All the King's Men

By: Robert Penn Warren

Narrated by: Michael Emerson

Length: 20 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Robert Penn Warren, America's first Poet Laureate, penned one of the most widely read works in American literature with the Pulitzer Prize-winning All the King's Men. An unrivaled novel of American politics, Warren's masterpiece is a classic tale every bit as relevant today as it was upon its release more than 50 years ago.

The fictionalized account of Louisiana's colorful and notorious governor, Huey Pierce Long, All the King's Men follows the startling rise and fall of Willie Stark, a country lawyer in the Deep South of the 1930s. Beset by political enemies, Stark seeks aid from his right-hand man, Jack Burden, who will bear witness to the cataclysmic unfolding of this very American tragedy.

©1946 Robert Penn Warren; 1974 Robert Penn Warren (P)2005 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Finalist, Literary Fiction, 2007

"The definitive novel about American politics." (The New York Times)
"Mr. Warren has employed vivid characterization and strong language combined with subtle overtones to write a vital, compelling narrative." (Booklist)
"Michael Emerson's performance brings the characters to life with verve and personality....Through a mix of understatement and intensity, Emerson clearly conveys the political turmoil underlying the book; his performance perfectly complements the story, which is as timely as it was 60 years ago....Emerson's reading does justice to a great work." (AudioFile)

people & politics

a classic exploration of the complexities of personality, power, character, good and evil. the writing is sublime and the narration is wonderful. i found myself stopping the play just to think about the implications of the author's observations on characters and events. it is a novel of it's time and uses the vernacular of its time. that, too, is something to ponder and to assess for ourselves how much we believe that we as individuals or society have changed.
very thought provoking. i know i will come back to listen to this again.

Book is overrated

Michael Emerson, of Lost fame does the reading and he reads the book with characterizations in a great subtle, distinctive and easy to follow way. Based on his work that I’ve seen, and now heard, I feel he is clearly a better actor than many that are more well known. He brought this book, that was difficult for me to read on a few previous attempts, easier to understand through his narration. I cannot say enough good things about his reading.

On the book itself I can see how it won the awards in the 1940s. The fact that the Warren’s prose goes on a bit shows his poetic side. For a modern reader this drones on a bit. My attitude at several points was get on with it, I get it. I understand what you are saying about the moment, now move on. My father has tried to read some old classics and has said that you do not realize how much writing, and the readers, have changed. It makes relatively modern books, such as All The King’s Men, more difficult to get through than one would imagine.

Robert Penn Warren’s masterpiece here to me seemed typical of southern literature of the time. The family secrets, the slow moving drama, the tremendous pull the past has, the affairs of honor, and the beautiful but damaged woman who helps with the downfall of a man. Any one could make a good story but the southern authors of the first half of the 20th Century to me seem compelled to involve as many in their stories as they can. It does make a rich complex story. A problem is the payoff in the end may not equal the build up.

Revisiting a classic

Would you consider the audio edition of All the King's Men to be better than the print version?

Certainly. The narration actually adds an extra depth to the story

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. In fact I listened to it over a period of 2 months

Tough Read, thankfully there's Audible

It took both the audible book and a tangible book for me to read and comprehend this story. Robert Penn Warren has some lengthy descriptions and tangents that were too distracting in the reading but his many characters and connection of thoughts/concepts over a large expanse of chapters had me pausing the audible book and thumbing back through to find and mark notes in the tangible copy. So both were necessary.
This book is rich in the history and culture of the early to mid 20th Century. If you are interested in this material you should certainly read it!

A classic

I gave this book only 4 stars because it was long and dragged a bit. It also took awhile for me to get used to the narrator, who really was excellent.
But this is a classic story of politics in the south. I don’t know how true it was to Huey Long but it was definitely true to human nature.

Fantastic

A masterpiece. Incredible character development. Terrific performance by the narrator. Colorful, warm, funny, sad, exciting.

This classic never gets old

If you could sum up All the King's Men in three words, what would they be?

Intriguing. Captivating. Enthralling.

What other book might you compare All the King's Men to and why?

Ayd Ryan's writings are a great complement to All the King's Men because the political intrigue will get you every time.

Which scene was your favorite?

While the scene in the middle when Jackie Boy is recalling his love affair with Ann Stanton is long -- it is key to the story and in the end becomes a favorite.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes -- but I don't want to be a spoiler.

Any additional comments?

This is an excellent book -- all it's hype is genuine -- a great political intrigue and worth the hours. Don't miss this classic. Excellent reading -- keeps me coming back and back even though I've spent my designated time listening for the day.

The Most Incrdible Prose from an American Author

I am seldom struck by sentence construction, and the use of simile and metaphor by an author. I usually pay more attention to plot and character development. But the prose in this book is so exquisite, that I found myself listening more to the sentences themselves than the actual story.
Like Harper Lee, and Margaret Mitchell, there is just something about southern American authors. Incredible. Listen.

Strange Tale

Meandering tale of people & politics in 1930s southern U.S. 2 stories really: one of the narrator & another of a populist governor said to be based on Huey Long. (I didn't research him.) In the end seemed nihilistic & pessimistic. Interesting characters, though. Some stereotyped. Others multifaceted. Not gripping. Takes a while to get into.

Classic of southern literature with a performance worthy of that status

Mr Emerson's performance is flawless and engaging. The best book+performance that I have had (so far) with audible.