I am taking a college English class which includes an introduction to literary criticism. We were not assigned this book as our textbook, but I had occasion to write an essay recently for class and referred to this book as one of my secondary sources. This book is an excellent resource book. It is very clearly written. The topics covered are "The Intention of Fiction", "How Plot Reveals", "What Character Reveals", "What Theme Reveals", "Stories for Study", and "Fiction and Human Experience: How Four Stories Came to Be Written." It uses many, many, stories written by famous authors to illustrate each topic. I feel certain one could find at least one story from just about any textbook used in an English 101 class. Even if you are not studying literary criticism explicitly, this book is a good resource just for understanding how to look for things like theme and plot, just to name a few. It's a good book to get you thinking the way you need to think in order to write a paper. Even though I don't plan to major in English, I know I will use this book again and hopefully Amazon.comwill be able to find it for me!

Who Owns America? is a collection of informative, challenging, iconoclastic and articulate essays on the nature of industrialism, corporate capitalism, the bureaucratic state, private property, the "good" society, and neo-Jeffersonian visions of a decentralized America. From David Cushman Coyle's "The Fallacy of Mass Production", to Frank Lawrence Owsley's "The Foundations of Democracy", to James Muir Waller's "America and Foreign Trade", to Robert Penn Warren's Literature as a Symptom", to Hilaire Belloc's "The Modern Man", these and many more observant and insightful commentaries deserve as wide a readership as possible and are highly recommended to students of American politics, economics, and history.

The crisis in Somalia, the genocide in Rwanda, why do so many well-intentioned development assistance efforts fail so miserably? As America has been drawn in yet another asymmetric conflict with a collapsed state and Western governments are already discussing ways to implement democracy in order to prevent the conflict from escalating Conrad's timeless tale of idealism and greed suggests that changing the world is an almost impossible task. Many articulate magazine articles or specialized books have attempted to explain how a series favorable trade, free markets and respect for human rights can result in long term positive change. Yet, despite the abundance of information we're still left wondering; logical arguments and historical accounts have proved insufficient in satisfying the need to understand why the development process is so complicated. Although written in 1904, Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard represents Conrad's ultimate opinion of the world. It's a long book, 465 pages in the Penguin Classic edition, but it's rich in observations on human nature as well as Conrad's typical lively landscape descriptions. In the former regard, Nostromo is superior to Conrad's more famous novel Heart of Darkness as he tells the story of very believable characters that are familiar to most readers.

Nostromo is a novel that stands comparison with War and Peace. Widely seen as Conrad's greatest work, it contains amazing - one might say appalling - insight into the human condition in the century that was just beginning. Conrad's father had served time in Siberia-like exile with his young family in tow, for participating in revolutionary, patriotic Polish politics. The experience had shortened his parents' lives and left Conrad an orphan at an early age, giving the writer a personal preview of what the new century was going to be like for so many others. The novelist's modern insight was not only on the political and social front but also into man's sense of identity. With Godot-like despair, Decoud, the character closest to Conrad in Nostromo, "beheld the universe as a succession of incomprehensible images." Stranded by himself for several days he becomes suicidal, realizing that "in our activity alone do we find the sustaining illusion of an independent existence as against the whole scheme of things of which we form a helpless part." At the same time it is beautifully written and is a gripping adventure - so can work on many different levels. Anyone who reads novels should read this classic.

Another thick complex Conrad adventure has a great vivid setting and his usual playful narrative style that exposes the same story at different times through several different points of view, all which clash over the big silver mine in the center of everything, which seems to control every action in the plot. The most riveting aspects of the tale (outside the revolution and the tortured bonds between the characters) happen but briefly on the water. Comparisons to Lord Jim and Heart of Darkness are inevitable though this one stands out on its own, provided the over detailed writing doesn't off put the casual reader. Once again, as with every Conrad piece, you have to read carefully, and be on the look out for abrupt changes in time, place and thought, which he purposely intertwines to expose a larger picture: a rather effective way to unleash the English language, considering that it wasn't Conrad's original native tongue. Title character Nostromo stands out as the key tormented romantic "hero" but the rest of the abundant cast each have their dramatic moments near and around, and before and after him as well. JC weaves all their lives into the same colorful pattern. The silver mine by the time all is finished has power over each of them, a very hypnotic and manipulative symbol of greed and loss. Don Martin Decoud, next to Nostromo himself, makes an impression as the story's most heartbreaking character. He becomes the most tragic person in the book.

