All the King's Men - Softcover

Warren, Robert Penn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141188618 ISBN 13: 9780141188614

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 2007

Synopsis

"All the King's Men" is considered the finest novel ever written on American politics. Set in the 1930s, this book traces the rise and fall of Willie Stark, who resembles the real-life Huey "Kingfish" Long of Louisiana. Stark begins his political career as an idealistic man of the people but soon becomes corrupted by success.

About this title

Review

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.

From the Back Cover

"A fully restored American political classic. . . . Now we can read it as it was written." -- Chicago Tribune

Winner of the 1947 Pulitzer Prize, All the King's Men is one of the most famous and widely read works in American literature, and as relevant today as it was fifty years ago. Now it has been fully restored and reintroduced by literary scholar Noel Polk, textual editor of the works of William Faulkner. Polk presents the novel as it was originally written, revealing even greater energy, excitement, complexity, and subtlety of character in this landmark of letters.

"[Polk] should be commended for this restored edition of Warren's great novel. . . . Deeply imagined, beautifully written, [ All the King's Men] is both a reckoning with the deepest forces of life and an edge-of-your seat page-turner."-- The Raleigh News and Observer

"To read [ All the King's Men] in this new edition is to be struck again by its raw power, its urgency and relevance."-- New Orleans Times-Picayune

"The publication of a new, corrected edition of All the King's Men is welcome news for all who care about American literature." -- Joseph Blotner, author of Robert Penn Warren: A Biography

Robert Penn Warren (1905-1989), America's first Poet Laureate, won three Pulitzer Prizes and virtually every other major award given to U.S. writers.

Noel Polk is a professor of English at the University of Southern Mississippi. He lives in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

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Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0141188618
• ISBN 13: 9780141188614
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 672