of Governor Huey Long of Louisiana, one of the nation's most astounding politicians. All the King's Men tells the story of Willie Stark, a southern-fried politician who builds support by appealing to the common man and playing dirty politics with the best of the back-room deal-makers. Though Stark quickly sheds his idealism, his right-hand man, Jack Burden -- who narrates the story -- retains it and proves to be a thorn in the new governor's side. Stark becomes a successful leader, but at a very high price, one that eventually costs him his life. The award-winning book is a play of politics, society and personal affairs, all wrapped in the cloak of history.

Book Description

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, this classic book is generally regarded as the finest novel ever written on american politics. It describes the career of Willie Stark, a back-country lawyer whose idealism is overcome by his lust for power. New Foreword by Joseph Blotner for this fiftieth anniversary edition.

Customer Reviews:

Carefully Balanced Melodrama with Fabulous Poetic Writing.......2007-10-05

ALL THE KING'S MEN has a rich mix of carefully balanced characters who help Jack Burden, the narrator, explore the paths he, his childhood friends, his colleagues, and his parents take through life. At this level, ATKM is a carefully wrought story, more about the tyranny of the past than the bare knuckled compromises of politics, with the character Sadie Burke contrasting with Anne Stanton, Willie Stark contrasting with Adam Stanton and Tiny Duffy, Jack Burden contrasting with Sugar Boy, and so on. But while all of these characters are fully realized, they are also somewhat predictable. It is for this reason that ATKM seems like a melodrama; once you get the characters, their stories fail to surprise.

Nonetheless, this novel is well worth reading, primarily because of Robert Penn Warren's fabulous style. I'm no expert. But most authors I read seem to use metaphors and similes to create a quick burst of insight or beauty. Yes, Updike, Chabon, McEwan and maybe a few others create occasional passages of descriptive writing with multiple moving elements that fit together in seamless metaphoric surprise. But Warren does this repeatedly, taking an idea and exploring it for 100 words or more. This, in my opinion, explains why ATKM has lasted: much of the novel is very fine poetic prose. Here's one example:

"In the morning it had stopped raining and there was the sun. I went out and saw the thin pools of water standing on the black ground, like sheets of isinglass. Around the japonicas, the white and red and coral petals, which had been shattered from the blossoms, floated on the blackly gleaming pools. Some of them floated with the curled edges upward, like boats, and around them other petals floated upside down or had shipped water, making a gay carnage as though a battleship had fired a couple of salvos into a fleet of carnival barges and gondolas in some giddy, happy, far-off land."

Warren's poetic style helps explain why ATKM is both a long book but a fast read.

This is MY review.......2007-09-30

Overall, I thought the story was okay. I am not much of a fan of Penn's prose, and this book dragged until Jack Burden retells the story of Cass Mastern. For me, this is where the book starts falling into place. Maybe I was set up for failure with this book because I keep seeing this novel being called "political fiction." As someone picking this up expecting "political fiction," you'd expect the story to focus on Willie Stark and in much more detail of his humble beginnings to his tragic downfall, but he is only a distant focal point in this novel as the story belongs to one of Stark's cronies, Jack Burden. I don't know WHY I'm supposed to give a flip about Jack Burden and after finishing the novel, I still don't give a toss for the character. There are so many sub-plots and interesting characters within the story that I was much more interested in than the big picture of Burden's personal "odyssey." I felt that some of the story was predictable (Burden's father) and some of the book just didn't seem feasible (the relationship between Stark and Anne Stanton). So all in all, this book didn't do it for me. I have read better.

Politics.......2007-08-30

Jack was a journalist living in the 1930s in the South. As a newspaperman he had the opportunity to follow the early political campaign of the idealistic Willie Stark, a farm boy who thought he could make a difference and agreed to run when some powerful men asked him.

Little did Willie know that he was a stooge set up to split the vote and guarantee a win to his opponent. Little did he know that nobody was listening to his earnest, figure-ridden speeches about how he would make the country a better place. Jack was there to help pick up the pieces when Willie finally found out what was going on, and he was there to witness Willie's rebirth as a fighter, who promised to come back to campaign on his own for the next election.

Years later Jack is no longer in journalism. Instead, he is Willie's right-hand man. He is the one who keeps track of the things Governor Willie Stark needs to get done. He is the one who digs up dirt on friends and opponents and puts pressure where pressure is needed. He is essential to the smooth running of Willie's personal and political life, and he is much reviled by many people for his role in the government.

