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The Almighty
When the hunger for power becomes a craving--a ruling obsession--it is not enough for a man like Edward Armstead to head a vast news empire. First he will want to shape the news - then manipulate and control it - and finally he will want to create it.
403 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1977
36 people are currently reading
869 people want to read
About the author
Irving Wallace
180 books291 followersIrving Wallace was an American bestselling author and screenwriter. His extensively researched books included such page-turners as The Chapman Report (1960), about human sexuality; The Prize (1962), a fictional behind-the-scenes account of the Nobel Prizes; The Man, about a black man becoming president of the U.S. in the 1960s; and The Word (1972), about the discovery of a new gospel.
Wallace was born in Chicago, Illinois. Wallace grew up in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He was the father of Olympic historian David Wallechinsky and author Amy Wallace.
Wallace began selling stories to magazines when he was a teenager. In World War II Wallace served in the Frank Capra unit in Fort Fox along with Theodor Seuss Geisel - more popularly known as Dr Seuss - and continued to write for magazines. He also served in the First Motion Picture Unit of the Army Air Force. In the years immediately following World war II Wallace became a Hollywood screenwriter. He collaborated on such films as The West Point Story (1950), Split Second (1953),and Meet Me at the Fair (1953).
After several years in Hollywood, he devoted himself full-time to writing books. Wallace published 33 books during his lifetime.
Wallace was born in Chicago, Illinois. Wallace grew up in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He was the father of Olympic historian David Wallechinsky and author Amy Wallace.
Wallace began selling stories to magazines when he was a teenager. In World War II Wallace served in the Frank Capra unit in Fort Fox along with Theodor Seuss Geisel - more popularly known as Dr Seuss - and continued to write for magazines. He also served in the First Motion Picture Unit of the Army Air Force. In the years immediately following World war II Wallace became a Hollywood screenwriter. He collaborated on such films as The West Point Story (1950), Split Second (1953),and Meet Me at the Fair (1953).
After several years in Hollywood, he devoted himself full-time to writing books. Wallace published 33 books during his lifetime.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
December 19, 2011
Buku Irving Wallace yg pertama kali dibaca. A great book. With an unexpected ending.
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March 18, 2014like a masala hindi movie...jeetendra had made a movie called new delhi times- with strikingly similar storyline in the 80s- dunno who copped whom
June 19, 2021
Esta es de las peores novelas que he leído. Quisiera reducir drásticamente el tiempo que tardo en escribir esto para no desperdiciar más segundos relacionados a este mal libro.
Como periodista, me siento decepcionado, y como lector, me siento incluso enfermo. La historia nos habla de Armstead, un megalómano sin ningún desarrollo el cual le dan delirios de grandeza y ataques de ira detonados por nimiedades que intenta ser "el gran manipulador" pero en realidad las cosas le salen bien de la manera más ridícula posible. Junto a él se desarrolla una banda de terroristas a las cuales no se les dará desarrollo de ninguna manera, incluso dejando sin terminar su historia
Aparte está Vicky, una reportera que tiene un amorío con su compañero, llamado Nick, el cual tiene la estética de hombre maduro siniestro pero en realidad es un borracho cascarrabias que pasa de un momento a otro a ser un lame botas sin personalidad. Supuestamente traumatizado, aunque a Vicky le hacen cosas peores y no da muestras de ser afectada pese a ser más inexperta en la vida.
Hay otro grupo de personajes que son relevantes pero dan igual y son tan irrelevantes que uno de ellos literalmente encuentra su propósito en la vida menos de 5 páginas antes de que lo maten.
Solo para recalcar, el final es tan mediocre como esperé que sea, pero no pensé que tuviera fallos de sentido tan grandes.
Las referencias al periodismo, para un periodista, son graciosas pero poco más, como la metáfora del hombre mordiendo al perro. Sí, muy divertido pero eso no salva a la obra. Y finalmente, el tema del erotismo es tratado con la misma sutileza que un crematorio vendiendo asados. La gente aquí se calienta por nada, se desnuda a la mínima y cuando va a pasar algo, después de una descripción casi pornográfica, la acción se corta de golpe. Lo escrito, está escrito mal, y lo no escrito, al perderlo, se siente como información faltante o cortada por un incompetente
El libro es malo. Es muy malo, y no sé si solo sea un descache del autor o escribe así todos sus libros, pero viendo sus sinopsis, dudo descubrirlo, porque no me interesa ninguno y espero jamás encontrarme con algo peor de parte de alguna supuesta eminencia literaria.
