
All the King's Men
4.3
90
5
1
Paperback(First Edition)
USD
16.19
$16.19
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9780156012959 |
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Publisher: | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |
Publication date: | 09/03/2002 |
Edition description: | First Edition |
Pages: | 656 |
Sales rank: | 520,278 |
Product dimensions: | 5.31(w) x 8.00(h) x 1.25(d) |
Lexile: | 1060L (what's this?) |
Age Range: | 14 - 18 Years |
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All the King's Men
4.3 out of 5
based on
0 ratings.
90 reviews.
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I read a lot for school and for fun. By far, though, this is the best book I have ever read! This is the story of Willie Stark and Jack Burden. Two, not so different people. Robert Penn Warren is a poet, and at times it seems like All the King's Men is just one long poem...it is just that beautiful. There is so much to it and not sentance is wasted. Every detail, every description has a purpose. It does however take a mature reader to really appreciate and understand the philosophy and themes behind this master piece. Don't be discouraged though, anyone can enjoy this book and I recomend this book above all others.
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Not only are the characters excellent, but the language is captivating. ATKM contains the best definition of love I have ever read: 'When we get in love we are made all over again...' it begins. This is more a story of Jack Burden's spiritual journal than of Willie Stark's rise to power and corruption. After reading this,you must read Micah's Child, which is about a woman searching for her own Jack Burden. Micah's Child has many quotes from ATKM.
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I love this book. It has since wrecked my literary life. I can't find any other book as good as this one! It's wonderfully well written and perfect in every way! It can be a tough, long read but it is well worth it. It captivates you. Easily.
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Not only is the plot of this novel well thought out and captivating, but the style is absolutely amazing. The language is just plain genius. I would recommend this book to anybody, because you do not have to be interested in politics to enjoy it. The characters are so relatable and you can actually- truly- feel for them. So while it does start out slow, work through it because if not you will miss out on one of the greatest books written during Warren's time.
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There is a clear purpose in the authors writing tha teaches us all to stay grounded no matter wha hierarchy of power we attain. The main character Willie Starks rises to the furthest mountain before he crashes his victory ship in apathetic waters. Sacriicing his family, friends,and self to the greedy engulfing monster that is himself.
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In Robert Penn Warren¿s All the King¿s Men, Warren traces the life and experiences of Louisiana Populist, Huey Long, rewritten as Willie Stark. The book traces his rise and fall during the 1930¿s. All the King¿s Men is a remarkably well-written novel with extraordinary characters and an imaginative setting, a remarkable plot, and easy-to-make connections for any reader. Written in chapter format, All the King¿s Men is a 610 page fiction novel suitable for ages 13 and up.
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Have been meaning to read this for years and finally have, but chose to listen to the audiobook. The prose is beautiful and reminded me of the lyricism of The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy. I can understand Warren's status as poet laureate. The subject is timeless and the reading of Michael Emerson is perfectly tuned to the era and the region.
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This is the best novel that I have read to date. It does what I feel that a novel should truly do, which is tell a story and through the story teach something. The story is truly fascinating. There is no emotion left untouched. It has comedy, drama, romance, suspense, action, politics, history and mystery. It also great a great cast of characters, great dialogue and an excellent setting. It is the only book to win the Pulitzer prize for fiction and have it's adaptation win best picture at the oscars. I was truly sad to finish this book, because I did not know if I would ever read one of it's caliber again
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Wow. Exactly my experience. READ IT IN TWELFTH GRADE ALSO. Its power never left me. It taught me how and why to appreciate great literature. That year I also read Gatsby, Cry the Beloved Country, Age of Innocence, Tale of Two Cities, and A Death in the Family. Needless to say I was in heaven. I felt like a geek, though. Everyone else in class was moaning and complaining. I just wanted more. Thanks to Mr Barsky for his great choices and engrossing lectures. By the way, the opening section/introduction to A Death in the Family is one of the most amazingly beautiful pieces of prose.
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Some people criticize this man for his '2 page descriptions of town life' well maybe he had a reason? This man was a literary genius, maybe he knew what he was doing? And for you, person who believes the above, maybe it was a technique to show hey, in the town life is slow, and it might take 2 pages to summarize. The syntax and the diction lull you, it has an intended effect. This book is amazing, every single literary device imaginable is present in a cohesive, stimulating plotline. To the Yale student, its not a political novel, dig deeper, did you cvompletely ignore Jack Burden's quest. I question Yale's decision. To all high schoolers, read this book, first time through you WILL NOT enjouy, but you will learn to love it.
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I had lots of fun reading this book. At first I though I would get stuck because the book is so long, but the events happen right after another. When their is so much going on at the same time it makes the book better. Robert Warren is a very good author hope to read another book by Warren.
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To put it simply, it is impossible to understand American politics without having read All the King's Men. The story may be fictional, the themes and conflicts are real. For good and ill, this really is what part of American politics is about, the wonderful clash of trying to accomplish great things while being tempted by the dark side. The writing is mesmerizing; the story told in a unique way that makes it impossible to put this book down once you start reading. A masterpiece, pure and simple.
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Warren successfully takes the complex elements of early twentieth century America and creates a work that accurates potrays the disillusionment and breakdown American politics suffered during the deprerssion years. Willie Stark's amibition, blindness and sincere compassion makes for very realisitic character and not simply a caricature of the idealistic statesmen or corrupt politician. For any historian or scholar seeking to understand the mentality of 1930s American politics needs to read this books. Its success emphasizes not only importance but also its impact on the very society Warren attempted to portray.
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Hard to comprehend why this is so great. Too descriptive.
