Huey Long [Paperback]

T. Harry Williams (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 12, 1981

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, this work describes the life of one of the most extraordinary figures in American political history.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, this work describes the life of one of the most extraordinary figures in American political history.

From AudioFile

Finding insufficient material about politician Huey Long to adequately capture his past, the author sought hundreds of personal histories from family, friends, and acquaintances. They form the structure of an intimate biography, the kind to savor. Long, an unlikely mix of self-interest and altruism, led a life of scheming and intrigue worthy of becoming a novel. Many Louisianans populate the story, and Tom Weiner gives them perfect Southern accents. He mimics Martin Berman, the 1920s mayor of New Orleans: "You can make prostitution illegal in Louisiana--but you can't make it unpopular." Weiner employs a sharp, authoritative tone for Long, telling his amusing and sometimes apocryphal stories. The combination of excellent material, skillful composition, and Weiner's engaging narration makes this audiobook easy to recommend. First published in 1969, the hardback was awarded both a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award. J.A.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 944 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; 1st Vintage Books ed edition (August 12, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394747909
• ISBN-13: 978-0394747903
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #200,963 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

90 of 94 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Politics 101 May 9, 2004

By Dennis Phillips VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Academic historians spend a lot of time complaining about the merits of so called popular history. This is of course mostly due to the fact that popular histories outsell what the academics turn out causing the academics to cry foul. I have read a fair amount of both types of history and have always felt that if the academics would turn out books that weren't so dull they could attract readers also. In his biography of Huey Long, T. Harry Williams delivers absolute proof that academics can turn out extremely interesting books. This book is fascinating from cover to cover and anyone who is considering a career in government should read this biography of one of the cleverest politicians of all time.

Historians often crucify the Kingfish but Williams doesn't follow that course. He simply presents the story and lets the reader decide whether Long was a hero or a villain. Huey's tactics were ruthless there is no doubt but in order to break the power of the Bourbon ruling class of Louisiana there was little alternative. This elite ruling class was thoroughly entrenched and had been grinding the people of Louisiana under their feet for years. Long may have indeed become a dictator but he broke the power of the Bourbons and brought Louisiana out of the 18th century. Huey's list of accomplishments is far too long for a review of this type but there is one area that must be mentioned. Huey gave to the people of Louisiana the key that would open the door to a brighter future by finally giving people a chance to get an education. For the first time children in Louisiana received free textbooks and LSU was built into a major institution of higher learning. He also created a medical school at LSU so those qualified citizens of the State that couldn't pay the high tuition at Tulane could still become doctors.... Not only did this let the children of the middle class attend medical school, but also it also greatly improved the access of the people to medical care.

There is of course no doubt that Long had his bad side also and Williams doesn't cover it up. This is a very fair and balanced biography and the author's writing style is marvelous. Do not let the size of this work intimidate you, there are no tedious sections and chapters that will make your eyelids heavy. Williams relies heavily on oral history in this book. He has done dozens if not hundreds of interviews with Long's family, his associates, his supporters, and his enemies. Most of Long's communications were face to face or over the phone so this method was critical to the success of this work, and a success it is.

Many biographies are credited with being the definitive work on the subject's life. Sometimes with justification, sometimes without. In this case there is great justification for the definitive label. Nothing before or since has come close to Williams' work. If you want to understand the Kingfish, Louisiana politics, or just study a political genus at work, this is the book to read hands down. Read more ›

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The finest political biography ever written August 20, 2003

By Mark Greenbaum

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Since reading Williams' great bio of Huey Long, I have become fascinated by the Kingfish and have been looking for anything about him to absorb. That says a lot about the book. While Caro's books on LBJ are considered the gold standard of political bios, this book is slightly better. It is so detailed and so fascinating that you can breeze through the nearly 1000 pages in no time.

I suppose the one thing that stands out is how Williams is able to effectively show that Long was not the political boogeyman he is often painted as by historians like Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. and many others. Yes, Huey was a flawed man and showed some dictatorial shades. But he also did many great things for Louisiana and was forced to use political heavy-handedness to deal with the vicious party machines that had controlled Louisiana prior to Long's emergence in 1928.

One could argue that Williams was a little too pro-Kingfish. He attempts to tone down many of Huey's character flaws and doesn't spend much time on Long's movement of state militia troops into New Orleans in an attempt to oust Mayor Walmsley. Nevertheless, despite this flaw, the book does well to balance against the very anti- Long views espoused by most historians.