Como periodista, me siento decepcionado, y como lector, me siento incluso enfermo. La historia nos habla de Armstead, un megalómano sin ningún desarrollo el cual le dan delirios de grandeza y ataques de ira detonados por nimiedades que intenta ser "el gran manipulador" pero en realidad las cosas le salen bien de la manera más ridícula posible. Junto a él se desarrolla una banda de terroristas a las cuales no se les dará desarrollo de ninguna manera, incluso dejando sin terminar su historia
Aparte está Vicky, una reportera que tiene un amorío con su compañero, llamado Nick, el cual tiene la estética de hombre maduro siniestro pero en realidad es un borracho cascarrabias que pasa de un momento a otro a ser un lame botas sin personalidad. Supuestamente traumatizado, aunque a Vicky le hacen cosas peores y no da muestras de ser afectada pese a ser más inexperta en la vida.
Hay otro grupo de personajes que son relevantes pero dan igual y son tan irrelevantes que uno de ellos literalmente encuentra su propósito en la vida menos de 5 páginas antes de que lo maten.
Solo para recalcar, el final es tan mediocre como esperé que sea, pero no pensé que tuviera fallos de sentido tan grandes.
Las referencias al periodismo, para un periodista, son graciosas pero poco más, como la metáfora del hombre mordiendo al perro. Sí, muy divertido pero eso no salva a la obra. Y finalmente, el tema del erotismo es tratado con la misma sutileza que un crematorio vendiendo asados. La gente aquí se calienta por nada, se desnuda a la mínima y cuando va a pasar algo, después de una descripción casi pornográfica, la acción se corta de golpe. Lo escrito, está escrito mal, y lo no escrito, al perderlo, se siente como información faltante o cortada por un incompetente
El libro es malo. Es muy malo, y no sé si solo sea un descache del autor o escribe así todos sus libros, pero viendo sus sinopsis, dudo descubrirlo, porque no me interesa ninguno y espero jamás encontrarme con algo peor de parte de alguna supuesta eminencia literaria.
September 24, 2020
Excellent thriller!
March 4, 2017
Walk in the shoes of an insecure, spoiled man on the day he inherits his work-a-holic father's fortune and newspaper empire.
Feel his determination to measure up to his estimation of his late father's expectations. See what lengths he will go to achieve his goal, and feel his ego bloat as he begins to succeed.
This book is well written, the characters believable and interesting, the plot excellent. It swept me forward and made it difficult to put the book down.
There are a few rather explicit intimate encounters in the book, which will exclude it from the reading list of some.
I found this one on the $0.50 shelf at Gatsby Books in Long Beach.
Feel his determination to measure up to his estimation of his late father's expectations. See what lengths he will go to achieve his goal, and feel his ego bloat as he begins to succeed.
This book is well written, the characters believable and interesting, the plot excellent. It swept me forward and made it difficult to put the book down.
There are a few rather explicit intimate encounters in the book, which will exclude it from the reading list of some.
I found this one on the $0.50 shelf at Gatsby Books in Long Beach.
September 5, 2023
I am still attacked, my heart beats super fast. I just finished this book and my mind is working really fast right now.
This book its really really perverse. Since the very start of the book, the new owner of one of the best newspaper in the usa shows to the reader his perverse mind and the evil running through his veins, it is very clear that the one thing that matters to this man is the power.
I had a really intense time reading this book, it is full of content and almost anything was irrelevant. As we follow the other main character Victoria Weston we can’t believe what our eyes are reading. The general situation of the book really scares me, as it fictionally shows the insanity that the most powerful men in the world can accomplish in order to have what they want: power.
It has a really good narrative and you will love, hate and emphasize with the characters that lead this story.
The end is a big plus to the book as it is really intriguing till the very end, I was in the border of a freaking panic attack for real, I was so into the narrative I almost felt as if my own life was in danger.
This book its really really perverse. Since the very start of the book, the new owner of one of the best newspaper in the usa shows to the reader his perverse mind and the evil running through his veins, it is very clear that the one thing that matters to this man is the power.
I had a really intense time reading this book, it is full of content and almost anything was irrelevant. As we follow the other main character Victoria Weston we can’t believe what our eyes are reading. The general situation of the book really scares me, as it fictionally shows the insanity that the most powerful men in the world can accomplish in order to have what they want: power.
It has a really good narrative and you will love, hate and emphasize with the characters that lead this story.
The end is a big plus to the book as it is really intriguing till the very end, I was in the border of a freaking panic attack for real, I was so into the narrative I almost felt as if my own life was in danger.
November 23, 2019
Ed Armstead is so obsessed with proving his father wrong that he does anything to achieve it.
Vicky Weston and Hannah Armstead are the only people who know something is amiss with "The Almighty"...but just how will they stop this juggernut.
