Huey Long by T. Harry Williams Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $14.25 You Save: $10.75 (43%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $7.31 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Huey Long
Book Review: One of the best historical biographies I have read!
Summary: 5 Stars
Huey Long was a was an amazing politician and a contradiction.
A man of the people who came close to establishing a dictatorship in
Lousianna. He overturned a corupt political system operated by the
Lousianna's wealthy old families, and gave basic services to the poor
of his state. Despite Long's liberal program, one of the greatest fears
of many liberal New Deal Democrats was that Huey Long would
succeed Roosevelt as president. Williams does the almost impossible,
he helps the reader comprehend the contradition that was Huey Long.Book Review: Huey Long's Story
Summary: 5 Stars
T. Harry Williams has written the definative book on Huey Long. This book contains everything from Huey's early life, his saleman's years, college training up to every political office ever held. Williams covers everything in telling of the man who would be Govenor by seeing "Every Man A King." Huey was dominant, driven, and dictatoral in life and Williams captures it all. POLITICAL JUNKIES will sustain their needs with this book.Book Review: Useful but lumbering, borders on hero worship
Summary: 3 Stars
Because Dr. Williams so thoroughly details Huey Long's fascinating life, this book is important. Especially interesting is Dr. Williams' portrait of the young Huey Long and his rise. However, the book often gets bogged down in the Byzantine world of Louisiana politics. It is often plodding. More disappointing is the lack of critical analysis. Basically, Dr. Williams believes Huey Long could do no wrong. Long's conservative enemies were all bad people who wanted to keep the downtrodden in their place. Dr. Williams does not acknowledge that Long's political enemies might have philosophical differences with him. Long's enemies are not really persons in this book; they're all the same caricature.Book Review: The classic portrait of an American enigma.
Summary: 5 Stars
Williams has sustained much criticism for his seeming endorsement of Long's philosophy, which simply goes to show how controversial the man's legacy still is. While Williams' book is, in fact, slanted towards the pro-Long camp, it is one of the best political biographies to the written in the last fifty years. This compelling portrait of a man who was considered a fascist by some and a communist by others provides a sense of time, place, and character that is not seen often enough in current political biography.Book Review: As Good as Edmund Morris's book on TR
Summary: 5 Stars
Williams's book is, like Morris's book on TR, extremely well-researched, which enables him to tell a rich story that comes across as wholly believable. More than just a story of Long, it is a story of Louisiana, of politics played American style, and of an America most never see.A definite buy for those who enjoy top notch historical biography.