Rating: 
Summary: Where history and politics intertwine
Review: The New York Times blurb "The Definitive Novel About American Politics" on the cover of "All the King's Men" is somewhat misleading. This novel is only barely about political process and instead focuses on the quest of a man to uncover the past and how his discoveries lead to the undoing of a state of grace.The man (and narrator) is Jack Burden, who starts out as a local newspaper reporter in a thinly disguised Louisiana. A young, temperate, idealistic county treasurer named Willie Stark comes to Burden's attention during a minor scandal. Stark refuses to give in to a kickback scheme involving a contract for a schoolhouse construction project and is promptly ousted from his position. Burden's reporting of Stark's honesty starts Stark on a path toward a political career. After years of developing himself as an orator and demagogue, Stark becomes Governor and hires Burden to be a sort of right-hand man in his administration. During his political rise, Stark transforms from a naive idealist into a cynical imperialist, as his relationships to his wife and son grow distant. He is the manipulative type of man who will slap a friend reassuringly on the shoulder while browbeating and intimidating members of his administration (the "king's men"), such as making them write resignation letters that he personally will date when he wants to get rid of them. Especially symbolic is the possum incident at the end of Chapter 1: The Willie Stark political machine crushes anything that gets under its wheels. Stark commands Burden, who is a former history student with experience in research, to dig up dirt on a political dissenter who happens to be one of Burden's lifelong friends. In doing so, Burden uncovers a revelation that shatters not only his own life but the lives of several people close to him. The novel ends with the weight of a Shakespearean tragedy, where the line of responsibility weaves directly and indirectly through several major characters. Robert Penn Warren writes in a style that alternates between straight hard dialogue and poetic philosophical musings. It's not easy to see where the novel is going after reading only the first couple of chapters; Warren takes his time unfolding the story to allow the reader to develop a genuine interest in the characters and appreciate the wealth of ideas presented.
Rating:
Summary: Thick and Rich
Review: All the King's Men is based on Louisiana's Huey Long. Willie Stark's story is told through the eyes of Jack Burden, an aide to Gov. Stark. One can quickly realize where the entire notion for Primary Colors came from. A note of warning: the book is set in the 1920's through 1940's of the Deep South; within that time-line and region comes nasty social realities. I haven't a clue as to whether Warren himself comes out in the derogatory racism or if he just wants to truly capture the era, however, it is difficult to accept how casually and easily such fowl language can be used against other human beings. With that said, I think a far greater harm would be done by trying to sugar coat the past into something it wasn't. The book is incredibly well written and one can feel themselves a part of the story with the intense description throughout. All the King's Men is a classic story of how a politician feels he must resort to achievement by any means necessary as opposed to exhibiting proper means AND ends. ENJOY!
Rating:
Summary: The best work of modern American fiction
Review: Calling anything "the best" is a dicey proposition, but in my opinion, this magnificent novel deserves the billing. I've read it more than a few times, and it has never failed to deliver an emotional punch, and Warren's poetic prose has never failed to lose its luster. On one level, of course, "All the King's Men" is a fictionalized account of the life of Huey Long, the machine politician who rose to state and national prominence as the iron-fisted governor of Louisiana, a man strong enough to seriously offer FDR a challenge in the '30s before his (Long's) assassination. As a hard-nosed political novel, "All the King's Men" delivers the goods. Warren's Willie Stark develops absolutely believably from a laughably naive idealist to a ruthless politician who has convinced himself that the political ends justify the brutal means. But beyond this, Warren's novel is a profound meditation on the limits of power and the nature of our understanding of the world. Its narrator, Jack Burden, is one of the most complex creations in American fiction, a man at once supremely self-assured and wracked by the most essential of doubts about himself. On the one hand, Jack, who becomes Willie's number-one assistant, is as hard edged a realist as his boss. On the other, he is a wounded romantic, lamenting a long-lost love and the disappearance of a world that offered the simple pleasures of boyhood and none of the ambiguities a complex world in which nothing -- politically, socially, or romantically -- is as it seems. Finally, the novel is a voyage of self-discovery for Jack, and in this, "All the King's Men" continues the great tradition in Western literature we trace back to Oedipus. The novel explores the fundamental theme of self-identity, as Sophocles did, and it succeeds brilliantly in creating a complex, multi-layered story that achieves its thematic goal. There is really no describing the richness of the experience you will find if you read this novel, but be forewarned that it is a novel that demands much. If you are willing to submit to the experience, Warren's great work will reward you many times over.