Will the truth come to light? will the world be safe again?
A great masterpiece from Irving Wallace. To a wannabe investigative journalist this is your book.
Vicky Weston and Hannah Armstead are the only people who know something is amiss with "The Almighty"...but just how will they stop this juggernut.
Will the truth come to light? will the world be safe again?
A great masterpiece from Irving Wallace. To a wannabe investigative journalist this is your book.
April 28, 2023
In this book, the theme is similar to the one we found in The Fan Club: Power and the way it corrupts.
Armstead is the son of the respected editor of the Record, a New York newspaper. When he dies, his father leaves him, among many other things, the newspaper. However, there is one condition that must be met: he will own the paper temporarily for a period of one year. If during that year, at some point, he manages to exceed the circulation of the NY Times, the newspaper becomes permanently his. Otherwise, the paper will be sold to the competition. For Armstead, this is an impossible goal to fulfill, and a way that, even after he is dead, his father will remind him that he always considered him an incompetent incompetent. Unless...
... Unless he ignores all ethics and all principles of journalism and becomes the "almighty" able to dictate the world we live in, to anticipate what is going to happen and, if necessary, to create and shape the news. Which is exactly what he will do!
This was the second book by Irving Wallace that I have read, and I approve! I liked the theme of power as an element of corruption (even though it seems to me that Armstead was already a bit of a kettle of fish even before he inherited the newspaper). His plan is both ingenious and crazy, and probably could have worked if he hadn't screwed everything up with his greed.
Of course, the ending is no surprise since we realize very early on that things are not going to end well. Still it ends up being interesting to see how things slowly fall apart, to culminate in an ending that doesn't disappoint.
You can find more reviews on my blog!
UmBlogueSobreLivros
Armstead is the son of the respected editor of the Record, a New York newspaper. When he dies, his father leaves him, among many other things, the newspaper. However, there is one condition that must be met: he will own the paper temporarily for a period of one year. If during that year, at some point, he manages to exceed the circulation of the NY Times, the newspaper becomes permanently his. Otherwise, the paper will be sold to the competition. For Armstead, this is an impossible goal to fulfill, and a way that, even after he is dead, his father will remind him that he always considered him an incompetent incompetent. Unless...
... Unless he ignores all ethics and all principles of journalism and becomes the "almighty" able to dictate the world we live in, to anticipate what is going to happen and, if necessary, to create and shape the news. Which is exactly what he will do!
This was the second book by Irving Wallace that I have read, and I approve! I liked the theme of power as an element of corruption (even though it seems to me that Armstead was already a bit of a kettle of fish even before he inherited the newspaper). His plan is both ingenious and crazy, and probably could have worked if he hadn't screwed everything up with his greed.
Of course, the ending is no surprise since we realize very early on that things are not going to end well. Still it ends up being interesting to see how things slowly fall apart, to culminate in an ending that doesn't disappoint.
You can find more reviews on my blog!
UmBlogueSobreLivros
February 18, 2025
Irving Wallace, uno de los cinco autores mas leídos en todo el mundo, ha escrito una novela impresionante cuyo protagonista es un hombre obsesionado por el poder, capaz de manipular a personas, titulares de periódicos y acontecimientos mundiales para lograr sus propósitos. Y junto a el, dos mujeres que intuyen la terrible partida que esta jugado este hombre, el todopoderoso. Edward Armistead ha vivido gran parte de su padre, famoso magnate de los medios de comunicación. Al fallecer, su testamento impide prácticamente a Edward conservar lo que este mas desea: la propiedad de un periódico poderosisimo, núcleo del imperio Armstead. Decidido a superar a su progenitor a cualquier precio, Edward se lanza en pos de dos objetivos primordiales: convertir el Récord de Nueva York en el diario numero uno de los Estados Unidos, y hacer suya a la amante de su difunto padre. En una serie trepidante de hechos que, desde Manhattan, nos llevan a los mas altos círculos del poder en Gran Bretaña, Francia, España, Suiza e Israel, una oleada creciente de violencia proporciona a Armstead sensacionales primicias periodísticas, exclusivas del Récord, que llegan a convertirle en una leyenda en el mundo del periodismo. Pero Victoria Weston, avispada periodista a sueldo del Todopoderoso, empieza a sospechar que alguien esta manipulando las noticias y decide investigar por su cuenta, hasta percatarse del camino quizá peligroso, mortal, que ha tomado... El Todopoderoso es una de las novelas mas logradas de Irving Wallace, que plantea un tema de palpitante actualidad" La Prensa. el "cuarto poder". se limita siempre a informar o a veces la noticia...?