In Jack's mind, though, Willie is a better politician than most. There is some corruption within his organization, but there is also much more good being accomplished than in past governments. Jack defends to his friends and himself that such good should and does overshadow the dark parts of his boss. As this book progresses, we are able to see how decent and moral people can be sucked into a somewhat immoral life, and how those who are immoral to begin with can find places to sneak into an ethical man's world.

I really liked watching the evolution of all of the characters in this book, and the changing relationships among them. It was interesting to puzzle through Willie's change from idealistic young man to hardened womanizer, or Jack's change from slacker student to dedicated blackmailer. I liked seeing where Jack and Anne's relationship went wrong, and I liked the stubborn way Adam refused to let his friendship with Jack go.

This book had some beautiful descriptive paragraphs, but there were times in which I felt I was simply wallowing in description, trying to wade through words in order to get back to the story.

A Classic.......2007-08-27

After seeing the movie I wanted to finally read the book; I wasn't disappointed. Although some of the language does not translate well to today, I really enjoyed the story and the way Warren uses real life events to craft his story. The book is always better than the movie!

My Favorite American Novel.......2007-08-26

Has a better American political novel been written? All The Kings Men edges out The Last Hurrah on my list and is the only novel I've read three times in the last 30 years. Yeah, I knew how it would end but it is worth reading more than once. Willie Stark is one of literature's great characters.

Others have gone into the plot and the themes of the novel so I'll just say read ATKM if you want to read an American novel on the level of The Great Gatsby.

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I liked the book pretty much, but it was confusing

All the King's Men (Cliffs Notes)
L. David Allen
Manufacturer: Cliffs Notes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0822001462

Book Description

One of the finest American novels ever written, All the King's Men is at its most basic the story of two men involved in the public and private swirls of political life. But it is so much more, encompassing a world on the page as big as the one out your front door. For a book that deserves several readings, this Cliff's Notes guide will help your first comprehension become clearer, faster.

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For a book that deserves several readings, this Cliff's Notes guide will help your first comprehension become clearer, faster.

Customer Reviews:

I liked the book pretty much, but it was confusing.......1999-06-18

ok, i was forced to read All teh King's Men for my English class and I thought it was an interesting book...because I also read the Cliff's notes to figure out what went on. the book was worded in such a way that it was impossible to figure out what was going on at certain times and Warren skipped around (time wise, from the 1920's to the 1930's then to the 1850's) that it was extremely hard to figure out what was going on...I think that people should read this book though, because it was a good story. I also found it interesting because the author, Robert Penn Warren, wrote this book as a sort of autobiography, bexause many of the experiences that happened to the narrator, Jack Burder, actually happened to Warren during his lifetime.

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Profoundly informative, emotionally moving, a MUST READ for all concerned or ill-informed readers.
Breaking the cycle of domestic and legal abuse
Important Info for the Abused & Those who can Invoke Change
Read This---It's invaluable if you are abused.
Pain Breeds Purpose

All But My Soul : Abuse Beyond Control
Jeanne King
Manufacturer: Mind Matters Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0970676328

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Profoundly informative, emotionally moving, a MUST READ for all concerned or ill-informed readers........2006-12-26

Ms. King tells her story with profound truth while relating the further progressions of control when seeking help from the justice system. Ms. King will stir emotions you never realized existed, as her story relates the commonalities found in many abusive relationships. When there are children involved as with the author's situations, the pain and mental stress that fills a mother's daily life and sleepless nights, is unimaginable. A mother's heart is ripped to shreads when the abuser, as the author relates, attempts to control and turn the children away from their mother. This emotional disaster is beyond the choicest words yet this book penetrates the heart and soul like no other I've read. Ms. King has created an autobiography that, having lived the near nightmare she pens with all but the broken bones and legalities, I can only on say what Jeanne has told is only a small part of the tormenting suffering that only fades, but never really goes away. It is a pain that a mother only learns to deal with, with a lifetime of prayers that the children will one day understand, as the author writes. Jeanne found me sobbing, and yet I applaud her dedication to restoring others and the informative contents within. If you are in an abusive situation or know anyone that is, or are thinking about tieing the knot where signs of abuse exist, this book is pricless and may well change your thinking...if not your life. Author of: VOWS BETRAYED: A Story of Abuse, A Transformational Message

Breaking the cycle of domestic and legal abuse.......2004-07-11

Excellent Book. This book gives documented accounts of personal history of domestic violence, teaches about the cycle of domestic abuse and gives an excellent overview of how the court system can keep a family in legal domestic abuse.

