All the King's Men

I first read this book in a Louisiana high school history course MANY years ago, and this was my first time to revisit the work. While Warren’s book is commonly listed as a classic of political literature, on this rereading I discovered a much deeper philosophical vein. I am probably practicing literary criticism & philosophy without a license here, but I believe the book – in addition to prose that verges on poetry – is a profound reflection on human nature. Furthermore, I am not certain that Warren’s view of mankind is very positive. He uses the famous line, “Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he passeth from the stink of the didie to the stench of the shroud,” initially to convince Jack Burden that some political dirt can be found on Judge Irwin. Judge Irwin was like a father figure for Jack as he was growing up and is believed to be beyond corruption. However, Jack does indeed find that corruption evidence; after he asks Judge Irwin about his finding, Irwin commits suicide. Only afterwards does Warren tell us that the judge was Jack’s father. So, ultimately NO ONE in the novel is “sin free.”

Servicable edition of this classic. In retrospect I would have preferred purchasing the Modern Language edtion since it includes an informative forward by Robert Penn Warren. (See Wikipedia entry on the novel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_the_King's_Men )

Don't miss reading this wonderful beautifully written book. I read it in college years ago but it was a whole different experience at this stage of my life. A truer classic and one of the best books in American literature

This story is not about Willie Stark, the fictional governor of Louisiana loosely modeled after Huey Long. It is about the relationship between three childhood friends and how they were corrupted by their own relationships to Stark. It is worth reading but not as historical fiction.

This book told some very up to date political stories, even though it was set in the Depression. How basic human motives never really change. It speaks to ambition and what is really important in life.

This book told some very up to date political stories, even though it was set in the Depression. How basic human motives never really change. It speaks to ambition and what is really important in life.

Beware, the "All the King's Men" version with ISBN-10: 082220018X is not the novel. It is the play, a short pamphlet.
Not only does the store not state this, but they put the reviews for the novel in the review section of this play.
I had to give it some stars, so I gave it 3, it doesn't mean anything, except for the fact that the store should fix this problem.

Outstanding--they don't write them like this anymore. This isn't really a story so much about Willie Stark (Huey Long) as it is about Jack Burden, the narrator. Wonderful characters, sharply drawn. A good bit of political philosophy is contained in the book as well.

Some PC ninnies might be put off by the occasional use of the dreaded "N" word--but the usage is not derogatory and is appropriate to the time--that's the way people talked. I'd seen the Broderick Crawford portrayal of Willie Stark in the movie---but Jack Burden's role there sort of disappeared in watching Crawford. The book is well worth reading.

When I realized that the only Kindle offering was the edition where Polk decides he knows more of what is in the author's mind than the author, I skipped the Kindle purchase. Instead, I went to Alibris and found a copy of the original version. The print is so small that I need a magnifying glass to read it. It's worth it because is isn't a ripped up version. I implore you to do the same if you want to truly understand one of the great American novels.

The book was very enjoyable. I only gave 3stars because I was occasionally bored by the endless descriptions of people, places and things that delayed moving on w the story plot. I found myself skipping many pages to get on w the story

This is my favorite book of all times. Its sensual flow captivated me and carried me on a fascinating trip. I felt like it was a long poem and understood when I discovered Robert Warren Penn is a poet first and novelist second. The writing was the main character in the book with the story taking second place.

Excellent book, if dated. However, the edition I read (bargain at $3.29) was terrible. It was so filled with typos and misspellings as to be incomprehensible in parts. Pay a few $ more for an edited version!

Forced to read this book over the summer for school, and spent several weeks trying to trudge through it. Certainly not intended for high school students whatsoever, even those in such a rigorous program as the International Baccalaureate. The embarrassing similarity in plot and writing structure to the Great Gatsby is profound, and that is not meant in a positive manner. The "artistic" habit acquired by the author of ranting on the most insignificant of details for several pages at a time has caused him to have to persistently repeat entire phrases, use run-on sentences whenever possible, and obscure the somewhat limited plot beyond recognition by all but well-trained college graduates, all in an attempt to put more pages in the book. If the real plot were to be extracted from the mess, one would find a 50 to 75-page book that might be worthy of a much higher review...