This is an excellent collection of British poetry, and all for the price of a paperback novel. A relatively large selection of poets are represented, focusing mostly on the Elizabethan poets up to the nineteenth century, wisely leaving most of the modern stuff out. Not only are the classic poets like Shakespeare, Herrick, Milton, and Wordsworth present, but also some of the more often overlooked poets such as Emily Bronte, Henry King, and Sir Walter Raleigh. If you are a lover of poetry you probably already own a larger collection of poetry and don't need a relatively small volume like this one. If, however, you are only just discovering the beauty of poetry, this is a worthwhile purchase. "Immortal Poems of the English Language" is also excellent for new poetry lovers. I just wish more people loved this beautiful and uniquely human form of emotional expression.

This book should be in the collection of every person that desires to write poetry. Study it from cover-to-cover before beginning your own writing. I especially like the way it is arranged "historically" - chronologically - so you can more easily understand the changes that occurred during the English history of poetry.

You'll find all of these poems elsewhere... in thick, expensive volumes. You know who to expect here, and, depending on your knowledge of poetry, might be, as I was, pleasantly surprised and introduced to unfamiliar poets. Buy this book because you can. Read it because the poems are great.

One stop shopping for all your British poetry needs? Not quite. While that fellow Anonymous gets a few selections, as does his various collegagues and peers, consider this a sampler. A few selections from everyone. Yes, yes.. a 589 page sampler. That's the beauty of it.

I'm a Hopkins fans, and was pleased to see his best pieces. I expected those. New to me were Marston, Oldys, Googe, and a myriad of others. Now I am intrigued to read more of their work.

Portable, and easy to stuff in a coat or briefcase, you'll like the friendly size of the book. The poets are indexed by last name, but organized by chronology in the text itself. The typography is readable (not that teeny tiny stuff some publishers think is good for anthologies).

What more could you want?

I fully recommend this book.

Anthony Trendl

This is a wonderful read. You will "get lost" in Warren's evocative recreation of the post civil war period as he follows the fortunes of a young woman who is technically "colored," but was raised in "white" society by her white father. Unsurprisingly, her circumstances undergo a great change once her father dies and she loses his protection and the position that came with it. Read this book and get a nice surprise!

This is perhaps the best novel ever written about the Civil War and Reconstruction. Unlike Gone with the Wind, the denizens of Warren's South aren't caricatures but complex human beings. You feel the hurt and disappointment of many people, sucked into the tensions of the antebellum South, the abolitonist North, the Civil War, and Reconstruction. "Little Miss Manty" is one of the most engaging characters in fiction. Warren never patronizes anyone. Each page is filled with rich imagery and points for deep reflection.

My choice for Greatest American Novel of the 20th Century is this Robert Penn Warren classic. Unfortunately for Warren (and us), this novel got off to a rotten start. The New York Times hailed it as 'The definitive novel about American politics,' and doomed it to be shelved with other drab tomes in that otherwise unimpressive genre. The Times, sad to say, widely missed the point on All the King's Men.

Jack Burden is the point. Jack Burden, the politician's hack, makes this book. His is an evolution from disaffection to purpose, from carelessness to thoughtfulness. Willie Stark-the politician-is merely the means to Warren's greater goals. Warren originally set out to show, through Stark, the Dionysian allure of power and the grand effect it has on those who attain it. And he did; Stark himself is a great literary character.

But Warren fooled himself: he created a character much greater than Stark, even though he planned Burden only to be a sort of an omniscient narrator of little value to the novel except as the storyteller of Stark's rise.

In the end, Burden says (paraphrase), "This has been the story of Willie Stark. But it has been my story too." And thankfully, it was. The novel is brilliant, Warren is brilliant, and political books are still boring-but this is not one of them!