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“A classic. Pulitzer Prize winner. Modern Library’s 36th greatest novel of the 20th Century. The fictional rise of governor Willie Stark and the self-discovery of Jack Burden. Written in the classic voice of a true Southern writer. Prose reads like poetry.” – Clay Stafford, author and founder of Killer Nashville
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All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren details the rise and fall of Willie Stark as seen through the eyes of Jack Burden. The book also details Jack's history research, as well as his attempts to hide a destructive family secret. It is very philosophical, and Robert Penn Warren uses his ideas of life, the universe, and existence to make the book interesting. However, I found it very complicated as a result.
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I had to read this for summer reading and I fell asleep every time I picked it up! There was hardly any plot. It consisted mostly of the main character, Jack Burden, thinking to himself or recalling memories of his past. I hope I never have to read it again, but maybe I didn't like it just because I'm not into politics. Oh well. At least it was better than the Odyssey
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I am a 17 year old girl and was forced to read this book for school. i have just finished it and have been left deeply affected. i don't know specific literary terms, or how to criticize it effectively, but i am giving you my emotions, which are, 'jesus christ.' R.P. Warren can write and brillantly. i recommend it a thousand times, even if it does take some will power in the beginning.
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Robert Penn Warren gives the perfect answer to all solipsists and behaviorists who ever lived. Jack learns through Willie Stark, the powerful politician who fought corruption with corruption, that life is not all about 'me'. He sees through many meetings and partings, that we are all a part of something. Great reminder of Faulkner's voice: past, place, community and family; important things we often forget.
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Jack, the main character, sold into many different theories throughout the novel but by the end realized that there isn't just one truth to life. After the death of his friends and family members understands that each one of them lived and survived without sharing the same beliefs.
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Listened to this on the way to work for nearly a month. Great reader, great book.
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Excellent from start to finish. My favorite section: the summertime courtship of Anne Stanton.
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This was the real start of my Louisiana jag, and a good one. The story jumps all over the place as do the emotions, but this is a very good thing. I did end wanting more of Willie Stark. This line can explain what reading this book is like: ¿I felt that a story was over, that what had been begun a long time back had been played out, that the lemon had been squeezed dry. But if anything is certain it is that no story is ever over, for the story which we think is over is only a chapter in a story which will not be over, and it isn¿t the game that is over, it is just an inning, and that game has a lot more than nine innings. When the game stops it will be called on account of darkness. But it is a long day.¿
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I feel that I couldn't call myself a Louisiana resident without having read this. It is the South, it is the optimism of politics that turns into the harsh reality of politics, it is a gorgeously told story by a Poet Laureate, and it is not the real story of Huey P. Long, but close enough.Michael Emerson is an excellent narrator - I loved listening to him. I also bought the paper version so I can go back and savor some passages.
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What does it mean when you get to the end of a long novel and find yourself with tears rolling down your face? That¿s what I asked myself last night as I plowed my way to the end of All the King¿s Men. I¿m usually about as emotional as a wet dishrag, but I was so caught up with the story, so personally involved in the lives of these characters, so taken up with the themes put forth that I was an emotional wreck at the idea of leaving it all. The story revolves around the lives of Willie Stark, governor of an unnamed Southern state and Jack Burden, the narrator of the story. Willie¿s rise to fame from a poor farmer who is used by the reigning politicians to further their own ambitions, to his own political career as a populist governor whose corrupt ways he tries to justify by the results produced for the working class, is supposedly based on the rise and fall of the Louisiana governor Huey Long. Jack Burden, the narrator, is a cynic at heart. He was an historian, a newspaper writer and, for most of the novel, an aide to ¿the Boss,¿ Governor Willie Stark. He propels the narrative forward with his descriptions of life with a politico and his entourage.¿But I first must tell you about the first excursion into the enchantments of the past. Not that the first excursion has anything directly to do with the story of Willie Stark, but it has a great deal to do with the story of Jack Burden, and the story of Willie Stark and the story of Jack Burden are, in one sense, one story.¿ (Page 236)And that was the key to the whole story for me. Although this book has been described as ¿the finest novel ever written on American politics,¿ it was more a story about Jack Burden than Willie Stark. The story takes place in the 1930¿s and dwells on personal responsibility, original sin and total depravity. Willie¿s got his own thoughts on all of these but its Jack whom we watch and see change over the course of the book. And the book has it all. As well as packing an emotional wallop, Warren can write like nobody¿s business. There are actually websites devoted to quotes from this book, the writing is that good. Like this description of the common struggling man in the 30¿s as Jack looks up from the street at a building:¿The shade of a window was up and I looked in where a heavy, bald man in shirt sleeves sat at a table in what is called a `dinette¿ and slumped above a plate like a sack propped in a chair, while a child stood at his elbow, plucking at him, and a woman in a slack, colorless dress and hair stringing down brought a steaming saucepan from the stove, for Poppa had come home late as usual with his bunion hurting, and the rent was past due and Johnnie needed shoes and Susie¿s report card wasn¿t any good and Susie stood at his elbow, plucking at him feebly, and staring at him with her imbecilic eyes and breathing through her adenoids, and the Maxfield Parrish picture was askew on the wall with its blues all having the savage tint of copper sulfate in the glaring light from the unshaded bulb hanging from the ceiling. And somewhere else in the building a dog barked, somewhere else a baby was crying in automatic gasps.¿ (Page 358)Best of all are Warren¿s characterizations of the people that surrounded Willie and Jack and the eventual connections between the two. I felt like I was in the Cadillac traveling down the road to Mason City with Jack and Willie, with Sugar-Boy at the wheel, and Tiny Duffy in the back seat. I could smell the hot tar from the road, and the cigarette smoke wafting back from the front seat and feel Sadie Burke¿s eyes burning through me. What a ride!
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