Rating: 
Summary: Politics, Politics, and more Politics
Review: I found this book way too long and drawn out. Jack Burden, the narrator spent way too much time describing things. I never did get caught up in the book. I only finished it for a class. If you start reading this book and do not like the narration style, put it down. Jack Burden narrates the same way the whole time through. Not liking politics also makes it very hard to find the good things people say there are in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful
Review: I'm currently a high school senior and we read this book in our AP English class. Despite the long nightly readings, I enjoyed this book tremendously. If you liked "Primary Colors," the movie based upon this book, you'll enjoy All the King's Men. Even though it sounds really political, it is just an introduction to the process and politics does not overwhelm this book at all. It is a wonderful character study with lots of action. You'll find yourself quoting this book without even realizing it.
Rating:
Summary: it isn't about politics
Review: I'd always shied away from this classic because I thought it was about a Louisiana politician, Willie Stark, modeled after the recent assassinated Senator Huey P. Long. He's the background. But the real story is 15 years in the life of Jack Burden, Governor Stark's assistant. The novel follows Burden from his failed engagement to a college sweetheart, to his failure as a grad student in literature, to cynical newspaperman, to his job digging up dirt on opponents of Stark's political ambitions. The most interesting things that he digs up on behalf of Stark turn out to yield surprising information about his own family.
Rating:
Summary: Arguably the greatest American novel
Review: Perhaps you are like I was, one who has heard of this novel, but knows nothing about it. Why should you spend a considerable amount of time reading this book (it's a long one!)? The major strength of "All the King's Men" is that it has two parallel themes for the two main characters, Jack Burden (from Burdens Landing, LA) and Willie "The Boss" Stark (from Mason City, LA). Both of these men find themselves away from their home city, and are living in the capital, Baton Rouge. The main question is: Why are they, literally and figuratively, leaving their past behind them? The answer is that they want to escape from the idealism of their youth. Jack Burden, "the burden of Burden's Landing," was born with the idea that his city IS different. He grew up believing that in Burden's Landing, one can find justice, purity, and goodness. I will not give away any plot, but this ideal was made real for him through the character of Anne Stanton. Willie "The Boss" Stark, differs from Jack because when he was young, he believed that HE could make a difference. In other words, through hard work and effort, he could make a difference in politics and how things are run. Again, I won't give away plot, but something happens to him to make him believe that individuals who believe in this difference are fools who will be used. So both men meet meet one another in Baton Rouge. But here we get the true beauty of the novel: Both men cannot erase their past. And who, in reality, can erase their past? Both men try to be realists, but they have vestiges of idealism in them... the idealism of youth. For Jack, his idealism is in an image of Anne floating in the Gulf of Mexico, before he left for his first year of college. The image is timeless, innocent, and perfect. Warren describes this image on pages 117-119, and I think that most, if not all,people have an image or images like this from their youth. For Jack, this image haunts him because he feels that he should always be able to live in it... an image of the world being different and perfect. For Willie, he is a self made man who tries to instill the virtues he instilled within himself as a youth - into the state through political influence. I can relate to much of what Warren writes and he says some incomparable things, stated incomparably well. This has become my favorite book...
Rating: 
Summary: deplorable
Review: this was the worst example of american literature ever published. warren feels the need to describe such trivial objects as doorknobs, the color of the street, or smell of the rain. is this really needed? this book could have easily been condensed into one half its size. the author's continuing mention of "The Great Twitch" has no impact on the average person's life. this book is a waste of your time, don't read it!
Rating:
Summary: By far the most wonderful book I have ever read
Review: I can not recommend this book more highly. I originally picked up this book to fill a hole in my "literary knowledge" and did not expect to love it so much. It is clear that RPW is a poet - every word, every sentence is a masterpiece. In fact, I read a good portion of this book out loud in order to get the full effect. While it does take a while to get accustomed to Jack Burden's style of narration, it is worth the effort. I will keep this book by my bed to read again and again.
Rating: 
Summary: atkm
Review: All the King's Men is a very good book. It takes a while to get into but once you do it is really interesting. It is a good book to read while taking philosophy. Beautifully written. I'd give it five stars if it hadn't taken so long to get into.
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