Within the confines of a bookstore one is often overwhelmed with the numerous topics and choices available to them. A solution to this problem, if a reader is interested in an engaging, magnificently written piece of literature, then take a few steps and find All The Kings Men by Robert Warren Penn.
The theme is one of uncanny importance and relevancy to this stage in American lives despite the fact it was written in 1946. The story is told in the first person, the narrator is Jack Burden; a right hand man to the leading political figure in the story, the "Boss." Interestingly, the "Boss" is based on the real life story of Huey "Kingfish" Long of Louisiana.
The story encompasses Jack Burdens revival from a involuntary life, as well as the metamorphosis of Willie Stark's, the "Boss", idealistic political views to the lust for power and fame. Robert Warren Penn won a Pulitzer Prize for this book, and within the last few months I can not recall a book that would equal it in quality and purpose. Penn utilizes his characters to develop and provide insight on the issues of forgiveness, power, and corruption, and the consequences of leadership.
Within a bookstore there are many choices, and many possibilities to choose from, but in the busy lives of the average person today why waste the time just pick up a copy of All the Kings Men by Robert Warren Penn today.

In his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel All the King's Men, Robert Penn Warren proves he knows more about writing than just the simple mechanics. Strongly defined characters and a setting so real you can taste the air provide the foundation for this literary masterpiece, yet the real genius of the book is in Warren's understanding of the reader and his use of style to convey a personal tone in the reading.

The main characters in All the King's Men are Jack Burden and Willie Stark. Jack, the narrator, was a reporter before joining Stark's bid for political power. Stark began as a small country lawyer who saw something wrong and tried to change it, but he eventually becomes a politician in the truest sense, so much so that the narrator can only think of Stark as "the Boss," an ominous title indeed. Accompanying these two men is an array of equally fascinating minor characters such as Sadie, a saucy married woman influential in developing Stark's position as a politician, and Sugar Boy, an Irishman so named for his affinity for sugar. Every character has depth and realism and can stand alone as a fully-developed individual.

While the characters are clearly an enjoyable part of the story, the setting is even more compelling. Warren's word choice is superb; he chooses to include and omit just the right combination of words to paint a realistic picture in the reader's mind without becoming too cumbersome. It is a balance few authors are able to achieve with such proficiency and yet another way in which Warren demonstrates his almost supernatural understanding of the reader. The best part is, it only gets better.

If characters and setting can be described as masterfully crafted, then Warren's grasp of tone is inexplicable. Simply put, the story truly speaks to the reader and could never have been as effective were it written any other way. Sentence structure, word selection, and dialect coalesce into a tangible atmosphere that projects a strong sense of familiarity onto the reader. The book is hard to put down because of this sense of familiarity.

Overall, All the King's Men is a book enjoyable in many more ways than one, with intriguing characters, realistic setting, and a true understanding of the needs of the reader. Even after fifty years, this book remains a classic appealing to all generations.

For the past year I have been engaged in a lengthy research project on John Brown and his biographers. Robert Penn Warren's John Brown: The Making of a Martyr was written when Warren was just 24 years old, and, although it demonstrates the wonderful literary ability Warren would become famous for, the book should not be used as history; Warren's anti-Brown sentiments are obvious; his tone his extremely condescending, as he take numerous snipes at Brown throughout. Warren criticizes the work of previous Brown biographers, such as Oswald Garrison Villard, but that does not stop him from using Villard as his main source, even copying some of his words nearly verbatim. Warren does make some good points, though, like how Brown created his own martyrdom, and his prose is eloquent. Many readers go for this book because of how well told it is, but for the best, most complete, accurate, unbiased, detailed biography, read Stephen B. Oates' To Purge This Land With Blood. When it comes to research, leave this one alone.

This book does an excellent job of tracing not only John Brown's travels through Harper's Ferry, but also the genesis of his abolitionism.

Fanatic he may have been, but he was a fanatic on the right side of history. Also, there's no indication that Mr. Brown was a horse thief or a meglomaniac, although he did declare bankruptcy and did desire to lead, with the aproval of freed blacks, a provisional territory until slavery had been eliminated from the south.

Apologists for southern slavery, like Steve Quick below (who seems to be a hardcore southern apologist), should remember two words that destroy any moral argument they might muster in support of the antebellum South, and against the actions of John Brown, and later the Union.

The first word, obviously, is "slavery." It is unjustifiable, and any attempts to do so are disgraceful. It's sort of like saying that Hitler built good roads.

The second word is "Andersonville." The absolutely inhumane treatment Union soldiers received at the hands of the Confederates should never be forgotten.