I would suggest reading this book along with Garry Bouldard's book on Long's "siege" of New Orleans, and Ken Burn's outstanding Long biodrama. Both are available here on Amazon. Either way, this book was the best biography I have ever read and I would recommend it to any one with an interest in politics or with an interest in reading a compelling book.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Though 30 years old, still the definitive Kingfish biography November 3, 1999

By Mickey Rouse

Format:Paperback

Many on-line reviews of the book critique it as "slow", "plodding", "pro-Long", etc. Any definitive biography by definition covers all available detail on the life of its subject. Harry Williams does that indeed. In fact, by the standards of biographers such s Barbara Tuchmann, it is somewhat restrained. It is probably impossible to be ambivalent regarding Huey Long, but Willimas does look at hims as objectively as could be imagined. He seems to separate Huey the man- often coarse and boorish- with Long the master politician. Indeed, in the chapter "Power Unto Himself", he points out that Long changed, with the focus of his efforts shifting from what he could do for Louisiana to what he could do for himself. It is a masterful book, and after reading it, one feels tempted to style oneself as an authority on Long. If there is a serious shortcoming, there is no epiloug to analyze the Long legacy, itself huge as personified by brother Earl and son Russell.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Political Biography November 28, 2000

By Tom Munro

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a fascinating book about a controversial political figure who is now probably largely forgotten. Huey Long was a politician from Louisiana. He initially trained as a lawyer and although young he had a remarkable record in that profession. He then won election to a regulatory commission and used it as a stepping stone to being governor of the state. Prior to Long the regulatory commission had done little but he attempted to use it as a means of increasing state revenue and controlling big companies. He was able to turn it into an effective body despite only being in his twenties when gaining a position on it.

Long was seen at the time as a populist and a radical. The issues he fought for however would now seem main stream. He was elected on a platform of providing free schoolbooks to children and in surfacing the states roads. (At the time he was elected only some 600 miles of Louisiana's' roads were surfaced.) Other projects he was involved in were the construction of bridges in especially to allow commercial access to New Orleans the upgrading of its port and the provision of natural gas to city dwellers. In addition he also spent funds on education and opened a medical school to increase the number of available medical practitioners. One of his achievements was to expand University Placements in such a way that poorer students would have access to higher education.

His interest in education extended to attempts to provide equality of opportunity in public schools. The quality of education varied from district to district and he set up an equalization fund in an attempt to overcome the problem. He also set up adult literacy classes and reduced adult literacy amongst both white and Afro-Americans substantially....

During the depression he kept highway constructions projects going and these employed large numbers of people. He also personally intervened to protect banks from closing and Louisiana only lost seven banks in the period a very low number.

A range of these projects required revenue. Louisiana was at the time when he became governor a state with a very small revenue base. Long started to expand the revenue base by using regulatory powers to tax mineral extraction and goods movement. His changes led to the richer paying more tax. Prior to his time most income came from a regressive property tax. During his period of government expenditure doubled as the state took on responsibility for infrastructure.

As a result Long was strongly opposed by the political establishment of the state. During his first term he was the subject of an impeachment hearing. It also seemed that some business channeled large sums of money into the hands of his opponents. He was vilified in the press and subject to two inquires when he was elected to the senate.

Often radical politicians know little about the reality of power and its dynamics. They are elected to power and have little understanding of the opposition that they will face and hope that the utterance of a few cliches will not lead to the passing of a program or solid achievement. They assume that decency will be met by decency and are often disappointed. Long however was an absolute realist and from the moment of starting a political career he realized that he had to create a power base and to destroy the old power structures of his state. Prior to Long Louisiana was part of the old democratic South. It was a one party state controlled basically by a wealthy elite in New Orleans. Their view of the role of government was keeping the Negro's out of the system and not taxing big companies.

Long destroyed this group and built his own political machine. This was not easy and he had to fight every inch of the way against entrenched interests. He had amazing political toughness.

Towards the end of his life he was elected to the senate and was attempting to develop a radical movement so that he could become president. His platform was "share out wealth". He wanted to limit individual personal wealth to $1m and to redistribute sums above that amount to the poorer members of society. This was his means of dealing with the depression. He was assassinated in 1935 and if he had not been killed he might have either won the presidential election in 1936 or else split the vote ensuring a republican victory.

The book is quite long being over 800 pages but is easy to read. Some of the material is hilarious. For example in the 30's it seemed that one of New Orleans major banks might collapse due to rumors about its financial status. Long organized a bail out package from President Roosevelt. The problem was that there would the time interval of a day before the money would arrive. Long decided that the only way out was to declare a holiday so that the bank could close for a day prior to the money arriving. The only problem was that the day in question the 4th of February was an unremarkable day in American History. He had historians from a local university up all night trying to find some event to celebrate on this proposed holiday. At last they found that President Wilson had broken diplomatic relations with Germany on that day some 17 years ago. The holiday was proclaimed and the bank was saved.

The book is fascinating and it is about a remarkable figure who towered like a colossus in the history of his state. It is also a book about the reality of political power and is illustrative of how hard vested interests will fight to prevent political change. Read more ›