Would highly recommend it to anyone who might be in an abusive relationship.

Important Info for the Abused & Those who can Invoke Change.......2004-04-12

Having spent most of my adult life in one abusive situation after another I couldn't imagine that there was anything that could shock me or make me feel more drawn to take action. Although I already knew the ending before I began reading I couldn't put the book down I was so drawn into the passion and authenticity of Dr Kings' writing about the continual cycles of abuse that she and her children had endured. At some points I got so wrapped up in what happened to Dr. King and her children that I felt as though I became a part of the story and wanted to help her and her children in any way I could. Although I have always known from my own experience that lawyers, doctors, and the courts could all be bought off I couldn't imagine that anyone could turn their heads for politics and money while ignoring such outrageous abuse and devastation. Additionally, the numbers of people who turned their back on this situation is far beyond any reasonable persons' imagination. I find it amazing that she was able to survive the torture of her relationship only to be continually tortured even more by those who were supposed to be there to help and protect her and her children. Finally after surviving such horrific abuse to be able to pour her energy into writing such detail about `what really happens in the abuse cycle' must have been painful as she relived every event of the previous few years in order to make a difference. I applaud Dr. King for her courage and I pray that when her children are old enough to read this book and understand the real dynamics of the abuse cycle perpetrated on their mother and themselves that they will be able to draw from her strength and courage to forgive their abuser and stop the abuse cycle from continuing into the next generation of Blumenthal's. Dr. King has obviously put her heart and soul into this book with the clear intention of making a difference in someone else's life, I can't imagine anyone coming away from reading this book without being changed in some positive way. Thank you Dr. King for you commitment to making a difference and for your courage in coming forward to help others who are trapped in this same cycle of abuse. This book has changed my life forever.

Read This---It's invaluable if you are abused........2002-05-28

I'm absolutely flabbergasted by this book--not by the actions of her wretched ex-husband Les, but by the continual abuse of the LEGAL system funded by his mindless, destructive pathology. I, too, was married to an abusive physician, more emotional than physical. A rude, ranting power-monger. When I finally gathered the strength to make a move (and it took YEARS), the legal system was there for me. Aside from the longevity of the proceedings (2 1/2 years SO FAR) my children and I have been protected by the judges. My attorney and his staff have never wavered in their support and have been a source of strength for me. Having an attorney you can trust, along with the support of family and countless friends gets you through even the most frightening days.
If you are in an abusive situation, Dr. King's book may scare you from taking action against your abuser. Don't let it. Read her book, educate yourself, and get ready for battle. You cannot be weak. I hope that her situation is not the norm and if you are considering a divorce, then be ready for a long and bloody dog-fight. These men don't give up--and worse, they deny any wrong-doing or responsibility and place all the blame on anyone who happens to be walking by. Unreal. Because they are charming and appear piteous, people actually believe them. The attitude of unethical attorneys is just as much or more loathsome: "Hey, if those kids get hungry enough, she'll settle", and they will use and do anything to win. These people will not stand up for the simplest of human decencies like children not huddling together in fear listening to their father shriek in fury at their mother. They will, in fact, take those children and put their very lives and emotional well-being at risk if it will line their pockets with silver. My daughter used to grab her little sister, put cotton in her ears, lock the bedroom door and crawl under the bedcovers with her during his irrational meltdowns. Read this book, read other books, get on the internet and research laws for your state and state Supreme Court rulings, find a loyal, GOOD attorney who is appalled at misogynous behavior, get dormant and grow strong roots. Keep your mouth shut and don't tell anyone your business. Lose as much emotion as you can. Think like they think and try to stay one step ahead. Once you make a decision, you cannot feel sorry for them or guilty and go back into that life. Maintain your dignity, don't grovel, try not to show fear, and stay on the right side of right. Forget future planning and live for today and take care of those children. If you don't protect them, you can't expect anyone else to. My turning point was when my daughter turned and looked at me after yet another mealtime rampage and quietly said: "Mom, I can't live like this anymore. You have got to do something." Her eyes were just dull.
Be smart, educate yourself and remember you know more about your case than anyone in that courtroom. And hope that the legal system is ethical and doesn't prey on your children. Where are the Congressmen? the Senators? Greenpeace? Jesse Jackson? Where's the Village Hillary wrote about? Is the spotted owl more important than Dr. King's three sons? At this very moment, while you are reading this, one of her children is being punched, kicked, screamed at, humiliated. How Judge Timothy Evans sleeps at night is beyond me. Surely those children's cries haunt him every moment. All of that pain---for lousy money and political gain. What an unforgivable American tragedy.

