Rating: 
Summary: The transformation of Jack Burden and Willie Stark
Review: This ranks as one of the five best American novels that I have ever read. The story rings as true today as it did when it was written. The story is that of the rise and fall of a Southern politician, Willie Stark, a humble small town lawyer and reform politician , who wins over the people and ascends to the rank of Governor. As Willie's popularity rises so does his ambition and he becomes the most poweful man in the State who will stop at nothing to maintain his power. I agree with a reveiwer who says that Willie Stark is one of the great characters of American literature but so is Jack Burden, who transforms himself from a cynical follower, who performs several distasteful acts for Willie , to someone who does the right thing at the end. Even Willie comes full cicrle at the end. The secondary characters are wonderful. Allegedly the story is loosely based on the Huey Long storyand set in Louisiana; but it could just as easily be based on a number of other Southern politicians in any part of the Deep South.
Rating: 
Summary: it's not that bad, but not that good either
Review: I had to read this book for Enlgish, in a space of about 6 days. The teacher felt she owed it to us. I can respect that this has social significance, it was well written, etc. I don't agree with the girls that it was "just plain terrible" but I do think that it was more than a little flawed. While reading it, I had trouble deciding whether I liked it, but finally decided it had not been worth the time. Ever get the feeling that a book was simply too cute? This book's series of contrived coincidences annoyed the bejezus out of me. Let me reel them off: Jack's father figure Judge Irwin becomes an enemy of the Boss, so the Boss says find dirt on him, which he does thanks to a childhood friend of his, who he loves. (She later has an affair with the Boss.) He finds the dirt, the Judge kills himself, he finds out the Judge was his real father. The dirt also implicated his friend's father, who like the Boss, was also the governor. The Boss is killed by that governor's son, who had found out about the affair and assumed he'd gotten his job because of that (it was actually basically unrelated.) It makes me want to vomit, I can tell you. How can any writer be considered great when he tries to pass this soap opera stuff off as literature? Get rid of the absurd coincidences and it's a good book...maybe, but as it is I just felt insulted. Don't waste your time (I just gave away the plot anyway.)
Rating:
Summary: Shocked...
Review: I am completely shocked by "Tina's Friends" and their comments. Because you do not like this book does not give you a right to bash the messages we can obtain from books. They are perhaps our greatest influence, and certainly our greatest teachers. -Reader, 11th Grade
Rating:
Summary: OK SO IT WAS BAD
Review: I AM ALSO A TINA FRIEND AND HER INSIGHTFUL AND TRUE COMMENTS INTO THIS MONSTROSITY OF A BOOK MAKE ME PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!
Rating:
Summary: powerful
Review: Hey you girls who think this book is "aweful," first learn how to spell. ATKM might teach you how to. Second, if you read past the first few chapters, the action speeds up. Like any good book, the author needs to set up the action. Why'd you fool even bother reading the Cliff notes, which are written in boring scholarly tones? Warren was a true poet, and each and every word of this book was carefully selected to convey Penn's message of corruption and fate. By taking the reader through a story through the eyes of Jack Burden, Penn documents the changes of Jack's philosophy of events. An extremely rich book, gripping, and for you ignorant girls, the plot resembles TV soaps that you're probably spending too much time watching. If you want soap-opera twists, ATKM has them also. Reviewed by Jeff Goodkind, 11th grade.
Rating: 
Summary: This is the worst book ever!
Review: Excuse me, reader from St. Louis, but i find it very rude of you to adress my best friend, tina, as being stupid. WOW so she hates the book! SO WHAT! she is only trying to save humanity. I hate this book also, so go ahead and write about how I'm stupid. I dont care! Anyway, this book is aweful and it made me want to through myself into a brick wall.. I had to read it for school, and obviously the teachers want us to be stressed out since they force us to read this book. It is so choppy and stupid.. who cares about the GREAT SLEEP and THE WEB OF LIFE or the GREAT TWITCH??? I CERTAINLY DON'T! THOSE THINGS ARE NEVER GOING TO HELP ME GET THROUGH LIFE, AND HAVING THE "SECRET KNOWLEDGE" WILL ABSOLUTELY HELP IN NO WAY WHAT-SO-EVER ALSO! SO IF YOU DONT TAKE MY ADVICE AND STAY CLEARR FROM THIS BOOK, DONT SAY I DIDNT WARN YOU!
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Summary: Great example of the Southern novel
Review: As a member of the Agrarians and a leader of the new critics, Penn-Warren's talents in Southern novel writing come alive in this novel. All the King's Men presents the reader with a vision of mid 20th century Southern politics through the adapted story of Huey Long. This narrative also includes page turning elements of the mystery novel while covering tricky issues common in Southern literature. For example, the protagonist deals with the notion of a southern cavalier or hero (Cass Mastern-civil war), behaviorism in the form of the "great twitch" as seen by a doctor friend, and other areas of S oren Kierkegaard influence like the "leap of faith" required of the protagonist. This book is painted with the rich Southern tradition of language, religion, friendship, and romance; it also deals with the simple struggle for good in a time of personal and political decay. Penn-warren's novel can present some student readers difficulty without notes; nonetheless, most readers will leave this book knowing why it deserves its place in the Southern literary genre.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT book
Review: This is one of the great books in the American literary canon. Despite the opinions of some stupid people (like Tina from NJ), this should be required reading in schools and classrooms.
Rating:
Summary: The best "serious" novel I have read.
Review: The descriptive passages in this text are able to take me, an Australian of this era, into the lives homes and meeting places of people of a different era and nationality.The characterisation weaves through the narrative to provide a consistency unparalled in other writings. The writer cleverly builds to the climatic and devastating discovery by the anti hero (Jack Burden) that nothing is safe (or sacred) from corruption - even his boyhead love.
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest
Review: This is my very favorite book. I have read it through seven or eight times, and love it more each time. Rob't Penn Warren takes you into the depression, deep south, and when you finally come up for air you are a different person. I learned things about human nature from this book that struck me true like no other work has. All the King's Men is a great book.
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