The Harpers Ferry raid was the ember that ignited the Civil War. It was also part of a conspiracy, hidden in history almost as much as it was at the time, involving wealthy, prominant Northerners. Among them were Stowe and even Fredrick Douglas. Brown himself was a horsethief, a murderer, and a meglamaniac. Among the evidence found on his person was the constitution of the "new republic" he would usher in after Southern whites had been slaughtered by his army of freed slaves, naming himself as the new provisional president. This well researched book so completely debunks Brown as anything but a traiterous, intolerant tyrant that it is amazing that even today he can be viewed any other way. This book will raise your awareness to a brand new level, almost as much as it raises your blood pressure.

Robert Penn Warren, Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce (Random House, 1983)

Warren's penultimate book of poetry, published as he was nearing eighty, is less something to be criticized or examined as it is to be learned from. Warren, seventy-five at the time of this long poem's writing, had been in the game for over a half century, had won the Pulitzer three times (as well as most other major prizes known to man), and was one of the last century's most influential writers on many fronts. Forget nitpicking, and just learn from one of the few Americans who has truly earned the title of "master" in the poetic realm. ***

I rode a motorcycle through the Dakotas, Wyoming, and Montana some years ago, and became sensitized to the tragic plight of the Native American Indians. Robert Penn Warren has created a beautiful and lasting "monument" to this unsung hero of peace who was slaughtered by the United States Cavalry. This tiny book is similar to Gutzon Borglum's monument to Chief Crazy Horse -- only a different medium. I would give it a highest recommendation for enlightenment reading and to keep close forever as a visionary friend.

Best known as the author of All the King's Men, Robert Penn Warren wrote this short (114 pages) book after Confederate President Jefferson Davis had his U.S. citizenship restored in 1979 during the Carter Administration, some nine decades after Davis's death. When this took place, Warren returned home to Todd County, Kentucky for a ceremony honoring Davis's posthumous reinstatement. As it turns out, Jefferson Davis, like Warren, was also a native of Todd County, and this book is Warren's memoir, a reflection on the ironic, sometimes sad life of the only president the Confederacy ever had. This rumination was so engaging I couldn't put it down. I read it in one sitting, captivated by the quality of story-telling and the poignant southern nostalgia it evoked.

This is a concise - 114 pages - but no less impressive and comprehensive look at Davis's life than some of the longer biographies out there. Warren, like Allen Tate before him, sees Davis as a great man but deeply flawed. He could quite possibly have won the War Between the States had he not been so rigidly dedicated to the principle of state's rights. He was too much the gentleman to do what was necessary. Lincoln, on the other hand, was a pragmatist, and had no qualms about suspending the constitution to achieve his means; he thought he was saving the Constitution by defying it!

A sad tale of greatness thwarted by principle. Warren composed this essay in honor of his fellow Kentuckian, whose U.S. citizenship had been restored that year - 1979 - by an act of Congress. Warren writes with verve, wit, humor, and insight.

This novel is the grandiloquent self-examination of the life of a poor southern boy whose superior intellect, his knack for language and letters, conveys him away from the poverty in which his family stewed.

It begins with the death of child Jed Tewksbury's drunkard father, the recollection of which develops into a party spoof, a personal stand-up comedy act, that gleans popularity for Jed at college gatherings and beyond. He discovers his abilities with Latin and literature, attracting along the way the attention of the town's one beautiful/smart girl -- but she's a fickle babe who falls for old money and simply strings Jed along for a couple of decades. Jed experiences some periods of simpering self-pity, but grows more mature as the story progresses.

I think Robert Penn Warren intended for this tale to exercise the same degree of power as All The King's Men, and all of the elements are present (great writing, compelling characters and vignettes, introspective details), but the final product simply doesn't deliver the same overall impact.

One interesting point: One episode features a horse-breeding interlude, which was virtually mirrored 20 years later in Tom Wolf's A Man In Full. Robert beat you to it, Tom.

eNTERTAINING AND IT SEEMS TO ME THAT IT IS A VERY MODERN APROACH OF ONE INDIVIDUAL, FROM A VERY MODEST NEIGHBORHOOD AND BEING VERY WELL EDUCATED AND MAKING HIMSELF INTO A VERY HEROIC FIGURE.