December 4, 2019
A newspaper owner finances terrorist acts to get exclusive breaking news in the true sense of the word.
If that is not ridiculous enough, he refuses to stop even when senior politicians are killed, and even when another plan is botched up. Finally he plans and directs an act that is beyond ridiculous. And when his secrets are discovered he goes on a killing spree.
On top of it, the book is structured badly and it can easily be seen that suspense could have been created by better editing. Maybe the editor too felt that this was beyond repair and so - the worse the better.
And finally, the character arc of the newspaper owner is not convincing. This was my fifth book by the author and hard to believe that a seasoned author could write such trash !
If that is not ridiculous enough, he refuses to stop even when senior politicians are killed, and even when another plan is botched up. Finally he plans and directs an act that is beyond ridiculous. And when his secrets are discovered he goes on a killing spree.
On top of it, the book is structured badly and it can easily be seen that suspense could have been created by better editing. Maybe the editor too felt that this was beyond repair and so - the worse the better.
And finally, the character arc of the newspaper owner is not convincing. This was my fifth book by the author and hard to believe that a seasoned author could write such trash !
May 11, 2023
DNF, abandoned on page 66. I was interested in this book because it is supposed to be about a media mogul taking over and controlling the news, which seems very topical today even though the book was written in 1982. Instead I got a story of a spoiled rich man, given everything except love from his father (sound familiar?), and a dovetailing story of a (very) young female newspaper reporter who lands a nepo job at his flagship newspaper. Her first assignment is interviewing a former death row inmate who tells her of a tunnel dug under a prison with tools found in the room. Say what? Sorry, this is taking escapism to a new level. Books have to have SOME logic after all.
January 30, 2019
A man inherits a newspaper on the condition it sells more than the New York Times, so he decides to do it all to accomplish this, to the point of creating news and hooking up with his dead father's lover. A great book by Wallace.
March 13, 2019
É um bom livro!
Tem bastantes diálogos, personagens bem construídas e cenas interessantes.
Contudo, deu-me a sensação de estar a ler o guião de um filme. E faz sentido porque o autor foi guionista :-)
Tem bastantes diálogos, personagens bem construídas e cenas interessantes.
Contudo, deu-me a sensação de estar a ler o guião de um filme. E faz sentido porque o autor foi guionista :-)
June 11, 2017
It proves that people will to any extent to be "successful".
March 30, 2020
Final sacado de la manga, así como el detective que apareció hacia el final de la historia. Libro dominguero.
June 24, 2020
Livro recreativo muito bom naquilo que propõe.
August 26, 2020
Read in 1983. A stunning novel about a man so obsessed with power he is driven to manipulating people, headlines and world events. Far fetched.
May 28, 2021
Final verdict, You Can Never Be Almighty
Read
November 11, 2022I usually do enjoy reading Irving Wallace and this was no exception.
January 5, 2023
Me gustaría ponerle 4.5 estrellas.
January 9, 2023
¡Una obra maestra! ¡Me encantó! Sobretodo el final que no puedes parar de leer con el corazón en vilo.
August 17, 2024
A gripping tale! Really suspenseful! I used to think it was an awesome work of fiction… now, unfortunately, I see examples of life imitation art!
September 4, 2024
Unique storyline. Suspenseful.
September 26, 2024
Muy buen libro que ayuda a entender un poco más sobre la ambición, el deseo de poder, el control de los medios y el mundo
Sigue siendo tan vigente en nuestro tiempo como lo fue cuando se escribió
Sigue siendo tan vigente en nuestro tiempo como lo fue cuando se escribió
Read
March 20, 2017Bailed after 100 pages. A weak one from Irv The Perv after The Fan Club.
March 10, 2017
Paid Media makes news 1980s!!!
May 16, 2013
Books like these are what makes you want to find the author and throttle him.
The book starts out with great promise. The media mogul who just inherited the throne, the yuppie reporter with great zeal, the cynical - handsome, of course - more experienced mentor cum crush of hers, the promise of a devious plot, its all there. But nothing takes off. The characters flatline right after they are broken-in, everyone stops using their brains and the big idea - the billionaire media mogul creating his own terrors for the sake of having exclusive beats - falls flat in its face with nowhere to go other than creating the 'headline'. The so-called 'investigative journalists' stop investigating and remain frustrated for not having their by-lines in print and not until almost the end of the novel does someone wake up and smell the shit smeared all over their face right from the start.
There is one scene between the protagonist and her cynic/alcoholic reporter crush that parcels the entire feeling the novelt him delivers.
*spoiler*
The man is drunk. She goes to his room. He tells her about some ex-lover who left him cynical and alcoholic. Almost immediately after, asks her to go to bed with him. She is ecstatic. Goes into the bathroom. Comes out naked (admiring her sexuality if I might add).