Pain Breeds Purpose.......2002-02-04

Dr. King has definitely tapped into her mission in life. This expose is by far the most comprehensive and profoundly insightful chronicle of the cycle of abuse I have ever read. Jeanne King did an absolutely superb job in weaving together the horrific tale of victimization of her and her children; while simultaneously documenting and exposing the injustice and continued battering she experienced through the judicial process. I am shocked, outraged and sorely dissappointed at how something of this magnitude and depth could happen. It is disheartening to know that personal greed exceeds justice. Somehow, someway, someday justice must prevail. If not, we risk weakening the very thread that is the foundation for a civilized nation. Dr. King has done and extraordinary job setting a precedent for educating us all on the intricacies of domestic violence and child abuse. Her work unquestionably warrants consideration for the Nobel Prize in literature. Until she is reunited with her children, with every breath she takes, I pray that it serves as a brick in the road that her children will use to find their way back to her safely.

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All the king's men,: A play
Robert Penn Warren
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men: Three Stage Versions

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Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men: Three Stage Versions
Robert Penn Warren
Manufacturer: University of Georgia Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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All the King's Men [2006 Movie Tie-In Edition]

ASIN: 0820320978

All the King's Men: Strength in Character through Friendships

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disappointing...
Worth Reading

All the King's Men: Strength in Character through Friendships
Stu Weber
Manufacturer: Multnomah
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1590527755
Release Date: 2006-03-24

Book Description

This book from the author of Tender Warrior shatters the myth that strong men stand alone. In a society where the very definition of manhood is called into question, rugged individualism leads men to dangerous isolation. Warriors for Christ seldom win their battles single-handedly: they need fellow soldiers to march and fight with them. Men become Godly husbands and fathers by walking with other men who share the same standards. This book encourages them to seek out brothers in Christ for direction and encouragement and to do together what no one could do alone.

Customer Reviews:

disappointing..........2007-02-09

This book starts out pretty good, with interesting illustrations to the concepts and ideas put forth (the milestone concept is very good), but pretty soon it becomes no more than a directed Bible study with Scriptural quotations trying to relate friendship with the church and how we all should be united. Very VERY disappointing. I was looking for some analysis of the importance of masculine friendship through an educated Christian perspective, and while some stories he uses are great, all I got was another glorified Bible study. Big let down...

Worth Reading.......2003-10-11

This book would actually have been rated 3 1/2 stars - not quite a 4 star book.

The material is interesting and makes you think. It is an excellent book for a men's study if someone in the study will take time (before the study) to read the materials and prepare some questions. There are questions following each chapter but not all of them are really thought provoking ... some are but many are not.

I think the author missed a great opportunity with this book and could have been a much better book. He skimmed the service on many concepts that he could have really taken much further and asked some difficult questions but he didn't.

The most positive item in the book were what he calls the "4 mile posts of friendship". Very good stuff to read.

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All the King's Men

Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines

ASIN: 0553126881

Product Description

Pulitzer Prize winner. The rise and the fall of an American dictator! A political novel originally published in 1946.

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All The King's Men

Manufacturer: Harcourt
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 1582882495

All The King's Men (SparkNotes Reader's Companion)

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All The King's Men (SparkNotes Reader's Companion)

Manufacturer: SpellBinders
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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All the King's Men (Cliffs Notes)

ASIN: 1582880816

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My First Days in the White House
Huey P. Long Jr.
Manufacturer: O'Bryan House Publishers LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0976958317

Product Description

My First Days in the White House is Louisiana Senator Huey Longs short fiction novel describing the Presidential term he never had a chance to serve. Originally published in 1935, just days after his death and on the eve of the 1936 Presidential election in which he expected to be a candidate, the book presents a dramatic vision of how the Kingfish hoped to govern as President: his appointment of a bipartisan Cabinet with former Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt as Secretary of the Navy and Herbert Hoover as Secretary of Commerce, his appointment of the Mayo brothers (of the famous Mayo Clinic) to over see the insititution of universal health care for all citizens, greatly expanding the Federal role in eduction to offer each qualified citizen a chance to go to college, revising the Federal Reserve Banking system to place banks under voter control and his battle with the barons of Wall Street and the Governor of a Northeastern state over his Share The Wealth tax policy which would decentralize the nations wealth. This is a new limited re-issue of the scarce novel by Long, with an added brief biographical note on the author and a discussion of the history of the books original publication in 1935.

