All the King's Men [2006 Movie Tie-In Edition]
by Robert Penn Warren
![All the King's Men [2006 Movie Tie-In Edition]](/images/All-the-King-Men-2006-Movie-Tie-In-Edition-B000V5WH7S-L.jpg)
List Price:
Our Price: $2.24
You Save: $12.76 (85%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $2.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Robert Penn WarrenEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2006-09-05
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 672
Publisher: Harvest Books
Book Reviews of All the King's Men [2006 Movie Tie-In Edition]
Book Review: Excellent book - just don't get the Polk "Willie Talos" edition
Summary: 5 Stars
As with many of the "classics" it seems like there are a bunch of editions of "All the King's Men" floating around. I recommend that you get the originally published Robert Penn Warren edition, in which the main character is "Willie Stark", and not this "Willie Talos" edition. In my opinion, the tale of Willie Stark is one of the best books in 20th century literature, from a pure story-craft standpoint, and not to be messed with.
I'll admit I first came upon this book as part of the "summer reading list" for a school English class. There were some truly enjoyable books on that list as well as some that just seemed incomprehensible ("The Sound and the Fury", for example) and others where I had very little idea of what the author was getting at. "All the King's Men" was just a knock-your-socks-off novel. It has interesting characters, a (mostly) believable context, and enough suspense that you're not sure just what might happen next. The main characters in the book are Willie Stark, a powerful and corrupt state politician in the American pre-war South, and Jack Burden, a journalist from a wealthy background who essentially works for Willie. As the story begins, Willie hires Jack to find some dirt on a political rival that Willie wants out of the way. Jack's efforts to do so, and Willie's own hubris, eventually impact the lives of Jack and several people he loves, including the only consistent father figure he ever knew (an elderly judge) and Jack's teenage love. Jack tells the story of his own life intertwined with Willie's life, leading up to the climactic events where Willie finally falls from grace. In doing so, Jack shows how both he and Willie started out innocent but were gradually corrupted by the machinations of a system outside their control.
Although Willie's tactics seem brutal, they may also be seen as a way of exerting control over a system that would otherwise crush him and other common people. An outwardly even less powerful person, Willie's secretary Sadie Burke, who is herself from a poor background and is scarred by pock marks, turns out to be the one who pulls the strings that both bring Willie to power and knock him back down. Sadie is one of the most interesting female characters in 20th-century literature (much more so than her foil, the quiet, retiring, beautiful Southern belle Anne Stanton, who is barely developed) and is as much of a politician as any of the men.
This is a book that you can just enjoy reading from a pure standpoint of reading a political or historical novel, even if you don't want to get too deeply into analyzing it or understanding all the allusions and English-majory stuff. It's just a darn good book, period. I have seen the older movie adaptation but it is hard to do this book justice in the movie format since there's simply too much going on in it to fit comfortable into two hours.
Summary of All the King's Men [2006 Movie Tie-In Edition]
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.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.
Children's Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Children's Books
Looking for Bobowicz: A Hoboken Chicken Storyby Daniel Pinkwater
HarperCollins; Published: 2004-06-01; Library Binding; Book
Best price: $4.98
Price in other shops:
The Magician's Nephew, Color Gift Edition (Narnia)by C. S. Lewis
HarperCollins Narnia; Published: 2003-10-28; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.41
Price in other shops:
My Book About Me (Beginner Books)by Dr Seuss
Harpercollins; Published: 1983-03-24; Paperback; Book
Call of the Wild (Hrw Classics Library)by Jack London
Holt Rinehart and Winston; Published: 1997-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.32
Price in other shops:
Apple Valley Yearby Ann Turner
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; Published: 1993-09-30; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
The Tales of Olga da Polgaby Michael Bond
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; Published: 1989-04-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $83.57
The Complete Chronicles of Narniaby C. S. (Clive Staples) Lewis
HarperCollins Children's Books; Published: 2006-11; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon?by Jane Yolen
Harpercollins Childs; Published: 2004-01-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.18
Oh, The Places You'll Go!by Dr Seuss
HARPER COLL CHILDREN; Published: 2003; Paperback; Book
Loraxby Dr Seuss
HARPER COLL CHILDREN; Published: 2004; Paperback; Book
Similar Books and other products
Democracy in Americaby Alexis de Tocqueville
University Of Chicago Press; Published: 2002-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops:
Light in August (The Corrected Text)by William Faulkner
Vintage International/Random House; Published: 1990-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.14
Price in other shops:
The Portable Faulkner (Penguin Classics)by William Faulkner
Penguin Classics; Published: 2003-02-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.35
Price in other shops:
The Moviegoerby Walker Percy
Vintage; Published: 1998-04-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.84
Price in other shops:
Deliveranceby James Dickey
Delta; Published: 1994-09-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.51
Price in other shops:
Wise Blood: A Novelby Flannery O'Connor
Spring Arbor/Ingram; Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Published: 2007-03-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.55
Price in other shops:
Look Homeward, Angelby Thomas Wolfe
Scribner; Published: 2006-10-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.88
Price in other shops:
A Streetcar Named Desire (New Directions Paperbook)by Tennessee Williams
New Directions; Published: 2004-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.21
Price in other shops:
The Sound and the Fury: The Corrected Textby William Faulkner
Vintage; Published: 1990-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops:
The Anti-Federalist: An Abridgment of The Complete Anti-FederalistUniversity Of Chicago Press; Published: 2006-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $20.00
Price in other shops: