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Kingfish: The Reign of Huey P. Long Hardcover – April 4, 2006

by Jr. Richard D. White (Author)

67 customer reviews

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From the moment he took office as governor in 1928 to the day an assassin’s bullet cut him down in 1935, Huey Long wielded all but dictatorial control over the state of Louisiana. A man of shameless ambition and ruthless vindictiveness, Long orchestrated elections, hired and fired thousands at will, and deployed the state militia as his personal police force. And yet, paradoxically, as governor and later as senator, Long did more good for the state’s poor and uneducated than any politician before or since. Outrageous demagogue or charismatic visionary? In this powerful new biography, Richard D. White, Jr., brings Huey Long to life in all his blazing, controversial glory.
White taps invaluable new source material to present a fresh, vivid portrait of both the man and the Depression era that catapulted him to fame. From his boyhood in dirt-poor Winn Parish, Long knew he was destined for power–the problem was how to get it fast enough to satisfy his insatiable appetite. With cunning and crudity unheard of in Louisiana politics, Long crushed his opponents in the 1928 gubernatorial race, then immediately set about tightening his iron grip. The press attacked him viciously, the oil companies howled for his blood after he pushed through a controversial oil processing tax, but Long had the adulation of the people. In 1930, the Kingfish got himself elected senator, and then there was no stopping him.
White’s account of Long’s heyday unfolds with the mesmerizing intensity of a movie. Pegged by President Roosevelt as “one of the two most dangerous men in the country,” Long organized a radical movement to redistribute money through his Share Our Wealth Society–and his gospel of pensions for all, a shorter workweek, and free college spread like wildfire. The Louisiana poor already worshiped him for building thousands of miles of roads and funding schools, hospitals, and universities; his outrageous antics on the Senate floor gained him a growing national base. By 1935, despite a barrage of corruption investigations, Huey Long announced that he was running for president.
In the end, Long was a tragic hero–a power addict who squandered his genius and came close to destroying the very foundation of democratic rule. Kingfish is a balanced, lucid, and absolutely spellbinding portrait of the life and times of the most incendiary figure in the history of American politics.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The inspiration for Robert Penn Warren's demagogue in All the King's Men, Huey Long was Louisiana's governor, then U.S. senator and controlled virtually every aspect of the state government from 1929 until he was shot to death in 1935 at age 42. Long used the same skills he had honed as a charming traveling salesman for a lard substitute to appeal directly to potential voters and bypass the powerful political bosses. He filled the ranks of government employees with his own supporters, shamelessly appointing his brother as a tax collector even though he had promised to abolish the post and use the money for a TB hospital. Long may have started out as a populist with the admirable goal of providing free textbooks to schoolchildren, but squandering resources and lining his own pockets, he created Louisiana's first income tax.. Supposedly pro-labor, Long put the kibosh on pensions, unemployment insurance and a minimum wage. Crude and vindictive, Long had his eye on the presidency, influenced an Arkansas U.S. senate race and may have been killed by a "trigger-happy" bodyguard aiming at an attacker and not by an assassin's gun. LSU professor White's (Roosevelt the Reformer, etc.) latest is lively and well researched but isn't as groundbreaking as the biography by William Ivy Hair or as authoritative as Pulitzer-winner T. Harry Williams's. 16 pages of photos not seen by PW. (On sale Apr. 4)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Huey P. Long ranks as one of the most simultaneously loved and hated political figures in American history (one of those who despised him being none other than President Franklin Roosevelt). New source material affords LSU professor White the opportunity to not so much replace the classic and Pulitzer Prize-winning biography Huey P. Long, by T. Harry Williams (1968), as position his new book next to it, on equal professional and readability footing. The author allots one chapter per year (1927-35) through the years in which Long literally reigned over Louisiana politics, first as governor and then as U.S. senator (a reign that ended abruptly when Long was assassinated in the Louisiana capitol building). Readers witness an amazing coalescence of personal power by a character who neurotically insisted on being at the center of every conversation and room, the state of Louisiana, and, if he could have arranged it, the nation. Developed here is a record of dictatorship amazing to behold in this democratic-founded country as Long crudely but effectively gathered the executive, legislative, and political branches of Louisiana government into his own hands. Individuals moved by an absolute thirst for control are at once discomfiting and alluring to read about, and White's careful, straightforward, and sound picture of this American original will do nothing less than disturb and fascinate readers. Brad Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product details

Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Random House; First Edition edition (April 4, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 140006354X
ISBN-13: 978-1400063543
Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.3 x 9.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 67 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,334,835 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7266 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Political
- #15871 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Historical > United States
- #31486 in Books > History > Americas > United States > State & Local

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Thomas N. Osborne

Excellent true story of one of the most dangerous men in US history.

