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Title: Huey Long by T. Harry Williams ISBN: 0-394-74790-9 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 12 August, 1981 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.65 (23 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: The Kingfish!
Comment: As I picked up this book to learn more about depression era politics, I thought that this would be just another boring book about a politican. But as I kept on reading I started to realize that this is the best biography about powerful politicans. No one except for FDR could match Huey's hold on people and subordiantes. You have to understand that Long controoled all the branches of government in Louisiana. The judicial, legislative, and executive. No one person has been able to control a state the way Long did. What I like more about this book is William's style in telling the story. He puts in boring statistics and the seconds that with an interesting or funny side note, which made the book easier to read. No wonder he recieved the Pulitzer Prize for biography for this book. But what is more important is that Williams helps you and even him in trying to understand the man, which is important when reading any biography. He just didn't tell what he did but why he did it or William's comes to his on conclusions based on his research. It is a lengthy book, but don't worry just sit and read and let yourself be absorbed. You will not regret it. Praise to T. Harry Williams, he has written the best biography that anyone could possibly read. Thanks!
Rating: 5
Summary: Far and away the best political biography!
Comment: Williams did heavy research on Long, digging up old newspaper articles, etc. (see footnotes at end of each chapter) and it shows--this is far and away the best political biography I have ever read. Williams somehow manages to tell the story of Long in chronological order in an exciting way, mixing Long's personal feelings with the accounts of others. There is also great coverage of Long's political antics, and the reasons behind them. I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in politics and history.
Rating: 5
Summary: The finest political biography ever written
Comment: 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.
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Title: Every Man a King: The Autobiography of Huey P. Long by Huey Pierce Long, Harry Williams, Thomas Harry Williams ISBN: 0306806959 Publisher: DaCapo Press Pub. Date: May, 1996 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Earl K. Long: The Saga of Uncle Earl and Louisiana Politics by Michael L. Kurtz, Morgan D. Peoples ISBN: 080711765X Publisher: Louisiana State University Press Pub. Date: February, 1992 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title:Huey Long ASIN: B00007KE4H Publisher: PBS Home Video Pub. Date: 12 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.95 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $17.96 |
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Title: Huey Long Invades New Orleans: The Siege of a City, 1934-36 by Garry Boulard ISBN: 1565543033 Publisher: Pelican Pub Co Pub. Date: August, 1998 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Huey Long: His Life in Photos, Drawings, and Cartoons by Garry Boulard ISBN: 1589800974 Publisher: Pelican Pub Co Pub. Date: August, 2003 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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