Book Description

Revisit the early career of the popular, bestselling author.

After escaping from a life of slavery in Darran, Rialla plans revenge against her former masters--only to be chosen to protect a Darran lord planning to outlaw slavery.

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Escaping from a life of slavery in Darran to the mercenary nation of Sianim, young Rialla plots revenge on her former masters and is chosen by a spymaster to protect a Darran lord who hopes to outlaw slavery.

Customer Reviews:

Spy for royalty.......2006-11-03

This is an atypical fantasy novel of spys. The heroine is working for what is technically the enemy. Shamera is a native of Southwood who is asked to spy for the occupational force. Or one faction of it. The current leader of Southwood (Lord Kerrim) is doing his best to improve the conditions for everyone, native and occupier. However, the court in general does not seem to like this idea. There are plenty of options as to who is cursing - and killing - Lord Kerrim. Of course, first Shamera must figure out there is a curse at all.

As with all of the authors books (so far) the emphasis is firmly on character, and the character drives the plot, rather than the other way around. You can watch additudes change and mutate, and conclusions are reached in a seemingly logical fashion.

The world is built from the inside out, so that if you accept the mundane, it is easy then to accept the fantastic, as it ties into what is known.

Reccomended for anyone serching for a little escapism.

Light, fluffy, but great fun!.......2006-09-22

Evil lurks in the halls of the castle, and the Reeve is finally convinced to seek someone with magical powers to find it. Sham turns out to be more then what the Reeve bargins for - masquerading as his mistress, she battles the creature (and the Reeve's mother, who seems infinitely more frightening).

Usually, I dislike overt romance in my sci-fi/fantasy, but Patricia Briggs does an excellent job with this book, making it fun, and interesting, but doesn't read like a bad Harlequin novel set in a fantasy setting.

Definitely "girly" fantasy, but guys with a hidden streak of romance in them, will fall in love with Sham as well.

Female audience.......2006-04-21

Hm, I'm a bit embarrassed. I mean here we have a book which is basically a romance, mixed with some mystery elements and set in a fantasy landscape (you can't get much lighter) and yet I liked it. I liked it so much, I gave it four stars.
The heroine is flashy and sassy, the hero well muscled and and has the famous soft spot under a crusty exterior. Their dialogues are fast paced and witty, the plot flows along nicely and never drags. The world (same as in STEAL THE DRAGON) could have had some potential if it hadn't been neglected so badly (Sham and Kerim need some place to hold their witty dialogues after all). Fortunatelly the novel was revised before being republished in Aug 05, causing a definite improvement of style and story line.
Cliche works, this novel stands prove.

best rerelease!!!.......2006-03-22

Waited forever for this book to be rereleased and oh boy was it worth the wait!

Sham is a great combination of tomboy and femme fatale when she wants to be, and her sarcastic mouth just sweetens the deal.

I think what I like the best is the possibilities inherent in the ending. We don't know exactly what will happen but there is hope for the future.

Wonderful read. Can't wait for more books by the author!

Amazing!.......2006-02-23

I love Patricia Briggs. She writes short -but vastly entertaining - reads...It is a refreshing change to see strong female leads in fantasy novels. Briggs also has a natural gift for adding just the right amounts of humor and suspense to her tales. The plot here is simple, yet engrossing. A demon has infiltrated the royal residence, and the Reeve hires a young female thief, Sham, to pose as his mistress, in order for her to investigate the strange happenings. There are plenty of twists and turns, and it culminates in a terrific book.
I am so glad that publishers have woken-up and decided to re-print her earlier works like Masques, and Steal the Dragon, as they, like When Demons Walk, are both masterpieces.

Thank you Mrs. Briggs

Relic113

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When A Demon Walks the Earth
Scott Buckingham
Manufacturer: PublishAmerica
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

Sometimes, it seems like the world has spun out of control. Sometimes, there is so much horror and heartache that it appears as if something malevolent is at work. Sometimes, all you see on the news is so terrible that it is as if an invisible malignant force is at work behind it all. Sometimes, it is as if all you hear and read is horrific. Sometimes, you cannot believe the enormity of the suffering going on in the world. Sometimes, it is as if everything you thought was impossible for man to do to man is occurring. Sometimes, the whole world appears to be in a state of malicious intent. Sometimes, sanity appears to have deserted the world in which we live. Sometimes, it is almost as if a demon is walking the earth. Sometimes, it is...

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