March 3, 2018

Verified Purchase

This is the true story of one of the most, if not THE most dangerous man in US history. After he had completed his term as governor, he managed to continue to run the state of Louisiana while a US Senator. I was amazed and shocked at the level of control of all aspects of the government of Louisiana that Long eventually had. If you had any political ambitions in that state the worst thing that could happen to you is for Long to decide you were an enemy. He defined an enemy as anyone who disagreed with or tried to thwart his policies or bills introduced in the legislature. He also had come up with a strategy for winning the 1940 Presidential election that involved engineering FDR losing in 1936. Long by the way was also a lifelong Democrat. It might not have worked but Long and his economic ideas were extremely popular with people hit hard by the Great Depression all over the country not just in his home state. Had he succeeded and had his economic ideas been enacted he would probably have bankrupted the country.

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Grand Old Man

A True Study of the Corruption of Power

March 7, 2013

Verified Purchase

Having read a great deal about Huey Long and his relatively short, but significant reign as a Louisiana powerhouse and 'dictator', I did not expect to learn too much more when I purchased Kingfish. However, I found this to be an extremely compelling read, chock full of insight into the behind the scenes actions Long used to get his way and punish his opponents.

Under the guise of populism, coupled with the poverty of 1920s and 30s Louisiana and the Great Depression, Long delivered a great deal to the poor of his state (roads, free school books, help to farmers) while at the time lining his own pockets on just about every deal he brokered. Even after election to the U.S. Senate, he retained his governorship until his cronies were in place, and came back to Baton Rouge on a regular basis to control the legislature and demand special sessions to pass his pet bills - all of which were devised to increase his power.

The book chronicles Long's incredible powers and his abuse of that power on every page. His vindictiveness toward those who opposed him was in many ways his driving force.

At the same time, the book shows a man who was truly in touch with the needs of his rural and poor constituents. Even after leaving for Washington he took that understanding to a national scale with his Share The Wealth idea -- his solution to the Depression through limiting the income of the rich and distributing it to the poor. Long was a Robin Hood without ethics -- a charismatic character whose own early success led to the erosion of his own character.

Reading author White's excellently researched book is a study in how power can corrupt, even those who might otherwise have the best interests of the people at heart. Readers unfamiliar with Long will be amazed at the power he quickly amassed, the ineffectiveness of those who opposed his corrupt ways and his grip on the nation during the hardest times the nation every faced.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who thinks that today's politics, the gridlock and the greed, are unique to our times. A look at the lifetime of Huey Long could easily be the standard by which all prior and later measures of political power and corruption might be measured. At the same time, it is a study in how a conniving and smart politician can use his/her connection to the needs of the people to pull the wool over the vast majority's eyes.

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mike6

The Kingfish Lives!

January 16, 2015

Verified Purchase

Brilliant, compelling, and absorbing--one of the best books ever done on Huey Long and his times. The author has done thorough research, used unknown or new materials to give Huey Long a more accurate and truthful
portrait. T. Harry Williams did a great book on Huey Long, but it is dated. This is the book to read now.
Highly recommend and it was one of the best political bios I've ever read. A magnificent job on a man who even now
arouses controversy and anger. Huey Long was one of the most remarkable and feared politicians in American history. If you want to know the real story, read this book.

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Mark Greenbaum

A very good bio of the Kingfish, but not as good as the Williams' masterpiece

July 22, 2007

Verified Purchase

Huey P. Long is my favorite political figure of all time. Since I read T. Harry Williams' masterful bio of Long, I've tried to read any and everything about Huey that I can get my hands on. When I saw "Kingfish," I scooped it right up. Admittedly, I may be biased because I think Williams' book is the best political biography ever written and may hold Long bios to a very high standard. In the end, after reading through this book pretty fast - it is less than 300 pages - I liked "Kingfish", and would recommend it to anyone interested in learning about Huey but without the time to read Williams' large text. Further, whereas Williams' book is fairly pro-Long, this book is mostly anti-Huey. Nevertheless, it doesn't hold a candle to "Huey Long" by Williams. It isn't even close.

The book doesn't spend much attention on Huey's early years (he was born in 1893), and focuses on the period from his successful gubernatorial run in 1928, to his Senate election two years late, to his ascension as a national figure, to his assassination in 1935. In between, it provides delicious detailed stories and tidbits of many of Huey's often unbelievable exploits as he ruthlessly conquered every inch of Louisiana and came close to running for President and perhaps endangering FDR's re-election chances in 1936. Beyond that, the book perfectly captures the political and social mood in the Pelican State in Long's day: the sweltering heat, the unrest and bitter hatred Huey engendered in the elite and ruling classes and the equal love and hope he inspired in the long-ignored rural masses, and of course Long's larger than life persona and even bigger ambitions. I also loved the author's use of all of the classic insults Huey and his enemies hurled at each other that seem to appear on every page ("demagogic screech owl from the swamps of Louisiana").

"Kingfish" is a very good book and a quick and fun read for anyone interested in learning about Huey's life and exploits. However, if you want to read a great book, do yourself a favor and buy "Huey Long" by T. Harry Williams. Still, the two books could work well together - as "Kingfish" covers a few areas Williams' book does not - so it might be a good idea to check out "Kingfish" as an appetizer, and move on to "Huey Long" as the main course. You won't be disappointed.

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