Finds him passed out.
That's the novel, signed, sealed and delivered for you. Incidentally, the scene repeats at the end, with the girl passing out this time (like in those romance novels where the couple replay the first dialogue they have). Need I say more?
The book starts out with great promise. The media mogul who just inherited the throne, the yuppie reporter with great zeal, the cynical - handsome, of course - more experienced mentor cum crush of hers, the promise of a devious plot, its all there. But nothing takes off. The characters flatline right after they are broken-in, everyone stops using their brains and the big idea - the billionaire media mogul creating his own terrors for the sake of having exclusive beats - falls flat in its face with nowhere to go other than creating the 'headline'. The so-called 'investigative journalists' stop investigating and remain frustrated for not having their by-lines in print and not until almost the end of the novel does someone wake up and smell the shit smeared all over their face right from the start.
There is one scene between the protagonist and her cynic/alcoholic reporter crush that parcels the entire feeling the novelt him delivers.
*spoiler*
The man is drunk. She goes to his room. He tells her about some ex-lover who left him cynical and alcoholic. Almost immediately after, asks her to go to bed with him. She is ecstatic. Goes into the bathroom. Comes out naked (admiring her sexuality if I might add).
Finds him passed out.
That's the novel, signed, sealed and delivered for you. Incidentally, the scene repeats at the end, with the girl passing out this time (like in those romance novels where the couple replay the first dialogue they have). Need I say more?
January 4, 2018
Irving Wallace oli bestseller kirjailija 60- ja 70-luvuilla. Wallacen 80-luvun alun jännärissä Edward Armstead perii isänsä kuoltua kokonaisen media-imperiumin ja ryhtyy samalla myös yhtymän sanomalehtien lippulaivan The New York Recordin päätoimittajaksi. Armstead palkkaa joukon palkkasotureita suorittamaan näyttäviä kansainvälisiä terroritekoja, kidnappauksia ja ryöstöjä saadakseen sitten yksin oman lehtensä raportoimaan näistä sensaatiomaisista rikoksista ensimmäisenä. Edwardia ajaa eteenpäin maaninen halu luoda uutisia ja saada valtaa vaikuttamalla ihmisten elämään ja nousta siten lehtimaailman kaikkivaltiaaksi. Lehden uusi toimittaja Victoria Weston alkaa epäillä, että joku manipuloi näitä sensaatiomaisia etusivun uutisia ja hän päättää alkaa tutkimaan asiaa. Samaan aikaan Vicky toivoo romanssin alkamista lehden sarkastisen ja lakonisen viskiin menevän tähtitoimittajan, ihanan Nick Ramseyn kanssa. Vicky ihmettelee myös vähän väliä sitä, miksi hänen vetovoimansa ei ole saanut Nickiä vielä hyppäämään hänen sänkyynsä. Nais- ja mieskuvaus on 70-luvun sovinistisen kliseinen, joka lähinnä varmaankin huvittaa nykypäivän lukijaa. Jos pääsee yli kirjan uskomattoman yliampuvan juonen, joka on ihan täyttä dadaa, niin tarinaa voi pitää viihdyttävän hauskana jännärinä. "Kaikkivaltias" (yrittää) ottaa kantaa myös median rooliin siinä, miten se uutisoi terroritekoja.
August 11, 2014
5 stars
After his father’s death, Edward Armstead inherits his vast news empire under the condition that he must surpass the Times’ sales, something his father hadn’t been able to do in years.
This book brings a raw and realistic view of the human condition as we watch Edward Armstead evolve from an inoffensive man scarred by his relationship with his father to a madman as he gets his first touch of power and control, to which he becomes addicted.
An exciting and mature read that is hard to put down. It takes the reader around the globe with Armstead’s reporters Victoria Weston and Nick Ramsey, the key pieces in Armstead’s game.
The Almighty earned its place as one of my favourite books, and I would recommend it to mature readers interested in thrillers and psychology.
After his father’s death, Edward Armstead inherits his vast news empire under the condition that he must surpass the Times’ sales, something his father hadn’t been able to do in years.
This book brings a raw and realistic view of the human condition as we watch Edward Armstead evolve from an inoffensive man scarred by his relationship with his father to a madman as he gets his first touch of power and control, to which he becomes addicted.
An exciting and mature read that is hard to put down. It takes the reader around the globe with Armstead’s reporters Victoria Weston and Nick Ramsey, the key pieces in Armstead’s game.
The Almighty earned its place as one of my favourite books, and I would recommend it to mature readers interested in thrillers and psychology.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews