All the King's Men

All the King's Men is a novel by Robert Penn Warren, first published in 1946. The novel is loosely based on the biography of Louisiana governor Huey Long and derives its title from a line in the popular nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty. In 1947 Warren won the Pulitzer Prize for All the King's Men. ''Time'' magazine included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-Language Novels from 1923 to 2005. It was adapted for film in 1949 and 2006; the 1949 version won the Academy Award for Best Picture. All the King's Men portrays the dramatic political ascent and Louisiana State Governorship of Willie Stark (a.k.a. "the Boss"), a driven, cynical populist in the American South during the 1930s. The novel is narrated by Jack Burden, a political reporter who comes to work as Governor Stark's right-hand man. The trajectory of Stark's career is interwoven with Jack Burden's life story and philosophical reflections: "the story of Willie Stark and the story of Jack Burden are, in one sense, one story." ... full article at wikipedia