Freeper Reading Club Discussion: "All The King's Men"

Self | May 10, 2003 | PJ-Comix

[PJ-Comix]

Okay, time to discuss the latest book assignment from the Freeper Reading Club: All The King's Men by Robert Penn Warren. The next Freeper Reading Club assignment is Heart Of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Discussion for that book will be July 12.

[PJ-Comix]

Post away your comments about All The King's Men. Obviously Willie Stark was based on Huey Long. If you want to read an incredible biography about Huey Long, I highly recommend Huey Long by T. Harry Williams.

[PJ-Comix]

FYI

[CindyDawg]

Chapter one was interesting. I would like for you to keep me on your ping list but just so you know, I'm still on Sea Biscuit. I think I need to get my head out of my horse magazines and speed up a little here, huh? :')

[PJ-Comix]

Always keep the book in your car when you're not reading it. Then when you have to wait on post office lines, etc., you will have the book available to read. And of course, it is much more interesting to read books during plane trips than those boring airline magazines.

[SamAdams76]

You keep coming up with great books! I wish more Freepers would get involved with this reading list. In a way, Willie Stark reminds me of "Slick Willie" Clinton. Willie Stark believed that everybody had a "secret", a weakness, and if that weakness could be identified, then Willie could control and exploit that person. Sounds like the Clinton m.o. to me.

[Tribune7]

I saw the movie. Does that count. 10-4 10-4

[Jennifer in Florida]

BTTT. I didn't know there was a reading club around here - I'll definitely read the next one for July.

[dix]

When I first caught Bubba’s act in ’92 I thought of Willie Stark. I really believe Clinton studied him. Clinton knew the Rats would do anything to be in power, and when he got his butt in a crack anything to stay in power. That was their big weakness. He exploited it many times.

He also honed his skills on the ignorant underclass aka the common man. Just like Stark/Long. I don’t mean that to be a slam at Arkansas, every state has them.

Huey Long was a serious threat to become president for a while. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think that’s what made FDR introduce social security.

Long screwed one too many people, and Dr. Weiss did him in. Clinton was lucky one of the libs he threw overboard didn’t do something drastic.

[PJ-Comix]

You keep coming up with great books! I wish more Freepers would get involved with this reading list.

The problem is that most folks developed an antipathy to literature back in high school. This innoculated them from realizing the great books out there. I've actually learned quite a bit of history from literature. Often such books spur my curiousity about events and I then read history books about them. But the initial curiousity is set off by the novels.

[PJ-Comix]

One HUGE difference between Huey Long and Clinton is that Long was actually quite an entertaining speaker. Another difference is that Long's wife was pretty much in the background.

[SamAdams76]

That's sort of the same way with me. Reading The Call Of The Wild in school made me want to read about the actual Klondike Gold Rush of 1898. Later on, Red Badge of Courage fueled my interest in reading about the Civil War.

Unfortunately, schools have taken the joy out of reading for most and turned them off to reading for life with their endless essays and character analysis's that are graded so subjectively that many students just throw their arms up and search the web for boilerplate phrases to get the assignment over with (in my day, it was the Cliff notes).

Some students are fortunate to develop a love for reading in spite of it. I happened to be one of them.

[expatpat]

Thanks for the ping -- will get the book.

[dix]

You make a good point about the role of his wife even though she probably had the equivalent of a Wellesley (sp) education, because she was a school teacher in the thirties in Louisiana. The literacy rate was very low. No offence to anyone, it was low in Texas as well. Maybe she opened a few doors on a much smaller scale than PIAPS did, but I’m sure Hillary opened many doors for the boy from the state with the biggest watermelons too.

The thirties had great orators like Hitler, Churchill, and FDR. Huey was another. We are not impressed when we hear Clinton, but when he is talking to his sheeple they swoon. I can say this, because I’m a Southern Christian boy, but Clinton would have made a great preacher.

Thanks very much for running the book club; I enjoy the heck out of it.

[PJ-Comix]

In the forward of my copy of All The King's Men the writer made the point that Joe Klein ripped off that book for his own Primary Colors book. The writer quoted a review that called Klein an "artful thief." LOL!

[PJ-Comix]

If you notice, this really wasn't a political novel like "The Last Hurrah" was where the nuts and bolts of politics was looked into. Willie Stark wasn't even the central character. It was Jack Burden thru whose eyes we viewed the events. The real Huey Long was actually a much more fascinating character than Willie Stark. Also the Long had more of a sense of humor than Stark. If you watch documentary films of Long speaking, you will see he was quite funny.

[GregB]

Thanks for the tip...I love reading..anybody read Isaac's Storm..President Bush has. Also i read Ghost Soldiers.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

May I join your club?

The next Freeper Reading Club assignment is Heart Of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.

Ah, the horror, the horror! :)

Do me good to reread it. As a teen I preferred "The Secret Sharer". It will be interesting to see if and how my impressions have changed over the years.

[PJ-Comix]

I added you to the Ping list. Now start reading Heart Of Darkness.