531 pages

English language

Published 1990 by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

ISBN:
978-0-15-104772-7
Copied ISBN!

View on OpenLibrary

5 stars (2 reviews)

The story is about Willie Stark, a slick politician of humble birth, who was based on real-life Huey Long, a Louisiana governor, but the real main character is Jack Burden, a reporter who serves to narrate the story and Stark's rise to power.

18 editions

Of life, universe and politics

5 stars

I picked up the book because a respected Russian political scientist, now living in the West, mentioned that it made a lasting impression on him during his childhood and taught him much about politics. The book was published in Russian in the Soviet Union in 1968 and was adapted into a Soviet film three years later, though the movie omits much of the original content.

I didn't know what to expect, but the book turned out to be about much more than just politics and politicians. It was clear that the author was not only familiar with the circumstances in the US South during the 1930s, but also with the work of a news reporter from that era. I even suspected he might have been a reporter himself, which he never was.

It's evident that populist politics in the US South and Fascist Italy served as inspiration for the author. …

avatar for kallekn@kirja.casa

rated it

5 stars

Subjects

  • Politicians -- Fiction
  • Southern States -- Fiction